More than a dozen residents from Cherry Hill are involved with the show, which will take the stage at the Dennis Flyer Theater on the campus of Camden County College on July 27.
Mainstage Center for the Arts’ upcoming theatrical production of the musical “The Addams Family” takes the meaning of family to a whole new level.
“The Addams Family,” set to open on July 27 at the Dennis Flyer Theater at Camden County College, has a distinct Cherry Hill flavor, with more than a dozen residents from the township participating in the show, including a mother and her son.
Cherry Hill High School East student Jack Granite, playing the role of Uncle Fester, is performing in the show with his mom Allison Granite, who is playing the role of Grandma. Jack persuaded his mom to audition for the show a couple months ago after realizing auditions were open to adults as well as high school students.
“I thought, when would I ever have this opportunity to do this with him,” Allison said. “It’s something I love to do.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Jack said about performing with his mom. “It’s very different for me, but it’s cool.”
Allison said Jack has helped her with numerous things in the show, including reading music and learning the songs. The two will sometimes rehearse lines together while they’re at home.
“We’re close at home,” Allison said. “We laugh a lot at home so it’s very natural.”
In addition to featuring the Granites, the musical features a lot of people who are part of the Cherry Hill East theater community. East musical director Tom Weaver is the director of the show, his wife, Anne Marie, is assistant director, and current East students play many of the lead parts.
“There’s a lot of actors at East, we’re all friends and everything, but we’re in a new setting and a new place,” said Allison Donahue, a recent East graduate and stage manager for the show.
The musical version of “The Addams Family” features the same characters from the classic television show in a new storyline. The musical centers on Wednesday Addams, who is now 18 years old and has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a “normal” man from Ohio. The show dives into the Addams and Beineke families meeting each other for the first time.
Alicia Cosenza, a rising junior at East, is playing the role of Wednesday and described it as being very different than other characters she’s performed.
“This is actually the first comedic show I’ve been in,” Cosenza said. “I don’t do much comedy, so it’s a good experience.”
Kevin Naddeo, a rising East senior, echoed Cosenza’s comments. Naddeo is playing the role of Gomez and said it is the first truly comedic character he’s performed as.
“It’s a lot of slapstick,” Naddeo said. “It’s a lot of breaking the fourth wall. There’s a lot of lines that are delivered purposely looking at the audience. It’s fun to know that the show is full of jokes left and right.”
With so many East students participating, there is a family feeling within the cast. With a number of the leads playing in a comedic role for the first time, Cosenza believes having a cast and crew with good chemistry is very beneficial.
“You have to build a trust with the characters and the people you’re playing opposite, because otherwise it’s not believable and you can’t get the audience drawn in,” she said.
The actors believe the show will be a draw both for fans of the television show and the musical, saying everyone in the audience will go home having seen something they’ve never seen before.
“The songs from the Broadway show, a lot of them aren’t the same than what we’re doing,” Naddeo said. “A lot of them changed when they did the tour and that’s what we’re using. So it’ll be cool for fans of the Broadway show that they’ll get different songs.”
“So many haven’t seen the show in a while to the point that they only remember what the characters look like and not how they act, so I think that will be able to bring those characters alive again,” Jack added.
“The Addams Family” will take the stage at the Dennis Flyer Theatre on the campus of Camden County College on July 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and July 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $15 for students ages 13 to 18 and $12 for children ages 7 to 12. To purchase tickets, visit www.mainstage.org.
