Ensights Magazine
High School Musical: The Addams Family
Shawn Knight, Director of the production of The Addams Family, describes the hit musical that happened in early March.
In 2009, I had the joy of seeing a pre-Broadway Chicago tryout of The Addams Family. I loved much about it and found some things too bizarre even for the Addams crew. I vividly remember picking up my tickets that afternoon at the theatre for the evening’s show and passing three gentlemen energetically talking about the show as they entered the theatre. They were the show’s creators, and at that stage, they were changing the show daily. They would watch the show nightly with 1,500 audience members, gauge their reactions, then alter the show to strengthen it. This continued until they hit Broadway. If you happen to catch any of the early versions on youtube, you will note much has changed.
What has not changed is the humor and love of the Addams family. When the original musical was created, the Addams estate charged the artists with creating an original story inspired solely by the original one-panel comics, not the television series. And so they did!
The show has wit, passion, love, and quirky ancestors returned from the grave. All the wacky characters with all their beloved oddities grace our stage, and there is plenty of weirdness and humor. But a show like this doesn’t work without heart, and this show has it. At its core, The Addams Family is just that—a family. While I hope you laugh (and maybe shudder, at times), I also hope you invest in the story of this family, at a moment of letting go, when the roles of parents and children shift. We all experience these shifts, and so must the Addamses.
It is little wonder to me that The Addams Family has ranked as the most-produced high school musical for the past few years, and I am pleased we present it for you tonight. As bizarre as our Addams friends may seem, I hope they shed light on the human experience—an experience (if we’re lucky) of wonder, trust, empathy, and unassailable devotion to and from those we call our family.
Share This Article
List of 4 news stories.
-
A Letter from Prentice Stabler
Prentice Stabler, Head of School, greets the Ensworth community in this Winter 2024 edition of Ensights.Read More -
Memories & Influences: A Reflection of Taylor Thomas Wellman '08
Taylor Thomas Wellman, a member of the inaugural Class of 2008, reflects upon her time as a member of that enterprising first class.Read More -
The Founding of Ensworth's High School: A Risk Worth Taking
The spirit of a place is evident. If enough people believe in something, it becomes a truth. If enough people believe that truth, it becomes a culture. A culture passed from one generation to the next is a tradition. Everyone came together in support of the vision and In Search of Truth.Read More -
Creative Technology Center: Inspiring the Next Generation of Creators
Read MoreEnsworth is committed to providing our students with access to the latest technology and an expert faculty. The new Creative Technology Center at the High School, featuring an engineering-oriented instructional space, a full-service broadcast suite and control center, a dedicated home for the Robotics team and arena, a podcast studio, and a well-equipped digital media and computer science classroom, opened in the fall of this year.
Red Gables Campus (K–8)
Frist Campus (9–12)
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.