Though a yearly occurrence, the Parker Spring Musical brings something new to the table every time. This year, the auditorium met man-eating plants, unrequited love, and a dentist with a fixation on inflicting pain. The 1960 comedy-horror film “Little Shop of Horrors,” which was later adapted into a successful 80’s film and musical, hit Parker’s stage March 15-18, directed by Upper School drama teacher Cassie Slater.

“With “Little Shop”, I was working with a group of students who were on board with trying new things and really getting into the storytelling,” said Slater.

In “Little Shop of Horrors,” Seymour, a shy flower shop assistant, is hopelessly in love with his gorgeous co-worker Audrey. After a solar eclipse, he discovers a peculiar plant, purchases it, and names it Audrey II. Turns out, it only eats human flesh and blood. After feeding Audrey’s abusive boyfriend to the plant, he must devise a way to continue feeding Audrey II, whose appetite is increasing.

On March 17, the audience was buzzing while exiting the theater and praised the cast for their performance. “The play was so good, everyone was so talented, and the sets looked incredible,” sophomore Maddy Young said.

 “I was amazed by the performance, I thought the singing was amazing, and I thought the set design was amazing too–the attention to detail was really cool,” freshman Nash Oliphant said. 

According to seventh grader Mary Morris Vance, “the play was unexpected and very surprising. It was choreographed really well, and all the actors were really good.”

Many audience members admired the craftsmanship of the set design, particularly the massive Audrey II puppet. The musical’s centerpiece was the nearly ten-foot tall papier-mâché plant, whose mouth opened and closed under the control of senior and actor Eda Altunbas. 

Upper School shop and stagecraft teacher Nick Rupard discussed the design process in creating the set and the puppets. “It’s just the typical design process, meeting the needs of the script,” Rupard said. “And set-wise, it had to have a set that would support the puppets. I was the puppet’s, like, stage mom.” 

The stage crew worked together to ensure that the specifications of the set fit the centerpiece, the puppet. Throughout the musical, as Audrey II grew, the crew switched out the puppet, utilizing four puppets in total. The smallest one connected to a cupboard, with a hole for the puppet master to reach through. 

The second-smallest was connected to a false arm and a button-up shirt, allowing the actor to reach up into the pot and manipulate it. The next one sat in a box with a mobile neck and moving mouth. The largest one was connected to the back wall, with a mouth fitting four people. 

During the final number, “Don’t Feed the Plants,” Mr. Mushnik, Dr. Orin Scrivello, Audrey, and Seymour all burst out of the plant. The actors quietly sat in its mouth, anticipating their cue. 

The final Audrey II plant stayed behind the set for the entirety of the show. While the curtain was closed, three crew members would push the puppet onto the set while everyone else was tasked with attaching the leaves and vines to the wall. According to Rupard, the back wall of the set broke down, allowing the stage crew to easily replace the Audrey II plants when necessary.

For the actors, “Little Shop of Horrors” was more than just a musical. Sophomore Ellis Brown, who played Seymour, said, “I feel like I’ve grown throughout the process. Ms. Slater is very fit for the role of director, and she’s helped everyone, not just as an actor, but as a person doing performing arts.” 

The lead actors worked hard for months to take their characters from words on a page to vibrant, whole people. “Having a more complex character who has a clear story to tell has been really rewarding. Getting the opportunity to tell the story of Audrey has been something I’m so incredibly grateful for, and something I haven’t gotten to do in past years,” said senior Phoebe Friedman, who played Audrey. “She has these dramatic moments that I love, where, like, out of nowhere, she’ll just gasp. I consider myself kind of a dramatic person, that’s probably why I do theater, so being able to display her quirks is super fun.” 

Cassie Slater began the process of bringing “Little Shop of Horrors” to Parker with an easy decision. “‘Little Shop’ is a show that can be done with a very small cast or a very large cast, so not knowing how many kids would audition, it seemed like a smart choice. In addition, Mr. Rupard has a ton of experience with puppets, and so he had been wanting to do something with puppets for a while. It was a no-brainer,” said Slater. 

Lots of collaborative effort took place between Rupard and Slater during the creation of “Little Shop of Horrors.” “As director, I’m kind of the leader of the ship,” she said. “not just for the actors but for all of the design elements too. I’m kind of in charge of the world of the play, so I make sure that the storytelling is really clear, I make sure that the actors are getting the most out of their roles, and I make sure the play runs in a way that the audience will be excited to sit through.” 

 As a new addition to the Upper School faculty, Slater has altered how the performing arts work. “I think I held the actors to a different standard this year,” she said. Slater worked with the actor’s existing schedules, acknowledging the cast’s many commitments. The actors were meant to stick to a set schedule, and Slater allowed a certain number of absences before actors had to speak with her. After adjusting the schedule, she had the students sign an actor agreement, similar to the ones used in professional productions. “That was a hard decision to make because you don’t want to turn people away or make them super stressed. It was definitely a balancing act of trying to be empathetic and asking a lot of the students, but they all really rose to the occasion.”