This year, Andover’s largest annual performing arts show Grasshopper will feature changes restricting student performers, eliciting disappointment on campus. Traditionally, each year, dance crews, theatre groups, and instrumentalists share the stage in Tang Theatre, bringing together months of rehearsals into four high-energy nights during Family Weekend.
However, this year, Grasshopper will step beyond Tang and appear at an All-School Meeting (ASM) in the Chapel. While the addition ensures every student experiences the showcase, it has also reshaped production: shrinking the runtime down to 50 minutes, tightening logistics, and completely removing student bands from the lineup. The exclusion of bands in particular has sparked widespread frustration, with many students arguing that this decision undermines Grasshopper’s diversity and long-standing musical traditions.
From the faculty perspective, Theatre and Dance Department Chair Robert Lazar contextualized the recent changes to Grasshopper, highlighting the reasoning behind the adjustments.
“The biggest change for this year is that we have the opportunity to open the show to a wider audience and make it more accessible to the whole community,” wrote Lazar in an email to The Phillipian.
Lazar continued, “For years there has been a desire to enable more students to see Grasshopper. Students have requested more access to the show, this was evident in The Phillipian article about the need for students to have more access to the community event. We were able to fulfill this need with the addition of a show during [ASM].”
For student performers, the changes prompted immediate disappointment. Anny Wang ’26, a jazz pianist in the student-run band Goose&Moose, described her frustration at being unable to share the group’s music and efforts in one of the most important and large-scale performance opportunities on campus.
“This year, in the audition form, they outright banned bands from participating. It’s not even a partial change, they just don’t want bands in Grasshopper anymore. That has a huge impact because Grasshopper is one of the only school-run performances where we get a large audience. Most of the other music performances hosted by the school, like band concerts or classical recitals, don’t draw much of a crowd. Grasshopper has always been the one place we get to share our music with the broader community,” said Wang.
Despite widespread concerns circulating around campus, theatre producer Bruce Ru ’28 affirmed his desire to preserve the show’s spirit and deliver a fulfilling Grasshopper performance.
“I understand the frustrations of this campus about recent changes in the ASM show and the possibility that there will be certain limitations that could cause disappointment to the community. [However], as a community, we have to believe that we can preserve the experience while making that change, and we’re ready to fight for the full experience of Grasshopper and all other productions. We will need the support and understanding of the rest of the campus to bring what everybody wants,” said Ru.
Besides the restriction of bands, some students across the performing arts are facing logistical hurdles to accommodate an ASM performance. Wang gave insight into the sense of solidarity forming across campus as students are grappling with these changes.
“What’s been surprising is the amount of pushback from non-band groups too. Photon and Footnotes, for example, are also having trouble with the chapel setup, especially lighting and the carpet on stage…. Even some dance groups that aren’t directly affected are upset and want to stand in solidarity with bands. Overall, the feeling is strong: if there are no bands in Grasshopper, then maybe there shouldn’t be a Grasshopper at all,” said Wang.
