Ghouls, ghosts and ghastly love: all of these elements contribute to the St. Louis University High’s Dauphin’s Players production of the Addams Family. 

The Addams Family has a longstanding history in pop culture. Originally appearing as single frame cartoons in The New Yorker drawn by cartoonist Charles Addams, it was quickly adapted into a TV series (1991) and later a movie. The story follows a family of monsters as they attempt to confront the world of humans. Even though it is a show focused on the lives of monsters, the SLUH production team knew that this would be the perfect show, the first one in front of an extended audience. 

“We are in a rebuilding year; for two thirds of our cast this was their first show,” said artistic director Kathryn Whitaker. “It was funny because none of us were very familiar with the show. It was a lot to have taken a year off in between and to come back with this difficult of a show. I'm glad we did, though, because we wanted to do something very character-driven and fun, which the Addams Family is.” 

A light layer of smoke fills the dark theater, the curtains open and there, center stage, is the center of all of the drama, Wednesday Addams (Nerinx senior Maclean Blanner). The adaptation being performed by the Dauphin Players follows the story of Wednesday falling in love with Lucas Beineke (sophomore Jack Janson), a young boy raised in a typical American family in Ohio. Wednesday decides to host a dinner for the two families to meet, revealing the central tension within the plot that causes a great amount of drama between the characters.

“It was about celebrating differences,” said Whitaker. “This was really a family like all of ours, except they explored and embraced the dark side of things. But they have huge family values: they love one another, they stick together. I think it’s a lovely piece with a good message.”

With a healthy dose of humor, the play also examines the mature themes of relationships, honesty, and what it means to be normal. Three couples: Wednesday and Lucas; Wednesday’s parents, Gomez Addams (freshman Paul Thibodeau) and Morticcia Addams (played by Sarah Henderson); and Lucas’s parents, Mal Beineke (sophomore Tim Browdy) and Alice Beineke (played by Sophia Weis) struggle with different issues in their romantic relationships. Through extravagant musical numbers and punchlines that will have every audience member laughing out loud, the Players tell the story of the eccentric family.

“We read the script and it was just so clever,” said choreographer Simonie Anzalone. “It was witty and had that dark side but was so lighthearted at the same time, so it felt right.”

For the past two months, the cast has been meticulously preparing for the show through many long, after school practices. Yet, within these long after school practices, the cast has found a great amount of joy in preparing for the musical together. 

“In the preparation for a show, the cast and crew form a family for that month and a half  or two months that you're rehearsing together for eight to ten hours a day,” said senior Donovan Meachem. “We have created a bond with each other that is just like nothing else and is incredible.” 

Preparing for this musical has taught the actors a great deal about the theater. For some, it taught them how to step outside of their comfort zone, for others: how to learn a new skill. 

“Playing my character, Fester Addams,  has given me a lot of room to play around and experiment, which really helped improve my acting,” said junior Andrew Marty. “I was also obviously pushed by having to play that banjolele, which I had to completely learn from scratch, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.” 

“I've had to learn how to really trust myself in making decisions, but also trust the production team by listening to what they have to say, and incorporating it,” said Thibodeau. “I have learned that flexibility is really important.”

The performance is open to the public with three shows remaining, tonight and Saturday night at 7:30 and a matinee production on Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at the SLUH box office website for $10.