When Spooky Meets Funny: "The Addams Family"

Elliot Veneziano ‘29 has some advice to share:  “I think everyone should try out musical theatre at least once.”

Elliot performed as an Ancestor in this year’s Junior Musical, The Addams Family. He said his first time rehearsing and performing in a theatre space was a lot of fun.

The Addams Family features beloved and well-known characters from the TV shows and movies. The story revolves around the conflicts that arise when Wednesday Addams tries to introduce her new beau Lucas Beineke and his seemingly ‘normal’ family to her eccentric family. After juggling many secrets over the course of the evening, many characters finally accept their true selves and find resolution in being open about their feelings. 

The final show on the evening of Saturday, November 25 saw a standing ovation as the cast took their bows. Near the tech booth as they took off their mics, there were some relieved smiles and some exuberant ones from the cast and crew. There was also a bittersweet feeling in the air as the students will miss the experience now that it’s over. 

For some of the cast, this was their first experience being in a production. Toby Hunter ‘29, who played Lucas Beineke, said he had previously only ever sung in front of his family. In a blink of an eye, he was suddenly catapulted into the spotlight (literally). “I was a little bit nervous about singing in front of a crowd,” he said. “But with the stage lights, it was hard to see how many people were in the audience so I got over my nervousness quickly.” 

Ella Roland ‘27 and Nisha Malhotra ‘27 are both new to Greenwood this year and found this experience really helped them to make new friends and connections across different grades. Elora Colbert ‘27 and Téa Stoute ‘27 also added that the experience was “a lot of fun”. The expertise that the Grade 12 Musical Theatre students brought to rehearsals also was very enriching for the cast. 

The experience has also led to many interested in auditioning for the full-school musical. Sam Claydon ‘27 enjoyed being a part of Greenwood’s previous theatre productions that he is now also a part of three other productions outside of school. “I’ve been a part of School Daze, Matilda and I was part of the crew for Newsies,” says Sam Claydon ‘27. “I loved it but I regretted not auditioning for Newsies last year so I made a commitment to myself to be involved with the full school musical this year.” 

Congratulations to our cast and crew for these three amazing performances!

Morticia Addams: Elora Colbert ‘27

Gomez Addams: Sam Claydon ‘27

Wednesday Addams: Liv Waghmare ‘29

Pugsley Addams: Charles Martin ‘29

Uncle Fester: Jack Turgeon ‘28

Mallory Beineke: Addie Minns ‘27

Alice Beineke: Kate Claydon ‘29

Lucas Beineke: Toby Hunter ‘29 

Grandma: Nisha Malhotra ‘27

Lurch: Alexander Murray ‘27

Ancestors: Stella Anderson Shore ‘29, Irmak Aydeniz ‘28, Veronica Bigue ‘29, Jasmine Chen ‘28, Elsie Fefergrad ‘29, Faye Kastelic ‘29, Stella Laurent ‘28, Grace McKenna ‘28, Tilly Minns ‘29, Ella Roland ‘27, Simona Sera ‘29, Avish Singh ‘28, Téa Stoute ‘27, Chloe Trevelyan ‘29, Elliot Veneziano ‘29, Siena Wood ‘29 and Sunny Zhou ‘28. 

Director & Choreographer: Emily Borden

Musical Director: Adelaide Leo

Costume Design: Sarah Ewen

Costumes: Paige Emery ‘26, Ezmay Ireland ‘25, Jessica Li ‘25 and Ayla O’Brien ‘29

Head of Props: Zoe Sedlak

Props: Delphine Bryce ‘29, Bryce Mitchell ‘29 and Grace Rivard ‘29

Hair & Makeup: Kate Konstantinova

Hair & Makeup Assistants: Daisy Capombassis ‘26, Samantha Jaskolka ‘26, Livy Hervey ‘28, Cate Pooley ‘29, Maddy Shaw ‘27 and Olivia Wang ‘28

Set Dressing & Painting: Sloane Basch ‘26, Hans Eysenbach ‘27, Luc Fletcher ‘27, Astrid Kim ‘26, Charlotte Logan ‘26, Sam Jaskolka ‘26, Elle Macrae ‘25, Amelia Massey ‘26, Ava Petrucci ‘26, Rachel Scobie ‘26, Oliver Tanenbaum ‘26 and Ella Tong ‘26

Backstage Crew: Claire Avery ‘25, Cameron Barry ‘25, Kobi Cheng ‘25, Carter Goldblatt ‘26 and Annie Kay ‘25

Photography: Julia McLennan ‘25 and Marcio Sargento

AV Technician: Albert Bui

Booth Crew: Gabrielle Hawkings ‘28 and Andrew Wilkins ‘25

Sound Design: Kevin Xu ‘24

Directors: Fin Burke ‘24 and Sophia Stieber ‘25

Musical Director: Evan Edgell ‘24

Vocal Coaches: Mel Edgell ‘25 and Evie Ohlson ‘24

Stage Management: Sienna Loh ‘24, Jonathan Preston ‘24 and Georgia Robinson ‘24

Heads of Tech: Kalina Mehta ‘25 and Danielle Tylman ‘25

Costumes, Set & Props: Allegra Mariani ‘25, Owen Polley ‘24, Jonathan Preston ‘24 and Katie Romanelli ‘24

Backstage Crew: Allegra Mariani ‘25

Graphic Design: Danielle Tylman ‘25