By Catherine Freytag ‘26
This February, The Addams Family will be taking the Mac Hall stage as the St. Andrew’s winter musical.
The story of the Addams Family has been around long before it came to the stage, and has been adapted many times since the quirky, creepy, oddball crew first appeared in a series of comics in the 1940s.
The comics were then adapted to the screen in two seasons of TV in the ‘60s. But that was a long time ago. If you know the story from anywhere, it’s probably from the 2022 Netflix series Wednesday or maybe the 1991 movie The Addams Family.
As opposed to the drawn out plots of other renditions, the Addams Family musical puts a different twist on the iconic family tale. The plot focuses on feisty Wednesday Addams (played by senior Kati Ahuja), the eldest daughter of proud Gomez Addams (played by junior Cameron Best), and his poised wife Mortica (played by senior Ada Shin), as Wednesday grapples with a new experience: love.
Normally, the Addams’ are disgusted by all the sappy stuff, but Wednesday might just have an exception in her new boyfriend Lucas. The Addams Family walks the audience through one crazy night when Wednesday braves the storm and brings Lucas and his family over for dinner, where secrets are revealed and families come together.
To get some insight on the behind the scenes aspect of preparations for this production, the director Mr. Porter was asked a few questions about his involvement.
The process of choosing a show each year is an important one, and there are many aspects that go into the decision. While the final call is left up to show director Mr. Porter himself, he gets input from assistant director Mr. Mitchell (a new addition to the team this year!) music director Mr. Yonce, technical director Mr. Zastrow, among others. These faculty members also “get great ideas from our cast and crew and often we will pick shows that they recommend.” This policy makes for lots of fun during rehearsals as cast members pitch ideas for future musicals and plays, and in past cases like The Lightning Thief and The Sound of Music, students got what they wished for!
So, if you have a favorite musical or an idea for one you would like to see from the St. Andrew’s cast, it never hurts to suggest it. The creative team tries to have fun with the themes each year, and work to keep it exciting and new.
In the words of Mr. Porter, “[The Addams Family Musical] is fun, quirky, with great music and while the Addams Family is quite, shall we say, unconventional, they value family and community, and the message of the show is uplifting. Be true to yourself, and value love and family. ”
At its core, it’s a heartfelt tale of unity and acceptance, and it would be a mistake not to come see for yourself!