The Addams Family is finally together. Fin McCahill is Gomez, Elena Wear is Morticia, Ky Davis is Wednesday, Evelyn Archer is Pugsly, Jonah Hilbert is Lurch and Jack St. Pierre is Uncle Fester. Photos by Mike Salmon
The Addams Family goes into a panic when the secret gets out that Wednesday is marrying an outsider, spurring high gothic comedy with singing, dancing and truth potions in the “The Addams Family” at the Metropolitan Dance Studio in Kingstowne.
“Pugsly is really upset,” said Cady Denk, a member of the normal “Beinekes,” family that will soon be related to the Addams. She plays a girl named Alice who drinks a truth potion and finds out that “in a way, they’re weirdness is a good thing,” Cady said.
Justin Roach is Mal Beinekes, the father of the groom and he has issues. Mal takes charge at first but is quickly shut down by the others. “We’re seen as the normal family,” said Cady.
Ky Davis who stars as Wednesday Addams
On the other side, the Addams, led by a dark set of parents, wacky siblings with hints of a 1960s sitcom stars Carolyn Jones and John Astin as television’s original Morticia and Gomez. On the series, they lived at 0001 Cemetery Lane and they had a Cousin Itt who was covered in floor length hair and a bowler hat. Although there was a later Addams Family movie and a cartoon, the production at Metropolitan follows the original television show, sort of.
The short production schedule is part of the fun for this summer feature starring 29 youth actors from Metropolitan School of the Arts and surrounding high schools, supported by their 12-piece mentoring orchestra. “Those kids had to come in, ready to go," said Tom Pedersen, the Postgraduate Program Director at the Metropolitan School of the Arts. “We're all learning it together," he said on the first day of practice. The dance class had 10 days to pull it all together before the curtain drops at the Church of Good Shepherd in Burke on Aug. 11 and 12.
“My dad is coming to both shows and bringing other family members,” said Ky Davis who stars as Wednesday Addams. Davis is a Kingstowne resident who graduated from the Metropolitan Academy in June and will be heading to Elon College in the fall where she’ll study musical theater. Roach is also a graduate of Metropolitan, who’s heading to Syracuse University.
If you go…
“The Addams Family”
Friday and Saturday, Aug. 11 and 12.
Church of Good Shepherd
9350 Braddock Road, Burke