Theatre is alive and well at W.L. Seaton Secondary although the theatre is overrun with a lot of ghosts these days. The ancestors of the beloved Addams Family, from caveman to ’90s punk rocker, all beautifully costumed in white.
The quirky 1960’s TV show, The Addams Family, was turned into a musical comedy on Broadway in 2010 starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth and is now being produced at Seaton’s 27th Street Theatre. The hilarious musical picks up where the TV show left off. Wednesday Addams is all grown up and has fallen in love with a boy from a ‘normal’ family and the show revolves around the two families meeting for the first time at a dinner.
The high-energy comedy was originally scheduled for spring 2020, and like the rest of the world, it was shut down by the pandemic.
“Fortunately, most of the casting was doubled with non-graduating students,” drama teacher and director Lana O’Brien said.
The students performed a COVID version of the opening number last spring in the school field and then paused production.
This year’s drama classes have been working around the already built set all year.
“We had to cover the beautiful black and white checkered floor with a giant cardboard papier mâché treatment for the fall production of Seeds of Hope, and the students kept the show lukewarm in their minds during the first three quarters of the year,” O’Brien said.
Then quarter four came, and the show went from about 20 to 100 per cent in four weeks. The stagecraft class, led by drama teacher and production art director Kayleigh Mace, had to adapt the set to suit camera angles instead of the live theatre experience.
“We have had to learn a lot about film and audio production,” Mace and O’Brien agree. “The camera has been set up during rehearsals to make sure we optimize set, lighting, and sound for the best possible at home experience. The kids have been so patient with all the changes we kept throwing at them.”
But the final result is worth all the effort. The at-home, livestream experience will be an excellent one – maybe not as much fun as being in a live audience with all the laughs and the applause, but given the current restrictions it is an excellent best-possible scenario.
“You can absolutely feel the energy of the students through the camera.”
Tickets for the home viewing experience are available now through the on-line service that owns the rights to the show. “It is a simple process to buy tickets and view the show. You can watch on any computer, laptop, tablet or phone that has internet access,” explains O’Brien. Tickets are available at booktixlive.ca/portal/seaton.
The show is streaming four performances: June 2, 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. and June 5 at 5 p.m. A $25 StreamPass gives everyone in your household access to the same viewing for the all-ages show. For more information, call O’Brien at 250-542-3361 ext 2227.
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Seaton's 27th Street Theatre streams The Addams Family June 2, 3, 4 and 5. (27th Street Theatre photo)
