ADDAMS FAMILY Opens Tonight at Cumberland County Playhouse

Just in time for the Halloween season, Cumberland County Playhouse presents its version of the recent Broadway hit The Addams Family - starring Playhouse favorite Jason Ross and newcomer Audrey Moore as Gomez and Morticia Addams - onstage in Crossville beginning tonight (Friday, September 30) and running through November 12.

"I'm sure audiences will love this fabulous new production," says Addams Family director Bryce McDonald. "All of us either grew up watching the original TV series or watching the '90s film versions. Or both. The musical is wonderfully faithful to those sources and to Charles Addams' characters... and it features a terrific score and a hilarious script."

The musical's story is every father's nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness (CCP newcomer Lara Treacy), has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family (Aaron Atkinson, Mamma Mia). A man her parents have never met. And if that weren't upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams (Jason Ross, Lend Me A Tenor) must do something he's never done before - keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia (CCP newcomer Audrey Moore). Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents, played by Britt Hancock (Lend Me A Tenor) and Lauren Marshall (Mamma Mia). The family is put to the test when these outsiders come to visit, hurling them into a night that will change their lives forever.

From Jersey Boys' creators Marshall Brickman and Rick Ellis and award-winning composer/lyricist Adrew Lippa, this "delightfully macabre" musical is based on the beloved characters created by Charles Addams. In a prolific career spanning six decades, Addams created several thousand cartoons, sketches and drawings. But it was his creation of characters that came to be known as The Addams Family that brought Addams his greatest acclaim. With a unique style that combined the twisted, macabre and just plain weird with charm, wit and enchantment, Addams' drawings have entertained millions worldwide and served as the inspiration for multiple television series and motion pictures and now, a new stage musical.

Director McDonald's cast also includes Daniel Black (The Little Mermaid) as Uncle Fester, Jess Martin (The Secret Garden) as Grandma, David Kappel (Willy Wonka) and Jonathan Tison (The Music Man) as Pugsley, and Joseph Wilson (Mamma Mia) as Lurch. Portraying the Addams Family ancestors are Darbi Banegas, Quinn Cason, Jensen Crain, Elliott Cunningham, DeAnna Etchison, Blake Graham, Ross Griffin, Hannah Hays, Lindsey Mapes, Michael Ruff, Caitlin Schaub and Beth Ann Stripling.

The Addams Family runs through November 12; tickets are available by calling (931) 484-5000 or online at www.ccplayhouse.com.

Currently at The Playhouse: The Secret Garden, through October 23. Upcoming: A Christmas Story, November 4-December 18.

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