Sr. Eula Erasmus (Morticia) and Jr. Anders Daly (Gomez) perform a scene from "The Addams Family Musical" in the Columbia High School gymnasium on May 22.
Sr. Eula Erasmus (Morticia) and Jr. Anders Daly (Gomez) perform a scene from "The Addams Family Musical" in the Columbia High School gymnasium on May 22.
WHITE SALMON — They’re creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, the Addams Family descended upon the Columbia High School (CHS) gymnasium last weekend, where students boogied and belted their way through three performances of the hit Broadway adaptation — the school’s first musical production under drama teacher Shawn Friese.
Captained by animated lead performances, the show’s sprawling ensemble shone bright, overcoming limited resources to deliver a ghoulish romp that captured the franchise’s trademark mix of macabre and silliness — a gratifying result, Friese said, long in the making, built brick-by-brick over his tenure.
"The Addams Family Musical" ensemble performs a number.
A teacher for 15 years, Friese got his start in education without any formal theater experience. Though adjacent to performance growing up, thanks to his grandparents’ ballet company, his academic career began in language arts.
Friese hasn’t abandoned that trajectory, currently teaching language arts at CHS, but has added responsibilities to his educational repertoire over the years.
In year one, teaching at South Bend High School in Southwest Washington, a group of students in need of a drama club advisor called on him; Friese quickly agreed, unaware he’d be directing a production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
One thing led to another, and Friese found himself taking classes, eventually earning state-sanctioned certification to teach theater arts. Around a decade ago, he moved to White Salmon and has been building the drama department at CHS ever since.
Now, staging their first musical production, Friese and his students have reached a monumental milestone — one they’ve been talking about and patiently awaiting for years due to small-school restraints.
At CHS, there’s no auditorium, no dedicated after-school time to practice, and no separate choreographer or choir instructor; instead, the cast and crew convene during drama class for one hour every single day. “That was one of the biggest hesitations I had,” Friese said. “To do a musical, they were going to have to take a lot on themselves, because we don’t have time in class to do everything that we need. We’ve been working towards it for a long time. I felt like we were ready to take that leap this year.”
Thus, the script selection process this time around was critical, with extra consideration for students and their capabilities. Ultimately, Friese wanted a show with an eclectic variety of roles so that students with a wide range of experience levels could participate and feel comfortable doing so. “The Addams Family Musical” fit the bill.
The play follows an 18-year-old Wednesday Addams (Amber VanSickle), recently engaged to Lucas Beineke (Haven Stageberg), a “normal” boy from Ohio. When she invites his parents (Simeon Kline and Amelia Jewell-Yarnell) over for dinner, her father Gomez (Anders Daly) must keep their engagement secret from her mother, Morticia (Eula Erasmus), as hijinks ensue.
CHS’s iteration was a consolidated version of the Broadway show, understanding that a majority of the cast had little to no singing or dancing experience. “I thought for our first year doing a musical, it was a good place to start,” Friese said. “To not overwhelm everyone with the amount of music, choreography, and dialogue.”
Despite the challenge — triple the amount of work as usual — the cast and crew stepped up. From the sound and lighting to the handcrafted, hand-painted stage setup, gothic costumes, and ghostly makeup, each piece meshed seamlessly.
The ensemble performed each number confidently, without taking themselves too seriously, molding a breezy, catchy hour in the Addams household. “Everybody can sing,” Friese said. “It’s just like anything else; you have to practice if you want to be good at it. They bought into that.”
Erasmus as Morticia Addams
Leads Daly and Erasmus were perfectly cast, excelling as the exuberant Gomez and elegant Morticia. Daly bounced off the stage with his limber theatricality, sharp comedic timing, and impressive vocals, while Erasmus bewitched with dark allure and dry wit as the iconic matriarch.
Daly dances on stage
The audience clapped, laughed, and cheered along to each number, each joke, championing the students on stage. “That’s why we do this,” Friese said. “It makes me so happy, and it’s fulfilling to see people celebrating the actors.”
Curtain call represented a bittersweet moment for senior cast and crew, who will take a leap of their own next month. “This is a culmination of the improvements they’ve made over the last four years. I couldn’t have done any of this without them,” Friese said. “They’re always going to be a part of this theater program and are leaving with a legacy. We’re going to keep pushing the envelope.”
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