The Nashoba Regional spring musical is right around the corner, and the costume and makeup teams are up for the challenge. With a storage closet full of costumes and makeup and a talented crew, the actors will be body painted and dressed to become a member of the Addams Family. At Nashoba Regional high school on March 18th, 19th and 20th, our fellow students will be painted into the world of Addams, literally.
The Addams Family musical usually has a “dead” ensemble. These characters are referred to as the “ancestors,” and will be made to look as though they are decaying through costume and makeup. The head of the costume department Ronny Nagle says that they are “trying to replicate the Broadway show and the national tour. Traditional, but with a twist.”  Similarly to the school’s production of “I Love Lucy,” cast members will be body painted black, white and gray. This technique is not easily pulled off, but it is necessary to resemble the ancestors from the Broadway show. Erin McNemar, a member of the hair and makeup crew, shed light on the director’s ideas for the makeup: “Bill wanted to stick to the typical black and white theme.” This means dark, hollow looking eyes, as well as skin as pale as a ghost.
Brooke Winsman, a member of the cast, said she “wouldn’t change a thing” about the costume and makeup choices. She believes that “the drama mamas are working incredibly hard,” and the “costumes look great so far!” With a hard working costume and makeup crew, an incredibly talented cast and faith in the director, the artistic aspect of this show will be pulled off without a hitch.While this idea seems simple enough, it is not all fun and games. The biggest challenge, according to Mrs. Nagle, has been “the size of the ensemble.” With 42 ancestors, fitting them all into costumes as well as painting them head to toe in costume makeup is time consuming. McNemar worked on hair and makeup for the fall play “FAME,” and really enjoyed it, but also recognized that they were “many hair and makeup changes, and not a lot of time.” This aspect of hair and makeup is stressful, but worth it when the show is a success. When considering most of makeup is pulled from a storage closet for Nashoba drama items, not bought fresh, this makeup will be a huge feat. Even with that factor, the makeup team is prepared to give it their all to make realistic ancestors.

Addams Family Broadway ProductionPhoto from the NY Times