‘The Addams Family’ continues at KI High

According to the playbill: “The Addams Family,” a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story and it’s every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before — keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.

Kevin Reagan has been directing shows at KIHS since 2008.

“We like to pick a show that will challenge students in the program. ‘The Addams Family’ is a different production than we normally do, but there’s value in doing that for students who don’t always want to do a Disney classic,” he said. “The best part of my job is seeing the final product. The work, effort, time and commitment the students put in is amazing, and I enjoy seeing how it all comes together.”

Reagan said people would be surprised to know how much of the musical is student driven. “For the most part, the students are running the show. It’s their show. I don’t think the audience fully understands the amount of work students are doing. The type of quality the students put into the show is fascinating to see,” he said.

Reagan added he believes “The Addams Family” brings generations together, “There is a relation for the older generation seeing the TV show and movies they grew up with. For the new generation, you have the current hit Netflix show ‘Wednesday.’”

Wednesday is played by senior Elise Parks, who said, “I think this show is funny and breaks a lot of conventions we’ve set here in Kent Island. It’s such a fun show. I can’t think of a better way to spend my senior year than with my cast mates, crew and orchestra pit.”

She added, “The show is called ‘The Addams Family,’ with emphasis on family. Our theater group is one big family. We all love one another. Despite it being a dark show, there’s a lot of light exuding from the stage.”

Elise said her favorite part of the play “is this emotional moment between Morticia and Wednesday. After all the comedy in the show, there is a powerful scene about parent/child relationships. They learn they have to accommodate each other — it’s not just one person’s way or the other. They come to learn to accept each other.”

Morticia is played by senior Lilly McKendry, who described her character as “the head of the house, a femme fatale. She’s the coolest person ever who doesn’t put up with anything.”

She said people should come see the show because “it’s fun. KIHS is notorious for putting on a good show every year. It’s definitely worth the money to come see it because it helps students learn how to make friends and be a part of the community.”

Freshman Nicholas Sinchi characterizes his character, Pugsley, as “a trouble-making, naive little brother to Wednesday who doesn’t want her to leave,” so he devises antics which cause the main problem in the musical.

Nicholas said, “The play becomes very chaotic because of Pugsley’s devious intentions. My favorite scene in the production is when Pugsley is spinning around on a torture device. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs. It’s so much fun!”

Senior Michael Kelly describes his character Gomez as “a very out there, funky person who exaggerates everything.”

He praised the acting and the set desgin. “They’re doing things they’ve never done before like using a lot of big pieces. It’s beautifully put together,” he said.

Junior Noah Zeitlin, who plays Lurch, said patrons will have a fun night out. “It’s a great show full of jokes that will have people laughing constantly.”

For tickets, go to https://www.showtix4u.com/.