While most parents in our world bemoan teenage rebellion, the parents of the Addams Family, Gomez (Fred Chien) and Morticia (Stefanie Mayer) have a completely different problem: why is their daughter Wednesday not acting like her normal, psychopathic self? Following the lives of Wednesday Addams (Olivia Houston) and Lucas Beineke (Samir Mahtani) as they defy their upbringings, students will present The Addams Family musical from October 26 to 29 in the auditorium.

The production is a musical, which will be a unique experience for many of the cast members who specialize in theater. From singing, to dancing, to acting, the performers will have to learn to juggle it all. Not to mention the intrinsic difficulties of acting in a comedy: “It’s definitely the hardest genre to act out,” says director Mr. Edwards. “The actors need to learn how to present humor in a way that’s appealing to the audience, and that’s hard.”

They also have a very short time frame to work with, and a lengthy script to learn. “We’ve definitely been challenged, with basically nonstop rehearsals,” says Olivia Houston (10). “But it’s been interesting and challenging to get to know my character.”

The Addams Family will not only stretch the technical limits of actors, but the mindsets of the audience, as well. Mr. Edwards hopes that it will also inspire thought. Addams Family contains more depth than expected at first glance. “We’ve had a long trend of showing productions with a real message in them,” says Mr. Edwards. “But Addams Family is different from many of the more serious ones we’ve put out. It’s a comedy, but it’s also about love and accepting another’s differences. It makes you think.”

Reese McMillan (12), who will be playing the deranged Uncle Fester says, “It’s different from other plays we’ve shown before because it looks so different and shocking at first. But when you take a second look at it, Addams Family has a lot of universal themes we’ve seen in other books in plays before.”

“This is going to be really great,” says Samir Mahtani (10). “I think the audience will really enjoy it.” Living, dead, or undecided, all will enjoy this show. Watch out for ticket sales under the skybridge, beginning the first week of October!