Algonquin drama teacher Maura Morrison and her students decided to take Northboro's newest grocery store — where people camped out overnight for opening day and where a couple actually got engaged in the caf� aisle — and turn it into a comedic musical.

You're in the 12-items-or-less line at the grocery store, but you accidentally have one item too many and the customer behind you is getting cranky.

Familiar scene? Well, what if that grouchy customer breaks into song, revealing his inner torment, prompting you to harmonize in anguish about your mistake. The cashier croons to keep peace, and finally tempers are soothed by a friendly manager's ballad.



Never happen?



It would in “Wegmans … The Musical,” a free performance by Advanced Drama students at Algonquin Regional High School at 8 p.m. May 10.



Drama teacher Maura Morrison and her students decided to take this larger-than-life grocery store that opened here last fall — where people camped out overnight for opening day and where a couple actually got engaged in the caf� aisle — and turn it into a comedic musical.



“I was just feeling all around me the excitement and buzz about Wegmans. It seemed like an event, it seemed like a good idea to create a musical about,” Ms. Morrison said.



The musical focuses on the relationship between twin brothers — Teddy, a manager at the new Wegmans, and Roy, who works at a mediocre competitor, the fictitious Acme Food Store. Roy, long jealous of his brother, sends a spy to work at Wegmans to sabotage the store and humiliate Teddy. But the spy falls in love with the store and a Wegmans employee, and struggles with whose side to take.



Morrison emphasized that while the musical is campy humor, it doesn't mock or criticize Wegmans.



“It definitely is a celebration of Wegmans,” she said.



And how does Wegmans feel about all this?



“We're really excited to go see it,” said Bill Congdon, Wegmans' New England division manager. “We're honored that the students want to do it.”



When Mr. Congdon learned about the musical, he immediately offered to help. He gave Ms. Morrison a tour of the store, then donated Wegmans T-shirts, chef hats and jackets, signs and shopping carts.



When his truck pulled up at Algonquin with the props, the entire Advanced Drama class came outside to help.



“It's just so cool to see how excited they are,” Mr. Congdon said.



Senior Stephen Tzianabos plays Teddy, the “perfect boss” at Wegmans. He co-wrote a song that ends Act I, a song about looking toward tomorrow set to a tune from the musical “Les Miserables.” He said it was challenging for the students to help write the script.



“We tried to be realistic but at the same time we blew it up to be something a lot bigger than it is,” Mr. Tzianabos said. “We've made Wegmans the Land of Oz or Disneyland, and everyone that works there is happy.”



The idea for the musical started with an acting prompt in Ms. Morrison's Drama II class during first semester. She asked the kids to put themselves in a scene at the 12-items-or-less checkout line. On their own, the students started singing about their characters' inner feelings. And an improv session turned into the beginnings of a musical.



That semester ended, and Ms. Morrison took the idea to her Advanced Drama class in second semester, which contained many students from Drama II. They got to work in early February. By day, the students would improv, creating characters, scenes and songs for the musical. By night, Ms. Morrison would input their creativity into the growing script.



Ms. Morrison and the students wrote song lyrics to go along with existing melodies. Everyone in the cast sings.



“I've got kids who have never sung before publicly, so this is an enormous leap of faith for some of the kids in my cast. They have a solo and they're willing to take that risk. And I have other students who have been singing for years and won awards,” she said.



At first, she envisioned a 20-minute performance for a few other classes to see. But interest grew along with the script until she decided to have a one-night performance, free of charge with donations accepted for the drama department.



“That's what I think is so exciting about the project is that there were no plans for it to be big, it was meant to be small and organic,” Ms. Morrison said. “Students got so excited, they came up with more and more ideas. It expanded from their ideas.”



Actual events at the store added to the musical's plot: The marriage proposal that took place last October between Michael Rybacki and Nicole Bouyea with help from Wegmans staff. Or the time that Wegmans remained open during a power outage while the rest of Northboro was in the dark. And just an overall impression that Wegmans is a happy place to work with happy employees.



“We took real things that have happened because I don't think you have to make things up about Wegmans. It's all there,” Ms. Morrison said.



Mr. Congdon believes this is the first musical or play about the family-owned chain, which has 79 stores in six Eastern states. So, will Ms. Morrison take her show on the road?



“I have no plans for a traveling show,” she said.