Auditions held for the Addams family musical

Auditions for the school musical “The Addams Family” were held in the choir room on Sept. 8-9. This musical follows the character of Wednesday Addams, who wants to get married to her boyfriend but is concerned by the differences between their families. Her boyfriend’s family, the Beinekes, is fairly normal, but her family is completely out of the ordinary.

At Milford High School, there are three parts in the audition process: first there is a song, chosen from a part in the musical, that must be learned then sung individually. There is one song performed by each of the boys and one by each of the girls. Then there is a monologue portion where the students can show off their acting chops. Finally, there is a dance portion where the students have to practice a fast-paced dance routine to see who can pick it up quickly.

Interestingly, students at Milford don’t audition for a specific role; they audition just to be in the musical and suggest one or two characters who they would like to play.

Since the auditioning is not role specific, the people getting lead characters have to work especially hard to impress a panel of 5 judges. Megan Weeks—the director of the musical—says that sometimes they already have an idea of who might be good for a role, but she also states that “sometimes it’s someone we never expected.”

In addition, the roles are partially chosen based on the look they are trying to achieve for a character. So two students may be fairly evenly matched for a role, but if one person looks better for the part, he or she will win out. After they are cast, the actors aren’t allowed to change anything about their appearance, even if it is just getting a haircut.

If it is a close call, the casting decisions may just come down to seniority because the older members are more experienced with musicals.

Leading up to the tryouts, students spend hours working to make sure they are prepared.

“It’s different for everyone, and everyone has their own technique,” said senior Julia Schwendenmann about audition preparation. Schwendenmann is playing the role of Morticia Addams, the mother of Wednesday Addams. She explains that some people practice by themselves, but others try to find an adult resource, such as Maryann Lambrecht, the choir teacher, to assist them in practicing. Jeremy Hogaboom, a junior playing the role of Wednesday’s boyfriend, Lucas Beineke, says that his preparation depends on the piece, but often students get together to work on the audition in groups.

Rehearsals for the musical began on Monday, Sept. 12, and everyone is very excited for the show that’s to come in November. Schwendenmann says that she is most looking forward to spending long rehearsals with such a fun group of people. Weeks states that she is excited about the chorus in the musical because it “adds a layer to the ensemble,” because it is made up of the ancestors of the characters in the musical.

The Addams Family musical is set to be performed on the weekend of November 19th, and tickets can be bought online at mhsperformingarts.com or at the door.