‘Addams Family impresses crowd
photo by Maggie Taylor
Wednesday and Morticia, played by senior Emma Matzinger and junior Catie Jackson, sing during a dress rehearsal. Jackson played Morticia on March 30.
The theater department entertained the crowd during of “The Addams Family” on March 29-31, the last production of the school year.
The ensemble played the theme song, and the audience was introduced to the Addams family during the first song. The ensemble included members of the band, with band directors Brad and Brian Kuperman conducting. Senior Sarah Gallagher was music director, and taught the notes and rhythms sung in the show.
“The best part was the last show when all our hard work paid off,” Gallagher said.
The Addams family consists of Gomez (junior Michael McNamara), Morticia, (senior Kara Brizendine and junior Catie Jackson), Wednesday, (senior Emma Matzinger), Pugsley, (sophomore Elizabeth Hardwick), Fester, (sophomore Jake Lippman) and the grandma, (sophomore Madison Walker).
Despite the fact that most actors were returners to the stage, the musical posed a challenge. “The Addams Family” involved singing, acting and dancing, as well as a live ensemble to play the songs. Brizendine took every opportunity of free time she had to practice.
“Whenever I [drove] to school, I [plugged] in my phone and [played] a karaoke track to my songs,” Brizendine said.
Although there were only a few lead roles, many actors remained on stage throughout the show. The ancestors consisted of 19 actors, and they watched the show from the stage. Even though they had no speaking roles, the ancestors participate in the songs and dances, and had to paint their body with white paint each night to look like ghosts.
Not only did the actors have to work on their dancing skills, but they had to develop into characters they were unfamiliar with.
“I’ve had to understand how to be a father, how to care for a daughter, how to be in a relationship with a wife, things that are years ahead of me,” McNamara said.
Morticia’s character switched each night, with Brizendine playing her on March 29 and 31, and Jackson playing her on March 30. Brizendine still enjoyed the opportunity to morph into a different character, however.
“I’m not used to playing a powerful character,” Brizendine said.
The department started to prepare since December, and had rehearsal from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday starting in January, and many students worked on their own time in addition to rehearsal every day. McNamara learned to develop into Gomez also by studying the character.
“I’ve gone to the movies, I’ve gone to the shows, and I’ve looked at the original cartoon,” said McNamara.
Putting all the aspects together posed as a challenge as well. Junior Vangeli Tsompanidis was the assistant director for the first time for “The Addams Family,” so it was a different challenge for him. He shadowed director Trevor Southworth, as well as gave critiques and recommendations to those acting.
“My first time trying to block a scene and give notes was really nerve racking,” said Tsompanidis.
Even with the hard work and long days, the musical proved successful. During the last show on Saturday, all of the seniors received a rose since it was their last time performing on stage. Many seniors chose to act in the musical rather than participate in the crew, simply because it was their last opportunity to act, and they wanted to take advantage of it.
“I wanted to be on cast just so I could be on stage one last time before I graduate,” senior Emma Matzinger said.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Hagerty High School. Your contribution helps us publish six issues of the BluePrint and cover our annual website hosting costs. Thank you so much!
