The Klein Drama production of “The Addams Family” was a huge success in January, and to prove it, they have now been nominated for 15 Tommy Tunes Awards out of the fifteen categories, including two in the same category. The ceremony will be held April 17, 2018.

The nominations were an exciting thing for cast, crew, and orchestra involved, and many had been anticipating the announcement of the nominations of the awards.

“I was in the car with my family when I started getting a bunch of texts from the cast group chat,”  cast member Janeen Garcia said, “When I saw the categories that we had been nominated for, I screamed from how excited I was.”

Most were not expecting so many nominations.3

“Absolutely not, we just worry about putting on the best show possible and getting so many nominations is just a bonus,” lead actor and senior Ryan Esparza said.

Esparza, like Garcia was extremely excited about the nominations.

“We were at a restaurant in the vintage and we ran out of the restaurant and I literally fell to the floor and started rolling in the parking lot, so you could say I was pretty excited,” Esparza said.

Others were not at all surprised by the nominations.

“I was not surprised to find out that we had been nominated in nearly every category. Klein High School, and specifically the drama department, has a history of excellence and success at the Tommy Tune Awards,” orchestral director Kelsey Blanscet said.

The orchestra was especially excited for their nomination, since they won the award last year.

“Although we won last year, we are up against some very steep competition and incredibly talented programs,” Blanscet said, “Anything can happen!”

However, they are also excited for all the other nominations and the recognition.

“I’m very excited for the Best Pit Orchestra nomination because that’s the part of the musical I was directly involved with,” Blanscet said. “However, I am equally excited for every other nomination we earned! Everyone gave their all and I’m so glad our commitment and dedication is being recognized!”

The awards ceremony is sure to be an entertaining one later this month, especially since all plays nominated for best musical will be performing an excerpt from their show, including The Addams Family cast.

 “Being nominated for best musical meant more rehearsals, but I’ve never been happier to work with our company again even if it meant sore muscles and long days,” Garcia said.

Garcia, was not the only one who is anticipating the Best Musical nomination.

“I’m definitely most excited for best musical because not only do we get such a great recognition, but we get to perform and in theater awards are great, but we care more about performing,” Esparza said. “So if we get to perform for others then that’s the best award possible.”

The production is something everyone involved looks forward to.

        “I love it! I have always enjoyed musical theater and being able to conduct the pit and work with the theater and choir students has been a dream come true,” Blanscet said. “It is one of my favorite parts of the year!”

Seniors who were looking forward to it are now reflecting on this show and all they learned.

“This was definitely challenging but in a way that I learned so much from it, it wasn’t just me putting on a musical but I also personally stepped into a position of leadership, and especially for this particular show we had to learn to be an ensemble and really lift each other up and I found that to be a really powerful experience.”

Overall, the performance was something both viewers and performers enjoyed, but it’s a bittersweet moment for seniors who will be attending the ceremony in later this month.

“I loved performing it, but I’m sad that it was my last time to do this in high school, I’m going to miss it,” Youssef said.