A lot of hard work and care went into this year’s junior high production of The Addams Family. Directed by Mrs. Birkmeier, the show explores themes of love in the world of the Addams, characters that have been around since 1938. The show performed on November 22 and 23 with two 7 pm shows and one Saturday matinee and was a big success.
In the musical, the Addams family are a creepy yet loving family. Wednesday Addams, the 18 year old daughter of the family, has fallen in love with a boy named Lucas Beineke, an average guy from Ohio. The show starts with the family summoning their ancestors, but before the ghosts can leave, Uncle Fester informs just the ghosts of Lucas and Wednesday. He refuses to let the ghosts go back to their crypt until the show resolves and the ensemble of ghosts have to stay with the living family. Lucas and his parents, Mal and Alice, come to the Addams family house for dinner where Wednesday plans to inform everyone of their engagement. She tells her father, Gomez, first, who then struggles to keep the secret for the rest of the show.
The families don’t get along very well, which culminates in the dinner game “full disclosure” where players spill their secrets. Pugsley, Wednesday’s little brother, plans on using a potion to make Wednesday revert to her true self, which he thinks will make her fall out of love with Lucas. However, Lucas’s mother, Alice, drinks it instead which drives a wedge between her and Mal. Wednesday reveals she’s going to marry Lucas which only causes further chaos. In act two, Lucas and Wednesday argue about getting married, Alice and Mal continue their fight and Morticia is furious at Gomez for keeping secrets. The show ends with the couples making up, and Wednesday and Lucas get married at the end.
The show was directed by Mrs. Birkemeier and the vocal direction was done by Mr. D’Agostino. Mrs. Brewer was the conductor for the orchestra and performers. Mrs. Bishoping did the choreography and Mr. Caughlin ran the stage crew. The student directors were Eliza Kostecki, Vivian Szymanowicz and Sadie Repass.
Gomez was played by Ezekial Masters. He was able to deliver an amazing performance with a Spanish accent while still speaking clearly. His body language was very energetic and engaging, and he had great comedic timing. Gomez sings the most throughout the show, which meant Ezekiel had to have a lot of stamina to get through all three shows, and his performance in the opening number was just as strong as his finale. I’d like to highlight the ending of “Not Today” where he jumps up an octave and still maintains his clarity.
Morticia was played by Leah Hamilton. She established the character of Mortica very well, pulling off the gothic personality without dipping into apathy towards others. She’s a very theatrical character and Leah was able to bring that energy, especially in scenes with her at the forefront. She has a very strong voice that doesn’t waver no matter how difficult the music is or how she’s dancing.
Wednesday was played by Josie Adams. Her solo song “Pulled” was very impressive, staying with the tempo and keeping her words clear, even in the faster parts. She held the audience’s attention and made Wednesday likable instead of bratty, someone who loves her family and her fiance and just wants the best for everyone.
Alice was played by Sammy Piotrowski, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Sammy had an amazing opening night, but the next morning found she had lost her voice. Unable to sing for the Saturday shows, the directors had to find someone to sing Alice’s part and settled on Vivian Szymanowicz, the student director. Sitting in the wings with a mic and her eyes on Sammy and Mrs. Brewer, she came in whenever Alice’s character sang. Despite the stressfulness of the situation, it was a big success. Switching from Sammy’s speaking voice to Vivian’s singing voice was smooth, with it being hard to notice if you weren’t familiar with how both sounded. Without having to sing, Sammy was able to put a lot more into her physical performance, especially during Alice’s song, “Waiting.”
Lucas was played by Dakota Saar and Mal was played by Colin Issacs, who had great chemistry between each other. Uncle Fester was played by Angelina Carpenter, who had a lot of energy. Serving as a bit of a narrator, she kept the show feeling light and exciting. Pugsely was played by Zack Holcomb, who was very fun to watch. Grandmama was played by Julia Barnes, who did very well with the loud and eccentric character. Lurch was played by Bryce Rowlands, who had great physical acting.
The ensemble was made of the Addams family ancestors, featuring a ghost bride, cheerleader, judge, flapper and so on. The featured dance ensemble were part of every song, while the full ensemble was onstage for only the bigger numbers. The dances were very fun and visually engaging. The ensemble vocals came together very well. Each vocal part was clear, the singers stayed together and on tempo, and the lyrics were understandable despite the amount of people singing them. This is all thanks to their hard work and Mrs. Brewer’s excellent conducting.
The orchestra was one of the best parts of the show, complimenting the performers on stage and then taking the spotlight for instrumental songs. Mrs. Brewer kept the show together, especially on Saturday with Vivian singing for Sammy. The orchestra is very professional, made even more impressive by so many of them being students at Victor.
A lot of work went into the show beyond the performers and musicians. The backdrop of the Addam’s house looked really good, as did other set pieces like the graveyard or outside by the lake. The indoor set of the house was very impressive, with levels to it and openings for people to pop out of.
The stage crew did a great job with all the behind the scenes things such as props and set changes. The costumes were all great, especially some of the fun ancestor outfits. Some that stood out were the ballerina, flapper, judge, and bride. The hair and makeup for the ancestors was also impressive with all the black and white makeup alongside the white and gray wigs.
Musicals are huge endeavors with many moving parts and lots of people contributing to the final product. It was so amazing to see a show where all that hard work and effort paid off to create a great experience for everyone who got to see it.
