West Bend theater gets creepy, kooky

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 23, 2017

West Bend theater gets creepy, kooky

High schools’ ‘The Addams Family’ opens Friday

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043

David Pecsi knows he’s taking a risk with the West Bend high schools’ spring musical.

He also knows if it’s a hit, he will have made his mark.

At 7 p.m. Friday, under the direction of Pecsi, WBHS will perform “The Addams Family: A New Musical.” There are also showings at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, all at the Silver Lining Performing Arts Center in West Bend.

Tickets are $12 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors 62 or older. They are available online on the School District’s website, plus at Westbury Bank in Jackson, and Horicon Bank and Glacier Hills Credit Union in West Bend.

“We’re here to have a little fun,” Pecsi said. “But also break out of our mold a little bit.”

Pecsi is the first-year choir director for East and West high schools, and a 2003 East graduate.

“It wasn’t too long ago that I was up on that stage here,” Pecsi said. “I had the lead in ‘Les Miserables’ in 2003.”

After high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Washington County and then graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton.

A longtime participant in the community theater, Pecsi has either performed or directed more than 20 shows throughout southeastern Wisconsin since graduating from East.

But “Addams Family” is his first shot at directing a show at his alma mater. He admitted it’s a special opportunity.

“It’s a weird mix of deja-vu and terror,” he said with a smile. “(Former director) Karen Wysocky had such a great program and was really well-liked in the community and well-respected.

“To follow in her shoes and for me, someone who respected her as a teacher as well and got a lot from her, to try and follow Karen Wysocky’s act, it’s a tough act to follow.”

Despite the terror, he admitted he’s also having fun with the production.

Previous productions for the high schools’ spring musical include “Mary Poppins” and “Wizard of Oz” — each are traditionally viewed as musicals.

Not “The Addams Family.”

The story portrays a dark, but screwball family. According to www.imdb.com, the television show, which aired from 1964-66, focused on “The misadventures of a blissfully macabre but extremely loving family.” The story hit the big screen in 1991 and a sequel followed, “Addams Family Values,” in 1993.

The story is better known for its comedy — but turning it into a musical? Several theater groups around the country are giving it a shot. The South Arkansas Arts Center will put on the show March 3-5 and March 9-11.

It debuted on Broadway in April 2010, starring Nathan Lane as Gomez Addams, the family’s patriarch.

“The blessing and the curse is that West Bend has a rich theater environment, really southeastern Wisconsin in general,” Pecsi said. “So to find something that hasn’t been done in a while around here is really hard to do. That’s a testament to how lively the theater community is in this town.”

Locally, Arrowhead High School also produced it.

“It’s a very new show,” Pecsi said. “It’s a little bit of a risk. It really is. The show, it’s got some pointed humor in it. It’s got innuendo. It’s ‘Addams Family,’ so it’s dark and it’s really not what high school is accustomed to producing.

“But it’s definitely something the community hasn’t seen.”

That’s one reason why Anne Rieke, who plays Morticia Addams, the family’s matriarch, is looking forward to the show.

“I think it will be fun,” Rieke said. “The music is super-exciting.”

It is Rieke’s first lead role.

The others making up the Addams family include Owen Vincent (Gomez), Tyler Galante (Uncle Fester), Aaron Pierce (Lurch), Grace Flynn (grandmama), Rachel Mauney (Wednesday), Andrew Haese (Pugsley) and Sara Vordebruggen (Thing).

Pecsi said the attractiveness to do the show was because it was different.

“We’ve seen so many wellproduced, but very straightforward musicals here,” Pecsi said. “I really wanted to come out in my first year and say, ‘Hey. I’m the new guy. Here’s something you haven’t seen before.’”