Last night my husband and I enjoyed a night out at the theater . . . our local high school’s theater, that is, and its production of The Addams Family (musical). Being former public school teachers, we like to support the arts programs at our local schools, especially as those programs often face diminishing budgets. We had an added interest in attending the performance, as our neighbors’ very talented granddaughter was playing Wednesday in this production. We joined them in cheering on Peyton and her castmates in what turned out to be a funny, lively musical.

The original Broadway production opened in 2010 and garnered several Tony nominations, including for Outstanding Musical. It features all the members of the Addams family most of us came to know primarily through the 1960s sitcom or the 1990s movie (though I’m sure the performers we watched probably know them best via Wednesday, the Netflix series which premiered in 2022). The plot of the musical begins with the revelation that a grown-up Wednesday has fallen for a “normal” boy and follows the misunderstandings, conflicts and comedy that ensue as the two very different families meet for the first time over dinner at the Addams family mansion.

We’ve attended several performances at the Crater High School auditorium, and I have always been impressed with the modern, comfortable theater itself and the quality of the production elements as well. The forestage area of the auditorium was adorned with tombstone cutouts, and when the curtains were opened, they revealed Gothic-inspired set pieces hinting at a somewhat creepy, dimly-lit mansion. An annual Addams celebration of their ancestors drew out a ghostly crew from the family crypt (the dancers and ensemble) dressed in all-white costumes suggesting the generations ranging as far back as cavemen and including conquistadors, Renaissance courtiers, 1920s flappers, ’50s teeny boppers and miniskirted go-go dancers. The costumes and wigs were impressive, as was the fairly complicated choreography through several numbers.

We also found that several actors portraying the main characters, including Gomez, Morticia and Wednesday, had strong, true voices, and they and the other featured actors did a fine job of portraying their characters’ conflicts and struggles and handling the comedic delivery of their lines. There were amusing current references dropped into the script (including “six-seven”), delivered with a wink and a nod to the audience, which were met with a great deal of laughter.

We found ourselves standing and applauding the young actors at the end of the evening, along with their friends and families, appreciative of a fun evening with the creepy Addams family.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor