On Thursday Oct. 20, Westerville South theater troupe 513 performed “The Addams Family” musical for their opening night. 

Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lipa, the musical follows Wednesday Addams, who has fallen in love with a boy and is now engaged. 

There are two driving points in the story line; the boy and his family are “normal” and coming over for dinner, in addition to Wednesday telling her father not to tell her mom they’re getting married. This creates a hilarious atmosphere as the audience follows the father Gomez, struggling with lying to his wife and the dynamics between the families during their dinner. 

Student performance is the reason this musical shined.  I was greatly impressed by the background vocals from the “Ancestors”, who are Gomez’ dead relatives from the past. They filled the stage with captivating dancing and singing in almost every scene while also not taking away the spotlight from the lead actors. 

Sophomore Clemantine Metz, who played one of the “Ancestor” roles said that this year was more difficult because “there were more eyes on me, so I had to make sure I always knew what was going on.” 

The leading characters of this show really took it to another level. Senior Peter Stoycos starring as Gomez performed his role phenomenally, personifying his character by donning an accent and even singing with it.  His consistent use of the accent was very impressive. 

Stoycos said this show was “by far my favorite show I’ve been in.”  Given the vibrant student performances, the audience could tell the cast loved being out there. 

The special effects and stage crew were able to masterfully put this show together. With many varying scenes in the show, from all of the rooms in the “Addams” household, to multiple different scenes in the forest, the set design helped convey and keep the storyline very clear. 

The manipulation of multiple settings was very impressive.  At one point in the musical, when Wednesday’s fiance Lucas, played by senior Tomas Hastings and his family are searching for the Addams house, the scene changes in seconds, with backgrounds coming from the ceiling creating a seamless transition. 

What would a musical be without music? The music really added to the show as a whole, with it sounding very professional. It really helps set the mood and punctuate what is going on in the show during those in-between moments. 

Unfortunately, one issue recurring multiple times throughout the show was the music being slightly overpowering. It was hard to hear some dialogue and even singing during some scenes.

The comedy in this show was a shining point, making not only me laugh out loud multiple times during the show but the whole theater. The script was very adult, which took me by surprise for a school show, but it made it that much more entertaining for an older audience.

While the jokes were funny, I believe the execution of most of them by the cast is what took it to the next level. The cast really made you engaged which made the long show feel like it went by in seconds. The entire show was quite light-hearted which made for a really enjoyable experience.