Kenai Central High School students have been hard at work preparing for the opening night of “The Addams Family” on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
This show will be the third that Travis Lawson, KCHS science teacher and drama department director, has put on. He said he chose “The Addams Family” because of how recognizable it is for all generations.
“It’s a big draw for anyone who’s younger who has seen ‘Wednesday’ on Netflix, and for people who are older who grew up watching the movies or anything like that,” Lawson said. “Some of them grew up watching the old TV shows. So there would be a lot of people who would recognize it and be familiar with the characters.”
Additionally, he said, “it’s just a fun musical.”
“It’s one of those musicals where everyone gets a happy ending — we get to have a lot of laughs and things like that,” Lawson added. “So all of those were draws to doing this show with this group.”
A cast of 20 began rehearsing in early December. Nathan Vink, a junior playing Gomez Adams, said it’s his first time playing a major part in a production. He’s performed before, but both times were in elementary school. Although he’s excited for opening night, he’s nervous about how many scenes he’s in.
Vink, who’s also in choir and on the Nordic ski team, said he spends hours rehearsing his lines each week.
“Honestly, I just repeat the lines over and over until I remember them,” he said.
Vail Coots, a senior playing Malcolm Beineke, said the cast has really bonded over the last few months. A self-described perfectionist, Coots said working on the play has taught him to “loosen up.”
“For me, more than anything, this play is just about having fun and telling a hilarious story,” Coots said. “The whole play is about being silly and making the audience feel like they’re having a good time. I can get pretty overly serious sometimes and kind of end up overworking myself, so the play is a good way to remember that things don’t have to be so serious.”
Lawson said the cast is ready for opening night.
“They’ve put in so much work for this,” he said. “There’s always a point where it’s stressful, and then there’s one point where you see the show starting to come together.”
Lawson said he and the cast have had several moments where they realized the show was ready to hit the stage despite a quick turnaround. He added that the cast has been working at a breakneck pace and still managed to create an amazing performance.
Coots said he considers his job as an actor not only to deliver a message to the audience, but to also “make the audience die laughing.”
“Come see the play,” he added. “It’s going to be great.”
The KCHS Drama Department will present additional showtimes on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. The auditorium opens 30 minutes before the curtain, and attendees can pay with cash at the door.
