‘HORRORS’ STALKS HIGH SCHOOL STAGE
Third annual musical comes on the heels of successful production of ‘The Wiz’
POTTSTOWN >> A giant carnivorous plant named Audrey II will stalk about the stage of the Stanley I. Davenport Auditorium Friday evening as Pottstown High School kicks off its annual musical “Little Shop of Horrors.”
This year’s annual musical involves roughly 80 students between the cast and stage crew, set design, costumes and student musicians, said Robert Decker, the high school’s math department chairman, as well as the producer and stage manager for the show.
Unlike last year’s wildly popular production of “The Wiz,” this year’s show will not be an “all-district” musical, which involves students at all grade levels, but is a strictly high school production.
Which is not to say it won’t be as fun.
“We already knew by the time that we staged ‘The Wiz’ that we would be putting on ‘Little Shop’ this year,” said Christopher Sperat, a 4K teacher at Lincoln Elementary School and the director of this year’s show.
“It was really a nobrainer. We want shows that are fun, engaging, popular and allow the kids to exercise a range of talents,” Sperat said.
For example, Sperat said, “we may have kids who can’t sing, but they want to do a few lines, or dance, or work back-stage. We have a job for anybody who wants to be part of it.”
This is the third consecutive year the district has staged a high school musical, part of a concerted effort to establish both a tradition and a viable program, said Decker.
“I look at this like any other program in the district,” said Decker.
“We’re looking to build on each year so that each year’s production will be better than the last in some way, whether it be more challenging music for the student musicians, or a more demanding set design,” he said. “That’s how you make a program sustainable.”
Another way you do that, said Sperat, “is by building the talent pool, and that’s what we’re doing by holding an all-district musical every other year.”
“We have a couple of students with us this year who were in last year’s show in eighth grade,” he said. “In a few years, we may end up graduating kids who have five or six shows under their belt.”
Evidence that the program is sustainable can also be seen in some of the numbers, said Decker.
“Grease,” staged two years ago, sold a total of about 1,430 tickets. The following year, “The Wiz” sold 2,172.
And many of those were sold for the Sunday 2 p.m. matinee, a popular show time for families. “We sold about 900 tickets for that show,” said Decker.
Arguably the star of this year’s show gets no billing.
Audrey II, the carnivorous plant who provides the “horror” for the little shop, as well as many of the jokes, is a puppet — not a puppet built by students.
“We decided pretty early on that we would rent the professional version of the puppet,” said Sperat. “It cost a chunk of change, but it is so central to the show.”
“In my mind, it was the only decision,” added Decker.
While the construction and functionality was more certain, the fact that it did not arrive in Pottstown until Feb. 15 meant the two students in charge of manipulating the puppet — Jacob Bosko and Ron Fausnaught — had only a short time to learn to coordinate the plant’s movements with its voice (Anthony Wiggins) and how best to interact with the leads, Matthew Zipay, who plays Seymour Krelborn, and Julianna Roseo, who plays Audrey.
“But they really worked hard and they’ve really made it come to life,” Sperat said.
To see for yourself, you’ll have to come to the show, which opens Friday, March, 3 at 7 p.m. There is another show Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $7 in advance and $9 at the door.