Thursday, April 30, 2020
Show won't go on, but he still looks like a fuzzy Uncle Fester
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: An actor committed to his craft, 10th-grader Quintin Michalski had his head shaved to play Uncle Fester in the musical “The Addams Family.” A day later, Baldwin High School shut its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the musical was canceled three days before it was to open.
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Honestly this article would not let me read it because I have apparently read too many Pittsburgh-Post Gazette articles for this year. However, I think I can gather what this article is talking about through its title, description, and the single moment I was allowed to view the page before being unjustly locked out. It sounds like a poor 10th grade Pittsburgh boy shaved his head in order to play Uncle Fester in his High School’s production of the Addams Family. And now he is stuck in quarantine growing out a sick hairdo. Major buzz cut turned major buzz kill. Now this is another, albeit very dramatic, tale of high school students missing out on their treasured Spring Musical. That truly sucks. I have kept in contact with a few friends who are current seniors at my high school this year and they were just weeks away from opening their big show, Into the Woods. Thankfully they created a horribly edited video of each cast member singing a small snippet of any random song they wanted to from the show. It was horrible. It was probably the saddest thing I have seen all quarantine. But they tried, I guess? It was a good reminder that quarantine is not an artist retreat. It is a time to sit and wallow and run 4 miles a day because you are bored and procrastinating homework. It's a time to make sourdough that takes way too much time and energy and never quite rises enough. We are not writing King Lear, we are just trying to avoid the pit of despair.
Having your show get cancelled is the worst feeling. Having your show get cancelled after shaving your head because you are committed to your part must be even worse. That being said, Quintin is definitely taking the well. He is making the most of the situation, and doesn’t even seem to be phased by the fact that he shaved his head. It is so refreshing to see that he is maintaining good spirits during these times, as I am struggling to get through it all. Reading about his show’s cancellations makes me think about all the productions which have been cancelled. My heart truly goes out to all the performers who have been unable to do what they love and perform theatre for an audience. I just think about all of my friends who are still in high school, particularly all the seniors who no longer have their final spring musical. I just hope that as many people as possible are like Quintin and are taking this in the best possible way.
Oh no! This poor kid! I feel like we really dodged a bullet by graduating senior year and finishing our big musical before all of this happened. I cant imagine how sad it must've been to have a show cancelled during this time, let alone when you made such an intense physical change in your appearance. I personally used to do acting and when I was in a show that required a physical change I was NOT happy. I cant imagine if I shaved my head and then later found out I had done it for no reason. Even the thought of the half built sets sitting in empty theaters from cancelled high school shows is a really sad thought. I feel really terrible for all of the people I still know who are in high school and missed their last show. My last show in high school was a super big deal. Also, it just came to mind that they won't be able to get adjudicated and have their awards ceremonies like we all did. I would be really sad about that.
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