Sarah Hayes and ensemble members in “The Addams Family" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse -- September 4 through November 2.
Wednesday, September 4, through Saturday, November 2
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
With the stage hit lauded by Broadway World as "entirely entertaining and enjoyable," the spooky, kooky, ooky musical-comedy version of The Addams Family makes its debut at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, its September 4 through November 2 run treating audiences to a Tony Award-nominated delight inspired by the beloved TV comedy and the iconic cartoon strip by series originator Charles Addams.
In the upside-down world of the Addams Family, to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams. Nonetheless, this quirky family still has to deal with many of the same challenges faced by any other family, and the spookiest nightmare faced by every family creates the focus for composer Andrew Lippa's and book writers Marshall Brickman's and Rick Elice’s musical: the Addams kids are growing up. The Addamses have lived by their unique values for hundreds of years, and Gomez and Morticia, the patriarch and matriarch of the clan, would be only too happy to continue living that way. Their dark, macabre, beloved daughter Wednesday, however, is now an 18 year-old who is ready for a life of her own. She has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart boy from a normal, respectable Ohio family – the most un-Addams-sounding person imaginable. And to make matters worse, she has invited the Beinekes to their home for dinner. In one fateful, hilarious night, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change.
Circa '21's The Addams Family is being directed and choreographed by venue veteran Ashley Becher, who previously helmed productions of A Christmas Story: The Musical, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, and Just Desserts. Venue owner Dennis Hitchcock serves as the show's executive production, with additional members of Becher's creative team including: music director Ron May; production manager Jeremy Littlejohn; stage manager and props designer Kendall McKasson; technical director Richard Baker; set designer Tom Hansen; costume designer Bradley Robert Jensen; lighting designer Heather Hauskins; sound designer Dylan Dutro; assistant stage manager and deck captain Emmett Boedeker; scenic artist Becky Meissen; and spotlight operator Khalil Hacker.
Portraying the delightfully macabre Addams clan are: A.C. Lam (Gomez); Sarah Hayes (Morticia); Marc Christopher (Uncle Fester); Shelley Walljasper (Grandma); JuJu Palmer (Wednesday); Fulton Young and Gavin Hook (alternating performances as Pugsley); and Joshua Ponsones (Lurch). And with Samuel Sommer portraying the in-over-his-head Lucas, additional members of Becher's cast include: Tristan Tapscott; Caitie Moss; Samuel Sommer; Noah Casner; Brynne Davidson; Adam Cerny; Kirsten Sindelar; Emily Winn; Emmett Boedeker; Sophia Kilburg, and Nolen Petrosky.
In addition to its 7:30 p.m. public previews on September 4 and 5, The Addams Family runs in Rock Island from September 6 through November 2, with performances on Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 5:30 p.m.; and Wednesday afternoons at 1:15 p.m. All shows will be preceded by meals and pre-show entertainment by the theatre's performing wait staff of Circa '21 Bootleggers, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.com.
