The Addams Family: The Musical
Friday, July 26, 2024 at 08:00pm
Long Beach Playhouse
5021 East Anaheim Street
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
In 1938, Charles Addams created cartoons featuring a spooky family for New Yorker Magazine. In 1964, the creepy, kooky, and altogether ooky Addams Family became a TV show. Millions tuned in to watch the extended family that included Gomez, his wife Morticia, children Pugsley and Wednesday along with Grandma, Uncle Fester, and Lurch. In the musical, Wednesday, the ultimate daughter of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love…with a not-spooky-not-kooky normal man named Lucas Beineke.
“As anyone who’s watched the Addams family knows, Gomez and Morticia are wildly in love. They are not a pair given to keeping things from one another,” said Executive Director Madison Mooney. “When Wednesday confides in her father, she begs him not to tell her mother about her new boyfriend.”
Of course, that kind of secret can’t be kept forever. Uncle Fester summons the ancestors to intercede and break up the new couple. But who doesn’t want love to win? The Addams’ decides to host a dinner party so the two families can meet and get to know one another. Lucas and Wednesday beseech their families to “act normal.” As the evening progresses, chaos ensues, and the two families find themselves admitting deep secrets and coming together in ways they never would have imagined. Ultimately friendship and love carry the day.
“It’s the Addams Family, there has to be creepy elements,” said Sean Gray, Producing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. "This is a show that lets our technical side pull out all the stops. From the gothic costumes to the lighting, sound, and set design our team has created the perfect spookily-immersive Addams Family experience for our audiences.”
Gregory Cohen is the director. He brings his well-honed comedic and dramatic sensibilities to bring out the best in the 18-member cast. His wife, Kysa, a talented choreographer is working with actors to bring sparkle to musical numbers and stage movement.
