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Santa Catalina School’s 2021-22 theatre season ended on a high note with the hilarious and kooky spring musical The Addams Family.

Featuring an original story, the musical finds Wednesday Addams (Audrey Avelino ’22), the ultimate princess of darkness, all grown up and engaged to a sweet, “normal” boy named Lucas (Marissa Schimpf ’22). When she invites Lucas and his parents over for dinner, it’s a lot for her father, Gomez (Nicole Muñoz ’22), to take in. But to make matters more awkward, Wednesday begs her father to keep her engagement secret, and Gomez must do something he’s never done before—lie to his beloved wife, Morticia (Alix Detrait ’22).

The meeting of the two families changes everything. Lucas’ parents, Mal (CC Shaw ’23) and Alice (Charlotte Juge ’23), realize their marriage has lost its passion. Pugsly (Eva Ushakoff ’24) worries that with his sister in love, she’ll no longer pay attention to him. And Uncle Fester (Jenna Tarallo ’22) confesses that he’s in love with the moon. The chaos all unfolds under the watchful eyes of butler Lurch (Cindy Cao ’22), Grandma (Emily Harris ’22), and the Addams Family ancestors (a troupe of 12 talented dancers).

The show was the first musical to be staged in the Performing Arts Center in three years, allowing director Lara Wheeler Devlin ’02 to include some clever elements in the production, including a wall of portraits that lit up to reveal ancestors within the frames and a final video showing Fester riding a rocket to the moon (filmed and edited by Cindy Cao). Much credit goes to the sizable and multi-faceted technical crew.

The musical was also a wonderful showcase for choreographer Nicole Cofresi and her dancers. The ancestors were frequently on stage, dancing throughout in costumes that spanned the ages, and Fester enjoyed a beautiful dance duet with Sasha Rubiano ’23 as the moon.

With a deep repertoire of enjoyable songs, fun performances, and near-constant laughs, The Addams Family was a huge success and a welcome return for Santa Catalina musical theatre.

See photos from the show on SmugMug.