At QCT, we just closed The Addams Family: School Edition.  I’m unbelievably proud of this cast and crew for their work on this deliciously complicated show.  We had 26 student actors from all over the tri-state area – 13 of whom were making their QCT debuts!  Today I’ve been humming the songs, uploading the pictures to the flickr page, and reflecting on the experience.

I’ve talked about this to some extent, but The Addams Family was a show I swore I’d never do.  I didn’t really understand the appeal.  I finally relented based on my students’ enthusiasm for the piece.  My teacher brain thought they’d gain from portraying these larger-than-life characters and that it would be a good contrast to last season’s student musical.

However, from Day One I was won over by my students’ work on this show.  Even in their auditions, their enthusiasm was palpable.    This script and score started to make more sense to me once I was hearing it from them.  Eventually, I learned to love it just as much as they do.

I started the experience thinking it was going to be campy kooky fun.  And don’t get me wrong – it definitely was.  But the students quickly taught me that The Addams Family also has many important messages.  It’s about accepting yourself for who you are.  It’s about loving your family, especially when they challenge you.  It’s about embracing all parts of life – even the less pleasant ones – and accepting them as part of your journey.

How lucky am I to have 26 young people to share those ideas with me?