This Sunday: The Addams Family Takes the Stage

2026-03-20

This Sunday, Wellington College Education (China) - Tianjin will present the premiere of The Addams Family: School Edition, the internationally acclaimed Broadway musical, on our stage. Audiences can look forward to a delightfully quirky and heartwarming family story that is witty, elegant and full of imagination. The production also highlights our pupils’ dramatic range, alongside strong ensemble vocals and choreography.

Originally inspired by the classic cartoons and screen adaptations, The Addams Family was later developed into a Broadway musical. At its heart is the Addams family's trademark 'delightfully different' way of life: they adore the dark and the eccentric yet are bound by the truest affection and loyalty. While preserving the spirit of the original, the School Edition is especially well-suited to pupil performance and a school theatre setting.

Synopsis

In the wonderfully peculiar Addams household, Gomez Addams faces a challenge familiar to many parents: his daughter, Wednesday Addams, has fallen in love—and her boyfriend is nothing like the rest of the family. On this fateful evening, the Addams invite Wednesday's boyfriend’s family, the Beinekes, to dinner. What follows is a night full of surprises - one that may change both families forever. When the unapologetically unconventional Addams family meets a family determined to be perfectly 'normal', a chain of misunderstandings unfolds around identity, communication, growing up and learning to accept one another.

The show features many standout musical numbers. “When You’re an Addams” opens with a bright yet deliciously eerie rhythm, instantly drawing the audience into the Addams' wonderfully strange world. “Pulled” reveals Wednesday’s inner conflict between love and family - sincere, funny, and full of character. As the show’s central ensemble number, “One Normal Night” playfully captures the absurdity and charm of two very different families attempting to share one “normal” evening together. The finale, “Move Toward the Darkness”, delivers a stirring melody and powerful lyrics that underline the show’s core message: embracing who you truly are. These songs not only drive the story forward but also invite us to reflect on family, love and acceptance.

Continuing our tradition of high production standards, our Music Department Director Ms ShihShih Chen, English and Drama teacher Ms Hannah Bond, and Music teacher Ms Emma Chen bring together their expertise in music and theatre to guide the cast, choir, orchestra and backstage crew through the full journey from script to stage within a limited rehearsal period.

Every lighting cue, scene change and harmony is created by pupils. This is what makes our Annual Musical Production so special: a true celebration of pupil creativity, presented for our whole community and open to the public.