Mysterious and spooky: Carson theatre troupe to perform The Addams Family
Published 12:10 am Saturday, April 6, 2024
Tyler Madden, Gomez, sings to his wife Morticia, played by Makenna Hinson with Pugsley, Clint Efird and Uncle Fester, Logan Bryant, listen.
The storm gets ready to hit in this scene.
From left are Grayce Pittman as Grandma, Clint Efird as Pugsley, Maggie Cross as Wednesday and Grant Hayes as Lurch.
Clint Efird, as Pugsley, gets ready to pour the secret potion into the chalice.
Grayce Pittman as Grandma Addams, shows surprise at the dinner table.
From left, Logan Bryant as Uncle Fester, Clint Efird as Pugsley, Maggie Cross as Wednesday and Owen Hurlocker as Lucas Beineke listen intently during "the game."
Makenna Hinson as Morticia Addams is surrounded by Grant Hayes as Lurch and some of the Ancestors.
Tyler Madden, as Gomez Addams, stands, as Owen Hurlocker as the Beineke family, from left, Owen Hurlocker as Owen, Berayden Carter as Mel and Celia Sifford as Alice with ancestors behind listen closely.
Everyone gathers around the dinner table and the game in this scene.
Clint Efird as Pugsley Addams looks at the secret potion.
Celia Sifford as Alice Beineke sings to Lurch, Grant Hayes.
CHINA GROVE — They are a great big family coming together to share the story of another family.
And the community can watch it unfold as members of the theater department at Jesse C. Carson High School performs The Addams Family musical on April 11-14 at the school, 290 Kress Venture Drive, China Grove. Cost is $10 for general admission and $15 for reserved seating.
There are 50 members of the cast and crew that are involved in the production, including those onstage and those helping with the technical aspect, shared Megan Wyatt, chorus teacher and music director for the musical, her 14th show at the school.
Chuck Carte is the school’s theater teacher, and he is the director for the show, which will be his second musical, and choreographer for the show is Ashlyn Keller-Silver.
When it came to selecting this year’s production, Wyatt said that she, Carte and Keller-Silver gathered and discussed several possibilities that the students were capable of performing.
“The possibilities were numerous, but we wanted to do a dark comedy and The Addams Family was a favorite of ours,” Wyatt said. “We knew our students had the talent and ability to sing it, act it and dance it.”
Keller-Silver was familiar with the musical and had experience with it, having choreographed the show several times previously.
The production is a true group effort, as Wyatt said the “show truly is a combination of our talented arts department” telling that the set was designed and built by Carte’s technical theater class, artwork on the stage was done by Carson students, several band members are a part of the cast, the “crew members have amazing technical skills and are essential to the success of the show,” and there’s the incredible talent of those on stage.
In addition to these at the school, they received additional support in the form of a grant from the Rowan Arts Council, Wyatt shared, to provide costumes and make-up for each of the characters.
“Make-up and clothing choices were so much fun to create. The Rowan Arts Council really helped make these characters come to life,” she said.
Rehearsals began in January and has been a “whirlwind of excitement from the very beginning,” said Wyatt.
The students have worked very hard on their dance numbers with both Keller-Silver and student choreographer Savannah Goodwin and practiced vocals weekly with Wyatt combining the two when they learned the dances.
Because of the hard work put into the musical is one reason both Carte and Wyatt would encourage others to attend the performance.
Plus it’s lots of fun, Carte said. “It is at its core a family show. It celebrates what makes us different and how on some level we’re all the same. The students and my wonderful partners and I have worked so hard to bring the best version of this musical to the community.”
“These students are incredibly talented and deserve an audience that appreciates their abilities,” Wyatt said. “They’ve worked so hard to put together a show for the community. You never know, there may be a kid on that stage who makes it to the big leagues one day and you can say, ‘man I saw him when he was in that show at Carson and I knew he’d make it.’”
When asked if this particular musical was more challenging as far as costumes or other aspects than others, Keller-Silvers said that every show and cast is unique.
“Even though I have been a part of this show before on the creative side, with each cast you discover new opportunities to showcase the talents of that cast. With that in mind, each show is uniquely different,” she said.
This year’s play has been a special time, especially for seniors, as this will be their final spring performance for their high school careers.
Clint Efird, a senior, who is performing as Pugsley Addams, said he has seen many leave and there’s always those sad goodbyes, “now it’s my turn. It’s surreal, kinda crazy, very emotional.”
He has plans to continue his career in the theater as he is committed to attending Catawba where, he said, “they have probably the best theater department near us, and so I’m very excited for that.”
The time in theater is also a teaching tool as shared by
Carmen Coble, also a senior, who is the stage manager.
“A culmination of all of my work in theater over the past three years and I have better leadership skills as well as creating closer relationships with the people around me, Coble said.”
Several others stressed the family atmosphere of their time in the theater including Makenna Hinson, a junior, who plays Morticia Addams and Maggie Cross, who has the role of Wednesday Addams.
Hinson, who has been doing church theater all of her life and in school performances since a freshman, said being a part of this play “means having a family outside of blood” plus it provides a time for both fun and being her true self and being serious and experiencing the love of acting.
For Cross, also a junior, she said she has been involved in theater since she was five and performed with the Piedmont Players and other theaters and this is her second show at Carson.
While she doesn’t see a career in it, she does think she might participate in more community theater or shows in college.
Being a part of this group, Cross said, “means a ton, because actually it does create a big family, but it’s also a way to express yourself and portray someone you really aren’t. It’s a lot of fun.”
For senior Owen Hurlocker, who will play the role of Wednesday’s boyfriend Lucas Beineke, this is his first musical, and he said, “it’s been a blast. I definitely regret not doing it longer. This experience has been awesome,” and shared how helpful everyone has been.
Hurlocker said he could see himself being in some productions at Western Carolina, where he plans to attend college.
Tyler Madden, a sophomore, plays the role of Gomez, in the musical. This will be his third show having been in theater since his freshman year.
For Madden, he said for him personally, to be a part of the play is “a great opportunity to find my true meaning in life, like what I’m going to do next” and that would include acting throughout high school and into college.
When asked what it’s like to step out on stage, he said, “for me it’s to impress an audience and perform for them and give them a show and make this a job in life.”
Others in the production include Brayden Carter as Mel Beineke, Celia Sifford as Alice Beineke, Logan Bryant as Uncle Fester, Grayce Pittman as Grandma Addams, Grant Hayes as Lurch, and many joining the stage as the ancestors.
Curtains will rise for the first performance on Thursday, and Carte and Wyatt said prior to the students going on stage, they provide words of advice.
“I always remind them that everyone in the audience is a person who has come to support them and see them do well,” Carte said. “I also make sure that they know that I am so proud of them and so thankful for the opportunity to work with them. They really are the best kids in the state, and we’re lucky to have them.”
Wyatt said she tells them, “nervousness is a good thing. Your nerves can be a positive testament to your hard, conscientious work. Go out there and do your very best! I want you to be proud of your product.”
