In just two weeks, the Addams Family will begin its performances for three nights only. Director Nathan Shewell is looking forward to seeing how audiences react to the show.

“I’m always excited to see the audience’s reactions,” Shewell said. “I love when moments we spend a lot of time working on elicits the response we want. I love seeing actors begin to shine when they have an audience to work from.”

Progress on the show has been going well, according to Shewell, and students participating in the show have been staying after school until 6:00 p.m. to prepare. One area in particular that they’ve been working on is the show’s use of technology.

“This show is tech heavy,” Shewell said. “It has lots of little technical elements that need to come together and work perfectly. Aligning all of them up has been a challenge.”

Although the technology has been one of the hardest things to prepare for, Shewell says it is just one of the many aspects of the show that makes it unique from previous musicals.

“The Addams Family is different in a number of ways,” he said. “First, these are iconic characters that were started in the 30’s and have been on TV and movies. It’s important we honor those past contributors while sticking to the format we were given.”

The process of choosing the school musical is difficult, but according to Shewell the final decision always comes down to two important factors.

“Is this right for the kids? Is this a good show for the community?” he said. The Addams showcases the talent of our kids really well and they have been proving that in rehearsals. In addition, this is a great show for the community.”

Shewell said the show is a little risqué due to the dark and macabre themes, but that the overall message will resonate with people of all ages.

“It also carries a message of finding common ground with each other,” he said. “We all need to be better at finding ways of seeing different views and accepting them.”

Although it is to be foreseen if the show is financially successful, Shewell says there are other ways that the show can be considered a success.

“Will the kids learn and grow as actors and as good human beings? Yes, definitely,” Shewell said. “Will the audience enjoy the show? Yes. Will the audience learn something from this show? Maybe. Will we see record crowds with huge profits? Who knows. I’m happy if I can get the first two.”