CCHS "The Addams Family" musical hits the stage this week

Feb. 6—MOULTRIE, Ga. — Colquitt County High School's choral students have been diligently working and rehearsing to bring a new musical comedy for the county choir and drama lovers.

The upcoming musical is inspired by American cartoonist Charles Addams' cartoons, 1960s television series and later 1990s movie titled "The Addams Family."

The musical production has been in the works since October, and the cast began constructing the set in late December, according to Jimbo Jarvis, a CCHS choir teacher and varsity boy's soccer head coach.

Opening night will be Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in Willie B. Withers Auditorium, 1800 Park Ave. S.E. Shows will be held at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday as well, and the final show will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12.

"Come out and support the kids and let them show you their talents for acting and singing in a way that will hopefully want you coming back for more. The show is exciting and there's something for everyone in this show to enjoy," Jarvis said to potential attendees.

The production has major song numbers planned for the show performances.

"All the numbers are great. There are really some big numbers that involve the entire cast on stage at one time singing. Usually, those numbers are the main opening scene," the director said in an interview Friday morning.

Potential attendees will not want to miss the opening scene the cast has in store with their "When You're an Addams" performance.

Jarvis said the cast has approximately 80 students which is double the cast number from the choir's previous "School of Rock" production.

The second major number attendees should look out for is the "One Normal Night" performance. Jarvis said that show number is a "fun piece" that might include choreography.

"That's the beauty of it, is seeing these kids onstage pretending to be something that they're normally not and just having a blast doing it," he said.

The cast has reigned their creative outlet in "The Addams Family" production. They perfected their characters from scratch by learning lines, reading from a book, blocking scenes and learning choreography.

"We basically just give them an idea and let them run with it. We see what they can come up with and how creative can they be with their character," Jarvis explained.

Together, Jarvis and Co-Director Bekah Ward, occasionally give suggestions to the students but it's ultimately the student's decision how they make their character come across to the audience, he said.

Other managers helping with the show are Josh Briones as stage manager, Kelvin Mills as sound manager, Leah Gaines as lights manager. Ryan Borger and Trey Cox serve as musical directors while choreography was created by Ward and Holland Jarvis.

"The students are extremely dedicated, hardworking and excited about performing such an iconic set of characters that most everybody can relate to," he said.

The cast is currently practicing after school every weekday for the curtains to open Thursday night.

Jarvis explained, "Being able to express your emotions through music is always going to be a plus because it makes you a more mature and more balanced individual. I believe that music speaks through people. Therefore those who are a part of the music whether its band, choir or orchestra they take something away from that program that they will utilize in their everyday life whether it be dedication, discipline or just understanding what it's like to be human."

The production is supported by the Colquitt County Tempo Club along with local business sponsors including Stone's Home Center of Moultrie, Home Depot of Moultrie, Holman Supply Company, Sherwin-Williams Paint Store, Walmart, Cox Container Service and Southern Wood Components.

The local businesses have donated all the supplies needed to build the musical set.

"They have been fantastic, and we couldn't have done it without them. We're very thankful for those donations from their businesses. It's nice to see the community invest in the students," Jarvis said. "When they invest in the students to do something like the show and all the shows in the past, it really speaks volumes of our community."

Tickets are currently on sale for $15 per person. Attendees can purchase an All-Access pass, that allows entrance to all four shows for $40 each. Tickets can be purchased at the door, from a participating CCHS choir student or from the Colquitt County Tempo Club link: https://cchstempoclub.ticketleap.com.