The lovable gang of oddballs is coming to Winthrop this week for the fall production of “The Addams Family,” directed by Matt Ferrell. The show runs from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. in Johnson Theatre.
The story follows the exploits of the Addams, father Gomez, mother Morticia, their son Pugsley, their daughter Wednesday and uncle Fester. The main character in this story is Wednesday Addams, now eighteen years old. Wednesday has fallen in love with a boy named Lucas Beineke, and she begs her family to try and be normal for one night so she can impress him and his family.
Junior musical theatre major Shannon Bradley plays Morticia, the matriarch of the family. “She is very elegant, she always walks with poise, but this version of her is a little bit different from what audiences are used to seeing her as.” Bradley said. “While she does keep her composure, she does get a little frazzled in this show.”
Bradley also describes working to balance Morticia’s calmness with her anger, as well as maintain a mature, motherly presence.
“The research for Morticia was difficult. Because as I said, in the movies she’s portrayed as very calm always, and everything is easy for her. Not many places do you see her get angry, and she gets angry in this show so that’s been a challenge,” said.
“I love how confident she is. She’s so in control, which is kind of humorous because she’s really the head of the family.” Bradley said. “My favorite part of the show has to be the tango. She and Gomez have just gotten in a fight, and [the tango] is them making up. It’s just so powerful, it’s their love, it’s the fire reigniting.”
Freshman musical theatre major Gillian Huntley plays Wednesday.
“[Wednesday is]very morbid but she has a lot of feelings. She just doesn’t show them on her face. She’s very deadpan, but after act two she kind of changes because she falls in love with Lucas. She totally flip-flops and she has too much emotion, and she shows expression all the time,” Huntley said.
According to Huntley, the musical version of Wednesday is different from the character portrayed in the movies.
“In the movies she is deadpan all the time, with no expression on her face at all. In the musical, you have to find a mix of the deadpan and the expression.”
Director Matt Ferrell said he chose the show for several reasons.
“I knew we could cast the show so that’s always important when you are looking at a season. I like the fun score and thought the music is fun, and a spooky musical would be a great way to introduce the Halloween season. I love the subject matter of the musical and wanted to explore the whole world.” Ferrell said.
“‘The Addams Family’ is a musical about how we define families and how everyone’s family is quirky underneath everything. It’s also a love letter to the characters created by Charles Addams, and just continues the saga of the Addams Family.” Ferrell said.
Ferrell said the show’s music sets it apart from others he has directed in the past.
“It’s a whole different genre. Andrew Lippa wrote the score, and uses various styles of music throughout. It’s themed for different characters. Gomez always has a Spanish flair to his music, Fester’s music tends to be vaudevillian, Wednesday’s music is very contemporary pop. It sometimes feels more like a variety show than a musical,” Ferrell said.
Tickets for “The Addams Family” are $10 with a Winthrop ID and $15 for the general public. The show is also an approved cultural event.
