They’re creepy, they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, and also…in love? 

BOHS’s inaugural Musical Theatre program answers this question with their production of The Addams Family, which runs in the Performing Arts Center April 24-26.

In a tale punctuated with twists, scares, and laughs, protagonist Wednesday Addams falls for a “normal” schoolboy, Lucas Beineke. Despite their stark differences – she’s goth, he’s not — she invites Lucas’s family to dinner, hoping her own macabre Addams clan can pretend to be normal for just one night.

Musical Theatre’s production offers a fresh perspective on the 87-year old franchise, which debuted as a comic strip by Charles Addams in The New Yorker magazine in 1938; was later adapted as a black and white sitcom from 1964 to 1966; appeared on the big screen in 1991; and most recently streamed in 2022 as the Netflix series Wednesday.

BOHS’s The Addams Family production presents a more lighthearted take on the series, dialing down the horror while ramping up the whimsy. Wednesday is still fascinated with death, and the family’s servant, Thing, is still a disembodied hand, but the atmosphere is more humor than horror. 

Jackson Gonzales (‘25), who plays patriarch Gomez Addams, said, “Our [production] is different in the way that [Lucas] isn’t trying to hurt the family or take advantage of them; he’s just trying to enter into the family” because of his crush on Wednesday.

“It’s a very funny show. There are parts when it’s sad, parts when it’s funny, and [some] lovey-dovey moments,” Alicia Montano (‘25), who plays the morbidly sarcastic Wednesday, said. “It’s very entertaining.”

Bringing the quirky and dark humor to life on stage required months of preparation and skill-building. Under the guidance of Kim Ofcacek, Musical Theatre director and drama teacher, students practiced singing, acting, and dancing by rehearsing basic group ensemble numbers from Elf: The Musical. 

Scripts for The Addams Family were issued just before winter break, and rehearsals ramped up near the start of the second semester, the cast immersing themselves in the spooky world of cartoonist Charles Addams’ creation.

Ofcacek, who has led BOHS’s drama program for 21 years, said of her first-year students’ preparations for the show: “The [Musical Theatre students] have been working hard for the past four months and are ready to perform,” she said. “Audiences will be impressed with the singing and dancing.”

The lead-up to this week’s shows was not without its challenges, including a steep learning curve for the performers.

“I’m not a singer, exactly, so it’s been tricky trying to learn how to push myself to hit the higher notes and how to memorize all the lyrics along with the blocking of the song,” Gonzales said. “One of the biggest challenges [is] having to learn these other things as opposed to just stage acting.” 

Colleen Lee (‘25), who plays Morticia, acknowledged the difficulties of simultaneously acting, dancing, and singing. 

“The singing has all of its different sections, and you’ve got to figure that out yourself by understanding your own vocal range,” Lee said.

Some Musical Theatre students, like Lee, have found personal growth through their involvement in the new program.

“The benefits [of Musical Theater] are you get to learn all about your own vocal range, and you get to – even if you’re not a good dancer – learn how to move, use steps, and be in sync with people,” Lee said. 

Gavin McCarthy (‘25), who plays Wednesday’s love interest, Lucas, is ready for this week’s productions. “The Addams Family is a lot of fun, and even if it isn’t your thing, everyone [will] still laugh and have fun watching it.”

BOHS’s inaugural Musical Theatre program debuts with its performance of The Addams Family in the PAC April 24 at 7 p.m.