Massapequa High School Students Presenting Virtual Musical

MASSAPEQUA, NY — The show will go on for drama students at Massapequa High School, who will present “Little Shop of Horrors” for their annual musical production. The show includes two casts and will be presented in a virtual format.

Each cast includes 14 student-actors, who will perform on the Berner Middle School stage, which is slightly larger than the high school’s stage and allows for greater social distancing. Director Katie Tauches said that the play was double cast to give additional students a chance to take part in this year’s show.

Lead roles in Cast A include Joey Casali as Seymour, Annabelle Lesser as Audrey, Daniel Siani as the dentist, Joe Corey as Mushnik and Vincent Arenella as the plant. In Cast B, lead roles are Robbie Morana as Seymour, Julia Duffy as Audrey, Ryan Wienczorkowski as the dentist, Jesse Findling as Mushnik and Makayla Menner as the plant. They began virtual rehearsals in March and have been learning lines, songs and choreography in-person since April.

The show, which debuted in 1982 Off-Off-Broadway and in 2003 on Broadway, is a horror rock comedy. “Little Shop of Horrors” focuses on the florist Seymour, his man-eating plant and his love interest, Audrey.

In addition to Tauches, Danielle Coutieri serves as choreographer and Craig Coyle is the musical director.

Both shows will be pre-recorded and broadcast to the community in June. Cast A’s performance will be available online on Thursday, June 10 at 7 p.m., followed by Cast B’s production on Friday, June 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be free and posted on the district website, www.msd.k12.ny.us, close to the show dates.

“I’m really happy that the district allowed us to put on a show this year,” Tauches said. “Despite all of the challenges, the students have really risen to the occasion to create an amazing performance.”