The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School theater department recalls a successful musical season after their last March 17 sold out show. With an origin close to home, SPF’s “The Addams Family” cast and crew discovered a new way to cover some of their production costs, a character breakfast. 

“When we picked this show, one of the things that was appealing was that we could do something like [a character breakfast] that involves the community and brings awareness to Repertory Theater,” assistant director and co-producer of “The Addams Family” Courtney Nemec told The Fanscotian. 

The production’s character breakfast and meet and greet fundraiser on March 9, 2024 allowed for exposure and an introduction to the musical’s performances scheduled for the following weekend, March 14 through March 17. The show hosted a large audience for a majority of its production dates.  

“[With] Friday, Saturday, and Sunday sold-out-tickets, [staff] were setting up folding chairs in the back for more people [to] sell tickets beyond [the auditorium’s capacity],” senior cast member and featured dancer Emersyn Teicher said. 

“The Addams Family” has great significance locally with its original creator, American cartoonist Charles Addams, who lived a childhood in SPF’s neighboring town: Westfield. Not only is this musical relevant to community members, but it is widely known throughout the nation. This helped SPFHS Repertory Theater’s dream accomplishments become a reality. 

“With the popularity of the show ‘Wednesday’ on Netflix, that was another reason why this [fundraiser] looked [promising],” Nemec said. “[Many] kids came to [the shows and character breakfast] dressed as Wednesday.” 

“The Addams Family” character breakfast fundraiser and productions served as inclusive community events for many children and families to attend, boosting the achievement of the SPF-presented musical.   

“We touched a lot of hearts [within] the SPF community [and connected] with families,” actor Joey Estevez [Mal Beineke] said.