‘The Addams Family Musical’ up for several awards

After putting on their very first in-person performance since the pandemic with “Romeo and Juliet,” the Silverado Stagehawks followed up with a more unusual play, “The Addams Family Musical.” This musical starred quite a talented cast: Sam Martin as Wednesday Addams, Isabella Delgato as Pugsley Addams, Heath Smith as Fester Addams, Pearl Hunsaker as Morticia Addams and John Hooper as Gomez Addams.

Before watching this musical, I was already quite aware of all the hard work that was put into it because I had a few friends who were a part of the cast. I, fortunately, got to see it on the opening night for free because I volunteered to usher, which meant I had perks. That did mean I could only sit in the very back. Regardless, I still had a great experience. That opening night on Thursday, Feb. 17, almost the entire auditorium was filled.

Now enough of all the pre-show talk. Let’s get into what it was like seeing “The Addams Family Musical.” The whole premise of the musical is that Wednesday Addams gets engaged to a boy, Lucas Beineke, who is from a very “normal” nuclear family. Wednesday confesses her engagement to her father, Gomez Addams, and pleads with him to allow her to be happy with Lucas but not to tell her mother, Morticia, because she knows she will not approve. 

This causes Gomez to be very conflicted about keeping his daughter’s secret and lying to his wife. Hooper does an amazing job demonstrating Gomez being under pressure, all the while keeping it realistic as to why his character reacts the way he does. Hooper brings this flamboyant persona to Gomez that not only makes you look forward to seeing Gomez, but also makes the whole musical so much more enjoyable to watch. His performance provides the musical with more energy.

Morticia finds out about Lucas and decides to invite him and his family over for dinner to not only get to know this family, but also to push them away once they get to know the kind of family the Addams are. Pearl Hunsaker plays such a strong Morticia in this musical. Hunsaker keeps a very intimidating stance where she holds her head up high in disapproval, really selling her as Morticia. Not only does she do a great job playing the role, but she also alters the way she sings to fit the kind of persona Morticia emulates–this dark and mysterious kind of sound.

Wednesday Addams gets frustrated and worried about the fact that she knows her family will ruin things for her. Once Lucas’ family finally comes over and has their dinner, everything goes into a downward spiral that leads to the end of Wednesday’s engagement. Sam Martin’s performance before and after the chaos of the dinner is absolutely convincing. Martin keeps such a monotone demeanor but doesn’t sustain it to a point where it is no longer enjoyable to watch her play Wednesday. What I truly praise her for in this role is her consistency. She shows Wednesday’s character through her walk and even in the coldhearted yet heartwarming moments as well.

Another performance that I want to praise is Skylar Doran, who plays Lucas’ mom. I can not tell you how amazing her solo performance is during the dinner table scene. Her voice is so powerful and truly makes her character come out of her safe bubble. Even during intermission, when I mingled with other audience members, they couldn’t help but obsess over how angelic Doran sounded. Along with her voice, the dramatic movements and stage presence could not be denied. Overall, she gives a very impressive performance.

Fast forward to the closing of Act Two, Fester basically fixes the family discretely after all of the chaos. This is essentially where the musical gives its last few moments for each character to show how much they’ve grown, even just a little, from all of the chaos. One last performance I would like to commend is Heath Smith’s. Smith does a fantastic job at being able to balance putting a revolting character on and also singing a well-sung solo. The voice he creates for his character is so convincing as are his exaggerated movements. It is so accurate to his character Fester, that you forget that he is even playing him throughout it all.

Honestly, this whole show was phenomenal. An honorable mention goes for those who sang alongside the main cast. They had such wonderful voices and really great harmonizing. I admire how they continued to play their characters throughout the whole to keep us immersed in this world, as well as the dance team that put on such a strong and smooth dance routine. 

Aside from the actual performances themselves, the lighting, sounds, and props were truly astounding. The way the lights indicated an internal monologue, and how the screen displayed in the background, provided a lot of believability to the whole show. Everything that characters saw, we could see, too. Even the jetpack that Fester had was convincing through the sounds and the back of the screen. I really do love what the crew did for this musical; you could really see all the hard work put in by the tech department here.

To wrap up my review on “The Addams Family Musical,” I would like to say a message to those who put together this musical: All the blood, sweat, and tears shed on this were recognized in some fashion either that was from your family, friends, the audience, or even me. You put on a great show and that’s something many people saw; in the end, that’s what it’s all really about.

In fact, a few of these cast members were nominated for a Nevada High School Musical Theater Award. John Hooper was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor, Pearl Hunsaker was nominated for Oustanding Lead Actress, and Skylar Doran as well as Sam Martin was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performer.