This weekend the iconic musical that is “The Addams Family” takes front and center stage. Lost Flamingo Theater Company, or LFC, is putting on the show this Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m. at Arts West, 132 W. State St.
This well-known musical comedy, “The Addams Family,” follows Wednesday Addams who has fallen in love with a normal boy, Lucas, and has to bring him to meet her not-so-normal family, the Addams. With romance, comedy and family being the most prominent themes of this show, there’s something for everyone to see and enjoy.
Eden Nichelson, a freshman studying industrial and systems engineering, plays the leading role of Wednesday Addams in the show. This is her first year with LFC and she found a love for theater in her junior year of high school where she played roles such as Mrs. White in “Clue” and Gingy and teen Fiona in “Shrek.”
“She’s such an iconic character that everyone knows,” said Nichelson about her role as Wednesday. “It was really intimidating approaching that, but honestly embodying it I kind of just let go of everything. I’m a very charismatic person, I would say naturally, and Wednesday I would say is the exact opposite.”
Rehearsals and practice for the show have been going on for about 10 weeks dating back to mid-to-late January. Over 100 hours have gone into the show during this period of time and as tech week continues throughout this week.
Nathan Stanley, a senior studying interdisciplinary arts, plays Gomez Addams, the Addams family patriarch. His experience in the theater dates back to when he was 12 years old and “The Addams Family” is his ninth show with LFC. Additionally, Stanley has previously done “The Addams Family,” playing the role of little brother Pugsly Addams when he was 14 years old.
“Gomez is a very loving dad, and he is definitely very goofy,” said Stanley in an email. “He loves his family, he loves his wife and he loves everything dark and weird. I definitely have to let loose and let myself act silly to play this character, which isn't too hard because I'm pretty goofy myself.”
Stanley’s love for theater shines through his many years of experience and with this being his last show at Ohio University, he believes this is a show everyone must see.
Maxwell Burton, a sophomore studying journalism, plays Lurch Addams in the show and has spent a great deal of time perfecting the art of playing a zombie-like man.
“Lurch is hilarious in my opinion,” said Burton. “He does not speak, so he literally just grunts the whole time he’s on stage. He’s dead, so it’s not really difficult to embody a dead man. You just walk super slowly and you grunt.”
Burton has done musical theater since his grade school years and has played loveable characters in shows such as “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King.” However, nothing has quite compared to the work he gets to do at LFC.
“The other actors, they’re wonderful,” he said. “I’ve never done a theater company like this, it’s always just been with my school so this is a lot of fun to have people from different backgrounds in college and people that don’t even have to be with Ohio University doing shows like this.”
With such a loveable show like “The Addams Family,” the actors said they have created a family of their own at LFC. The chemistry shown by the cast members alone is enough reason to come see the show this weekend, not to mention the many catchy songs, laughs to be had and talent that is sure to impress.
“The Addams Family is a great show to watch because you will laugh the whole time,” said Stanley via email. “The script is so funny and the actors we have only make the content ten times funnier. There are beautiful heartwarming moments, moments that will make you cry and moments that will make you laugh. I cannot commend my fellow cast and crew enough for their work on this show, so you should come see it so you can fall in love with all of them the way I have.”
