The fall musical, “The Addams Family,” was performed on Nov. 10-12. The musical was inspired from the characters of the Addams family but with a new storyline. Every student that participated in the annual musical did an excellent job at showcasing each character and the show overall. 

To kickoff the musical, the opening scene started off with the Addams gathered by each other and singing, giving the audience a feel of what the family is like. The scene was dark and gave off haunted house vibes. This captivated everyone from the start as more and more characters began to show up on the stage. Each character was dressed differently, like a football player, ballerina, or a cavewoman, all ghosts from the family’s past. The ghosts had one mission and were not able to leave until they helped Wednesday, played by sophomore Aleea Lictenberg. Lictenberg did a superb job playing the role of Wednesday with the perfect costume and hair to complete the look. One thing that stood out was the changes Wednesday goes through as the musical continues. 

The storyline for the Addams Family was to help Wednesday finally be with Lucas Beineke, played by sophomore Aidan Pierstorff. The diversity between the Addams and the Beineke’s family was quite clear and gave the audience many laughs. The Addams were dark and mysterious. They dressed in black, lived near a cemetery and even had ghosts enter into their home. On the other hand, the Bieneke’s came from Ohio and gave the impression of being bright, bubbly, and talkative. Their style was modern day clothing and even though they were from Ohio, it looked like they could have come from New York. 

This musical had a strong comedic side that came from Morticia and Gomez. Senior Anna Schumacher played the role of Morticia and she perfectly executed the tone in Morticia’s voice, as well as the hand movements. Gomez was played by senior Ethan Brunke. Brunke did a fantastic job with the accent and being over the top in love with Morticia and his tutelage to the rest of the family. 

The following scenes gave the audience a look into how each character acted after learning that Lucas and his family would be attending a dinner at the Addams’. Usually, in the movie, we see Wednesday as the dull girl obsessed with death. But, the personality of Wednesday in the musical is someone that wants to make an impression on Lucas’s family and actually cares about the opinions of others. 

Junior Jenna Tuinstra was cast in the role of Pugsley. The bond between Wednesday and Pugsley was Wednesday getting the pleasure of hurting Pugsley. This concept was understood by the family up until Pugsley didn’t feel wanted by Wednesday anymore. During a scene when the Addams and the Bieneke families were all seated at the table for dinner, Pugsley had taken a potion from the Grandma, played by junior Kate Femali. The goal Pugsley had in mind was to slip it into Wednesday’s drink so that it would bring out Wednesday’s dark side and her and Lucas would fall out of love. Instead, it was given to Lucas’s mother, Alice Bieneke, played by senior Laurel Miller. Miller displayed an excellent role of being a cheerful mother as well as, having another side to her personality after drinking the potion. 

The father, Mal Bieneke, played by senior Jeffrey Manata, comes to discover problems that he has been facing in his marriage. This musical displays heartfelt moments that all people can learn from and or relate to. 

As all that chaos is taking place, Uncle Fester, played by senior Spencer Goettl, has confessed to being in love with the moon. The happiness brought out from Fester, lifts up the tension in the room. Goettl does an exceedingly great job coming into scenes with brightness and new hopes for the family. His solos wowed the audience as he always had a ukulele in hand. 

A divide does come between Wednesday and Lucas but, at the end of the day, the family knew what was best for the both of them and pushed aside their differences. 

This musical set the bar this year, with the costumes, set, singing and comedy. The outstanding cast members and pit orchestra perfectly tied the musical together. 

Rating: 5/5