Palmer High School play a tale of love, technology and the office

PALMER — In giving a description of his character in Palmer High School’s production of The Desk Set, sophomore Jarret Hardy also summed up the plot.

“He’s the smart, intelligent, handsome, geeky guy that brings in the computer and causes problems,” Hardy said of Richard Sumner.

The character is the same one Spencer Tracy was once played on the big screen.

“The mysterious man hanging about at the research department of a big TV network proves to be engineer Richard Sumner, who’s been ordered to keep his real purpose secret: computerizing the office. Department head Bunny Watson, who knows everything, needs no computer to unmask Richard. The resulting battle of wits and witty dialogue pits Bunny’s fear of losing her job against her dawning attraction to Richard,” reads the film’s full plot synopsis on the Internet Movie Database.

“It’s really time-consuming but it helps me advance so I’m glad I got this part,” Hardy said of being a leading man.

Sophomore Grace Ivey has similarly large shoes to fill, as her character — Bunny Wilson — Katharine Hepburn played the role in the same film adaptation.

She said that her character is “precocious.”

“She’s a good-hearted woman but she’s always known that she’s had this high intelligence,” Ivey said.

She said that she has really enjoyed the part.

“This is the first larger role I’ve had where I don’t play a 6-year-old,” Ivey said.

Playing her best friend on stage — Peg Costello — is home-schooled student and frequent PHS play participant Sam Laselle.

“You get to do things that you normally wouldn’t do and be loud,” she said of the experience of acting.

Making her solo directorial debut — she co-directed before with longtime PHS music teacher Stan Harris — is Nichelle Henry, who teaches English and coordinates the International Baccalaureate program at PHS.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun,” she said, of directing.

She said she loves that her actors bring a lot of energy to the stage. They seem to enjoy the material as well — the play is packed with witty dialogue they seem to get a kick out of.

“It’s nice to get to interact with students in a non-academic setting,” Henry said.

It’s also nice to interact with students who are in the production by choice.

“They want to do this,” she said. “They want to get better.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.