The Addams Family Brings Ghoulish Laughs to Walnut Street Theatre Through Nov. 1.
The Walnut Street Theatre is keeping Halloween season firmly in the comedy column. The Addams Family, the stage musical built around America’s favorite creepy, kooky clan, continues its run at the historic Center City venue through Nov. 1.
The show matters as the opener of the Walnut’s 218th season, according to Playbill, and as a proven crowd-pleaser timed exactly for families hunting pre-Halloween outings. Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard said the season was assembled to leave audiences thinking about it for years to come, and few shows fit October better than this one.
In the story, Wednesday Addams has fallen in love with a sweet young man from a respectable family and begs her father Gomez to keep the secret from her mother Morticia. Everything unravels on the night the Addamses host dinner for Wednesday’s normal boyfriend and his parents.
The cast includes Lindsey Bliven as Morticia, Damon Bonetti as Gomez, Abbie Parker as Wednesday, Kelly Briggs as Uncle Fester, Aren Duffy as Lurch, and Mary Martello as Grandma, according to BroadwayWorld. Richard Stafford directs and choreographs.
The creative team includes scenic designer John Farrell, lighting designer Julie Duro, sound designer Sean McGinley, costume designer Mary Folino, and wig designer Destinee Steele, according to Stage Magazine.
The production lands at a meaningful moment for its creators. The score by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have made the show a durable regional favorite since its Broadway run, and its themes of acceptance and family eccentricity play especially well in Philadelphia’s offbeat theater culture.
For the final stretch, the Walnut has scheduled Hallo-Week, a run of themed evening performances during the last week of October. Highlights include Kids Night on Oct. 29, a date-night package on Oct. 30, and Addams After Dark on Oct. 31, with all seats $35 and $10 drink specials, according to BroadwayWorld.