The Addams Family: Crazier than yours, and now onstage

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

They’re creepy and they’re kooky. Mysterious and spooky.

The family we all love to wonder at is coming to Charles City’s stage, thanks to the high school drama department’s production of “The Addams Family Musical.”  And little Wednesday Addams, who memorably taught Lurch how to dance, is facing some grown-up problems.

“It’s causing quite a hubbub already, because there are a lot of people who know the show as far as the movies and the TV show back in the mid 1960s,” director Michelle Grob, 7-12 TAG instructor in Charles City, said.

“They look funny, they seem to act funny, but really at the core of it they’re just like any other family in the sense that they love each other, they take care of each other in a weird way,” she said. “There’s a really deep message about family I think, and of acceptance of who you really are, and when you’re a high school kid that’s a pretty important lesson.”

But there’s also torture chairs and Wednesday’s trusty crossbow. As Wednesday introduces her six family members to her sweetheart’s very different family, a cast of dead ancestors is there to provide support during a dinner that does not go as planned.

“We have a good, solid cast this year, and some good leaders,” music director Derek Sturtevant said. “(The ancestors) are kind of the unseen, wise helpers to make the action happen.”

Charles City students are being reacquainted with characters first envisioned by cartoonist Charles Addams. Grob contacted Addams’ estate earlier this year for permission to share some of his famous one-panel cartoons in the program, and they responded positively.

“They sent back a message saying, ‘Charles Addams being shown by the Charles City High School in Charles City, Iowa — I think enough said.’ So they were on board,” Grob said, laughing.

Rehearsals on the show have been ongoing since the first week of school, with choreography led by K-4 music teacher Alexis Finder. The costume and prop departments are having a lot of fun navigating the ‘look’ of the Addams Family and their dead ancestors, Grob said.

“The costuming is tons of fun,” Grob said. “Looking at all these time periods — we have a woman suffragette, and a caveman … But we need them all in gray, or blue or white, because they’re dead.”

And then the iconic costumes — everyone knows what Morticia or Wednesday wears. That might actually make this show harder to costume, she said.

“For some of those like Morticia, we bought one. We have a seamstress making Wednesday’s to look exactly like it. People know this show, they expect them to look a certain way,” Grob said. “If you do ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ everybody expects Dorothy to look a certain way because of the movie.”

This year’s Agricultural Construction class also took the lead on building the biggest set piece: a staircase that takes central stage.

“Otherwise it’s pretty minimalistic” to keep set changes between scenes short, Grob said.

There will be hints of the classic show throughout the production — keep an ear out for that theme song — but it also brings music that never was a part of the TV series or the movies.

“All of the music numbers are going to be new to (the audience),” Grob said. “It’s beautiful music, it’s some freaky music, because they’re a freaky family. That will be a fun part of it.”

This year’s high school show will also offer community members a more convenient way to purchase tickets ahead of the Nov. 3-4 performances, both at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.showtix4u.com by searching ‘Charles City’.

“We needed to modernize. It was becoming very labor-intensive, and we weren’t able to keep records like we do now. I think it frees us up for other things,” Sturtevant said.

Audience members can select their seats online starting Oct. 23, and print off their tickets. A link will also be available through the Charles City Community School District website, Sturtevant said. Tickets are $4 for students and $7 for adults. The district is also selling tickets at the central office at 500 North Grand, and accepts cash or check.