KIRWAN HIGH MUSICAL
When
Charles Addams put pen to paper in 1938 and created the cartoons The Addams Family for the New Yorker magazine, little could he have known that he was creating a phenomenon that would last for decades, and be re-imagined time after time.
The family’s popularity skyrocketed after being adapted into a popular 1964-1966 TV sitcom and they have become a pop culture mainstay, inspiring TV series, films and video games.
They even became the subject of a musical, which opened on Broadway in 2010, and while it wasn’t that well received by critics, the public disagreed and, with a little reworking, it has proved an enduring hit in youth and community theatre productions and has played in more than three dozen countries.
Now the creepy, kooky musical is being brought to the stage by Kirwan High School for their annual musical extravaganza, which will play at the Townsville Civic Theatre next week.
Described as a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, the show features a family crisis: Gomez and Morticia’s dark, macabre, beloved daughter Wednesday has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. Worse still, she’s invited her beau Lucas and his parents to their home for dinner.
In one fateful, hilarious night, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change.
Director of the Kirwan High production, Laura Howden, says in the school’s long history of musical productions they have staged many popular shows, including The Wedding Singer and Popstars! The 90s Musical.
“When we were looking at what show to do for 2023, the trailer for the Netflix series Wednesday just came out and it was creating a lot of interest,” she said. “Girls started coming to school with their hair in two plaits.”
Ms Howden said by comparison to past musicals, The Addams Family is quite dark and macabre, but it generates a lot of laughs as well, and the cast is having great fun bringing the story to the stage.
Siblings Maddison and Benjamin Lindgren both have featured roles in the show, Ben as the Addams’ son Pugsley and Maddy as Alice, the mother of love interest Lucas, and they are very excited about the upcoming show.
“It’s a lot of fun – it gives everyone the chance to do characters like ghosts and ghouls, they’re all very different roles, you get to use different voices, and it’s got great costumes,” said Maddy.
“There’s a lot of audience engagement – the show’s written for laughs and you connect – I really like that; watching is also part of the experience.”
For Ben being part of the show is a chance to enjoy the fun and energy of being on stage with an enthusiastic group of people who are doing what they love.
“You’re surrounded by friends and there’s a lot of passion on the stage,” he said.
“You learn how to work as a group, how to react on stage, and I really like to sing.
“But it’s just as exciting for the audience as it is for us.”
The commitment of the cast and crew is important – there are more than 50 students in the cast, plus band and backstage crew – work on the production began in the third term of 2022, and Ms Howden has been eating, sleeping and breathing it ever since.
“The main thing is seeing the professional level of talent in people so young,” she said.
“It’s going to be a great show – we want everyone to come and see it!”
It’s going to be a great show – we want everyone to come and see it.
The Addams Family will play the Civic Theatre May 25-27. Tickets cost from $29.95 – to book call 4727 9797 or email ticketshop@townsville.qld.gov.au