When Maddie's family moves into a small and decrepit house because they are having financial difficulties, Maddie hopes that she can make friends in her new high school, and possibly get a part in a school drama production. She gets an answer to both wishes when she meets neighbor Angela, whose mother is the drama coach... and whose brother, Jesse, is awfully cute. Maddie is very talented, but manages to make the current diva, Rica, angry. Rica sabotages Maddie's audition by telling her to take a double does of allergy medicine, but Maddie bears her shame with good grace, especially when she gets an even better part in a community production. She manages to make friends, get involved in school, and have several boys interested in her. She's a huge fan of tap dancer Gene Kelly, and is secretly looking for a boy who can measure up. When she realizes that Jesse is a very talented tap dancer who quit because his father considered dancing beneath Jesse's athletic capabilities, she is instantly smitten. Will he feel the same way?