Last week I saw Seattle Academy’s production of The Addams Family. This play, originally written by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, was expertly executed. The production’s major theme was to illuminate the unrealistic perception of normality by showing that no family is normal.
In the play Wednesday Addams (played by Lily Staton ‘18) wants to have her new boyfriend over for dinner at the Addams family home, but is worried of the impression her family may give him. Because she has an extremely eccentric family, Wednesday fears that her boyfriend Lucas’s (played by Lake Lewis ‘18) family will not accept the Addams, and will forbid their teenage relationship. There are many ironic exchanges between families as the audience sees that Lucas’s family is quite strange as well. A few of the main characters were: Gomez (played by Nate Abbott ‘16), Morticia (played by Kat Stokes ‘16), Uncle Fester (played by Isaiah Barnett ‘16), and Malcolm Beineke (played by Caper Woodson ‘17).
The Addams family was well produced and rehearsed, as it seemed that the characters were very comfortable with their roles, and were ubiquitously in character. Not only were most of the actors great singers, but the lead roles were experts. Hitting a wide range of notes, Gomez (Nate Abbott), Morticia (Kat Stokes), and Wednesday (Lily Staton) sounded very professional. Nearly all of the characters had believable and accurate physical gestures. Not only was the play interesting itself, but another draw to the audience was the charisma and movement of the characters.
Theater technician and set designer, Ed Hofmann did a brilliant job setting up the stage and surrounding structures. The props were intelligently chosen and placed in the proper locations. They were also very believable and often displayed a message to the audience, without the actors necessarily having to say it.
The lighting provided an accurate mood to match the dark characters of the Addams family. The spotlights illuminated specific events and characters such as Pugsley (Celine Opdyke ‘16) when he poisons the wine glass being passed around. Pugsley is shown splashing a few drops of his grandmother’s potion in the wine glass, hoping to maker his sister Wednesday normal again. The costumes were well fitting for each character and told a lot about them before they could display their own charisma.
In terms of the audience and their connection with the actors, there was clearly an intimacy between parties. The actors received positive feedback from the audience during the play, which improved the experience for all.