On October 28th-30th, Elkhorn High School premiered its fall musical: The Addams Family. Abby Thompson, the choir director for EHS, alongside English teacher Jeff Garst, were the two main directors for the play.
Having previously reviewed last year’s musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, I came into this review with expectations set extremely high and I was not disappointed. With the same criteria from last year, I would judge and review the playoff on the most important aspect, the performance, their behind-the-scenes effort, and attitude.
Prior to the official opening of The Addams Family, I had the chance to go and see behind the scenes of the musical. Whether it was mic checks, makeup, or even the set, everything was so detailed. I was amazed by the sheer amount of effort put into this musical.
Compared to last year, the set had much more attention to detail and was much more elaborate than last year. With up to 22 scenes divided up into two acts, the amount of effort to not only create these creative scenes but to also be able to quickly transition through them in a span of a few seconds is phenomenal.
“If I were to try to count, there were probably 60 to 80 students involved in some way shape, or form in the musical, and only about a quarter of those were students who are actually on stage.” assistant director Jeff Garst said.
Because of the amount of work that is done for the musical, I expected everyone to be more rushed and focused, but it was quite the opposite. Once, I walked into the choir room while everyone was preparing for the rehearsal, and I was welcomed with warm hellos and surprised faces. Lots of the cast from last year’s play, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, had recognized me and were excited by the fact that I was there. The musicals that are shown by this school are phenomenal and as a reporter, I love bringing light to the events that are left in the dark. This musical deserved to shine. The cast’s bright and sunny attitude was something that was a product of EHS’s musical program that obviously made both the cast and people a part of the musical come to love it so much.
“The students who are in the musical, especially the actors have been working together for 12 weeks to put on the show, and have become a very tight-knit group. They encourage each other, they celebrate the successes, and they help pick each other up.” Garst said.
The musical was split into two parts, Act 1 and Act 2, with Act 1 consisting of 12 scenes and Act 2 with 10 scenes. Each act had a sense of story much more captivating than your regular old musical. Starting off with a group of characters such as the Addams family, and getting a sense of attachment to all of the characters was something anybody watching the musical could feel. One specific detail I noticed was the use of props and costumes. Throughout the musical, certain props and costumes were much more relevant and important to the story, unlike last year, which was more of a performance than a show. The small use of a prop set up an amazing story and was able to give a sense of realistic value to the musical, such as the use of the Sacred Chalice in the scene “Waiting”, starring Alice played by Michaela Todd.
The performance for the musical was out of this world. It consisted of many solos and amazing choreography to go along with the amazing singing. Throughout the entire musical, scenes such as “Pulled”, played by Senior Jocey Logue, and “Waiting”, played by Senior Michaela Todd, were amazing songs with impressive acting that really caught my eye. However, my MVP of the musical had to be Alice Beineke played by Michaela Todd. Todd’s singing alongside her amazing acting performance was just a joy to witness. Many other scenes were able to take my attention but “Waiting” really set the bar high for future performances.
This musical made it near to impossible to not write about it. It was captivating, entertaining, and delightful. Picking the MVP was not easy with many others to choose from such as Jocey Logue who played Wednesday Addams, Fischer Kirven who played Gomez Addams, and Logan Kieckhafer who played Uncle Fester.
In conclusion, The Addams Family was an amazing experience for both a viewer and a reporter. Being able to both watch the musical build itself up and watch the final product in the crowd was an experience nobody would ever replicate. I give applause to the cast, the directors, and everybody involved. I’m excited about next year’s musical, and cannot wait for them to blow my expectations away once again.

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