Running Riot 1938

Classic Stage Company has announced complete programming for their 2023-2024 Season. See what shows are in the lineup, who is starring, how to purchase tickets, and more!

This week I saw productions of two decades-old musicals, each written by one of theatre's great composer/lyricists, which, in their original productions, ran a combined total of nine performances on Broadway.

The characters in The Addams Family were created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. The characters traditionally include Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, close family members Uncle Fester and Grandmama, their butler Lurch, the disembodied hand Thing, and Gomez's Cousin Itt. The characters are a satirical inversion of the ideal American family: odd, wealthy, macabre and unaware that other people find them, at the very least, bizarre. They originally appeared as single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between their debut in 1938 and Charles Addams' death in 1988. They've been adapted to multiple forms of media: television, both live action and animated, and a series of films. The most recent adaptation is the musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY with a book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

Karen Carpenter, a producer, director and teacher, a theater-maker for more than 30 years, has been appointed the interim Artistic Director of the William Inge Center for the Arts and the 34th Annual William Inge Theatre Festival. The Inge Festival is the Official Theater Festival of the State of Kansas, hosted on the campus of Independence Community College, which houses the William Inge archives.

The world-renowned Abbey Theatre of Dublin, credited for producing some of the most significant and important plays of the 20th century, returns to the Annenberg Center for the first time since 2004 for performances of Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe's critically-acclaimed play TERMINUS, February 16-20, 2011. A dark, supernatural odyssey set over one night in the city, TERMINUS will fully satisfy the appetite of theatre lovers through excellent acting and rich text. Performances by the Abbey Theatre, the national theatre of Ireland, are part of a seven-city U.S. tour celebrating the Abbey's 100th anniversary of touring in America. The Abbey Theatre last performed at the Annenberg Center in 2004 to rave reviews of J.M. Synge's riot-inducing play The Playboy of the Western World. For tickets or for more information, please visit AnnenbergCenter.org or call 215.898.3900. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Annenberg Center Box Office. Performances of TERMINUS take place on Wednesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM; Thursday, February 17 at 7:30 PM; Friday, February 18 at 8:00 PM; Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM; and Sunday, February 20 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $25-$35 (weekday evening performances) a $28-$48 (evening performances).

The world-renowned Abbey Theatre of Dublin, credited for producing some of the most significant and important plays of the 20th century, returns to the Annenberg Center for the first time since 2004 for performances of Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe's critically-acclaimed play TERMINUS, February 16-20, 2011. A dark, supernatural odyssey set over one night in the city, TERMINUS will fully satisfy the appetite of theatre lovers through excellent acting and rich text. Performances by the Abbey Theatre, the national theatre of Ireland, are part of a seven-city U.S. tour celebrating the Abbey's 100th anniversary of touring in America. The Abbey Theatre last performed at the Annenberg Center in 2004 to rave reviews of J.M. Synge's riot-inducing play The Playboy of the Western World. For tickets or for more information, please visit AnnenbergCenter.org or call 215.898.3900. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Annenberg Center Box Office. Performances of TERMINUS take place on Wednesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM; Thursday, February 17 at 7:30 PM; Friday, February 18 at 8:00 PM; Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM; and Sunday, February 20 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $25-$35 (weekday evening performances) a $28-$48 (evening performances).

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