Addams Family debuts Saturday
Published 2:34 pm Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Maurice Ellis, left, and Gabrielle Aubel portray Gomez and Wednesday Addams, respectively, during the Southside Area Community Theater (SACT) rendition of the 2016 musical “The Addams Family.”
Catherine Hite, middle, portrays the lovable Uncle Fester as Dawn Childers, left and Linda Parham play ancestors of the Addams family for the Southside Area Community Theater’s production of “The Addams Family,” which opens Saturday. See more photos on page 2 and online at www.KVDispatch.com.
Photos by Emily Hollingsworth The cast of “The Addams Family” prepares for a dress rehearsal. Pictured are, front row, from left, Aiden Lassiter, Mary Katelyn Hite, Amya Yates, Ashby Procise, Lauren Hite, Janie Hite, Amia Yates, Karl Crenshaw, Andrew Yates, Ainsley Hite, back row, Jimmy Martin, Jill Gangale (standing behind Jimmy) Dawn Childers, Catherine Hite, Nicci Bragg, Mandy Marshall, Mya Kailani Lee, Hunter Fowler (behind Mya), Maurice Ellis, Gabraielle Aubel, Jackson Childers, Michael Green, Patricia Mahaney, Linda Parham and Allyson Johnson. Not pictured is Victoria Wood.
Dawn Childers, left, and Linda Parham pose a shot with Hunter Fowler, who plays the zombie-esque butler, Lerch.
Members of the Southside Area Community Theater (SACT) work like members of a family both on and off stage.
On the stage, the 25 cast members — ranging from children to adults — are putting together their latest production of “The Addams Family” — a musical based on the 1964 live action series featuring a family who embraces the scarier things in life.
In the production, the Addams family faces a conflict when their daughter, Wednesday, not only falls in love, but falls in love with a boy whose family could not be more different than the Addamses.
Tickets are $10 and shows will take place 7 p.m. on July 15, 21 and 22, and 2:30 p.m. on July 16 and 23 at the Kenbridge Community Center on 511 E. Fifth Ave.
Shenanigans ensue as the two families wrestle with love, loss and change.
Creepy costumes and macabre melodies are a must, but members of the cast also showcase diverse styles, including tangos, salsa dancing, use of crossbows and magical potions.
Audience members can expect dark humor as one song, “Just around the Corner,” sung by SACT cast member Mya Lee who plays Morticia, has an energetic take on the inevitability of death, along with “Happy Sad,” a scene that is expected to pull on the heartstrings, sung by Maurice Ellis, who plays Gomez.
Co-Director C.J. Hobbs said as his first foray into directing, he and the cast has enjoyed the process and bringing the humorous and haunting story to life.
“It’s been pretty nice,” Hobbs said. “We’re getting along well and things are going smoothly.”
Hobbs said that newcomers and longtime fans of “The Addams Family” will recognize the characters and grow to see them in a new way.
“All of (the actors) were cast pretty well,” said Hobbs, who previously played the Rev. Hopkins in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Jim from “The Glass Menagerie” and roles in the Shakespeare Abridged series.
“People will immediately pick up who is Wednesday or Morticia. Everyone is playing their part.”
Lee said playing the independent and sultry Morticia allowed her to break into a character who differs from her in real life.
“My normal self is nothing like Morticia,” said Lee, who was also in last year’s SACT production of “Nunsense.”
“The fact that I get to be like her is really fun.” Lee also choreographed two of the songs, including “Just around the Corner” and “Secrets.”
Lee said the hours of rehearsal, which began at the end of May, have brought the cast together, bonding the cast into their own makeshift family.
“It’s like our fake family grew into a real family,” Lee said. “It’s really cool.”
For more information on the performances, visit SACT on Facebook or at www.sactgroup.com.
This article has been corrected from its original version.
