By Joan C. McKinney, director, Office of University Communications
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They’re altogether ooky,
The Addams Family.”
“The Addams Family: A New Musical” is the Campbellsville University and Town Hall Productions Homecoming play at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7; 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8; 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10 in Russ Mobley Theater in the Alumni Building.
The musical is based on the book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with music by Andrew Lippa.
A synopsis of the play explains: “In the kooky, 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 deals with many of the same challenges faced by any other family, including the spookiest nightmare of all: 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 a young woman 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 one could be! 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.”
Campbellsville University students and community members play the characters in the musical.
Gomez, the patriarch of the family, is played by Gabe Taylor, a junior of Spencer County. The matriarch, Morticia, is played by Malorie Byrne of Campbellsville. Holly Joe Evans, a senior of Barbourville, Ky., plays Wednesday, the daughter who brings change to the Addams family.
Other characters are: Pugsley, played by Jackson Hays of Campbellsville; Grandma is Jaren Childers, a junior of Elizabethtown, Ky.; Fester is played by Sinjin Fuchs, a junior of Somerset, Ky.; Lurch is Colin Harris, a freshman of Campbellsville;
Lucas is played by Gavin Johnson, a sophomore of Campbellsville; Alice is the character of Lauren Phillips, a junior of Taylor County; and Kevin Day, a graduate student of Elizabethtown, Ky., plays Mal.
The Ancestors are played by: Lauryn Littlejohn of Weedsport, N.Y.; Simran KC, a freshman of Nepal; Priscilla Wilson, a freshman of Lebanon, Ky.; Emma Kait Grider, a sophomore of Adair County; and Spencer Ingram, a sophomore of Spencer County.
Jon Andrew, instructor in theater arts at Campbellsville University, as the director of the play with Starr Garrett, theater director and professor of theater, is the tech director and costume designer.
Music director is Dr. James Killion, associate professor of music (voice). Choreographer is Kristin Dowdy, instructor of theater, dance. She is also the props manager. Alia McClendon, community theater manager, is in charge of light design, makeup and hair.
Other crew members are: stage manager, Gavin Ballard, freshman of Bardstown, Ky.; assistant stage manager, Malarie Drake, freshman of Russellville, Ark.; assistant choreographer and prop manager, Haley Fecher, a junior of Mt. Sterling, Ky.;
Lighting crew: Abigail Tollison, a junior of Glasgow, Ky. and Ryan Welch, a senior of Frankfort, Ky.; light board operator, Ryan Welch, asenior of Frankfort, Ky.; costume crew, England Blye, senior of Louisville, and Morgan Rayhill, senior of Louisville;
Makeup crew: England Blye and Emily Whitehurst, freshman of Liberty, Ky.; set crew, Ryan Welch;
Paint crew: Abigail Tollison and Emily Whitehurst; Run crew: Haley Fecher and Abigail Tollison; and sound board operator, Betta Kim, graduate student of Elizabethtown, Ky.
Tickets are on sale now and are available at townhallpro.com/theater-film. Online ticket sales end at midnight prior to the performance date. Tickets may still be available at the door as supplies last. General admission is $10; seniors (65 and up) and children (12-under) are $7. For day of reservations email theater@forms.campbellsville.edu.
Empty seats will be left between households, and masks will be required.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 12,500 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.