Some actors work inside out, digging deep inside themselves to find the emotions they’ll need to bring a character to life.

Others work outside in. They find a bit of costume, a pair of shoes, a hat that helps them become the character.

For Molly Brown, a 15-year-old from South Salem, months of inside-out work was ratcheted up when she first put on the face makeup that turned her from a kid to a cat. The high school sophomore will take to the stage alongside more than 70 other kids this weekend at Westchester Broadway Theater in Elmsford for the Lighthouse Youth Arts Center production of “Cats.”

Performances are Saturday, Monday and Tuesday and include a meal before the show.

I sat in at Monday’s rehearsal and watched as Molly, a fresh-faced teen, turned into Jennyanydots, a street cat.

Brown’s buddy Danny Hammond, a sophomore at Westlake High School, was the makeup artist.

He started with a white greasepaint T from her forehead to chin and from cheek to cheek.

Then he circled her face in dark orange and added light orange highlights.

Then the eyes and the high-arching and expressive eyebrows.

Then the nose and mouth and lips.

Add a wig and costumes and before long, Molly is a feline extraordinaire.

Here’s the thing: Multiply this by more than 70 and you have an idea of what costumers and makeup people have to tackle through technical rehearsals and through the three-show run.

One volunteer, in the lobby of the dinner theater, caught producer John Fanelli’s ear and joked “Whose idea was this musical?” It was Fanelli’s, of course, in partnership with the dinner theater.

I suppose the reasoning was every kid should be a cat at least once in his or her life.

A cat. Inside and out.

Tickets for “Cats” are $45 for adults and $25 for kids and include a served meal before the show. At Westchester Broadway Theater, 1 Broadway Plaza, Elmsford.Call the dinner-theater box office at 914-592-2222 to reserve.

The cast, by my count, numbers 82, although some alternate performances. Here’s the list of the kids who become cats.

Lily Allen, Chad Ballard, Gabby Battistiol, Claire Bishop, Liora Bogin, Cali Bronkema, Molly Brown, Annie Camlic, Elana Cantor, Anna Carbone, Jamie Carino, Trevor Carr, Allegra Carter, Austin Christensen, Alyssa Cook, Tomas Correa, Zoe Correa, Amanda Cummings, Selena Cummings, Ashley Dassa, Brittany Dassa, Carly Dieck, Victoria Dieck, Stephanie Ferriera, Sarah Fiegura, Kayla Gersten, Madelyn Gallagher, Megan Gallagher, Molly Gallagher, Jonathan Genovese, Zach Goldbaum, Alex Goldhorn, Jake Goldstein, Sara Granda, Amanda Gonzalez, Claudia Greco, Aliyah Hakim, Naimah Hakim, Breigh Hammel, Danny Hammond, Marissa Heintzman, Sarah Heinzmann, Danielle Kaufman, Kristina Koller, Michelle Laino, Vincent Laino, Jamie Lerner, Juliet Levy, Claire Leyden, Abigail Lupi, Jessica Lynch, Melissa Magliff, Erin Mandeel, Halle Mastroberardino, Kayla Moore, Lauren Moore, Michelle Morgenthal, Jennifer Morris, Zoe Moskowitz, Allison Muccioli, Kimmi Naus, Lexi Naus, Sami Naus, Lindsey Pasieka, AJ Pope, Carly Post, Joey Sanzaro, Carolyn Savoia, MacKenzie Schmidt, Allie Short, Georgina Simon, Rebecca Simpson-Wallack, Isabella Siniscalchi, Joey Staluppi, Matt Stout, Shannon Stout, Tim Stout, Lauren Sugantino, Megan Wines, Laura Woodward, Kate Zaccardi, Sarah Zuk.

For details about Lighthouse Youth Arts Center in Thornwood, go to www.lytshows.org.

Photo by Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News: Molly Brown, 15, gets transformed into a cat for her performance in Cats at Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, a production of Lighthouse Youth Arts Center.