Students at Assumption College School took the stage for the first time in nearly three years during press night for their production of The Addams Family on Wednesday, April 27.
“I had never seen them perform it like this before,” director Naomi Ratelband said after the performance. “They stepped on stage tonight and completely became The Addams Family.”
The new comedy musical follows the famous family as they navigate a grown-up Wednesday Addams (Avery Furtado) falling in love with a “normal guy” named Lucas Beineke (Matthew Wilson).
The show was perfectly balanced, filled with catchy songs, creepy choreography, comedic moments that had the audience laughing along, and an important message about love and acceptance.
The Addams Family musical opened with a guitar solo by Lurch, played by Lucca Berardi, who’s few moans and groans throughout the show had audience members in stitches.
Gomez Addams, played by Massimo DiFelice, took the stage after the guitar solo to kick off the opening number. DiFelice was a centrepiece of the show, his accent, comedic timing and overall energy encapsulated the character of Gomez.
Gomez introduced his wife, Morticia Addams (Fabiana Alamo), to the crowd before curtains opened to reveal the entire family. Alamo’s Morticia balanced out the happy-go-lucky Gomez with her dark and demure energy, and strong vocals.
The set took the audience right into The Addams family’s home, with every quirk and cobweb perfectly placed.
In the midst of the love story between Wednesday and Lucas, their families come together to meet. Fester Addams (Connor Cabral) works with the family’s ancestors to ensure a marriage between the young lovebirds.
The love-obsessed Fester not only kept the story on track, but his comedic timing had the audience laughing every time he took the stage.
The ancestors and the dancestors added strong vocals and creepy choreography throughout the show, including some acrobatic work.
While Fester, Wednesday and Lucas worked to bring the families together, their own quirks and judgment tore them further and further apart.
Pugsley Addams (Emily Birrell) plays a role in tearing the couple apart, fearing that he would lose his sister if she gets married. Pugsley, alongside Grandma (Isabella Watson) added an additional layer of funny to the show.
Lucas’s parents Alice and Mal Beineke (Rose Malinowski and Jack Emery) are the classic white-collar family from Ohio, until an Addams family game sees Alice transform from her sweet, rhyming self into who she truly is.
In the end, the families realize an important lesson about accepting one another, no matter how different they may be.
“It feels good to finally perform it in front of an audience,” Alamo said after curtain call. “It was a relief that all of the jokes worked. It’s been a long process but we finally did it.”
Assumption College is the only school in the region that put on a musical this year.
The show opened to the public on Thursday, April 28 and runs until Saturday, April 30.
