THE ADDAMS FAMILY Touring Cast Talks With Their Middle School Selves

Wednesday, meet Wednesday.

Morticia, meet Morticia. And Gomez, meet Gomez. 

Stars of the Broadway National Tour of THE ADDAMS FAMILY recently sat down for a Zoom with their younger selves—a trio of Los Angeles-area middle school students who just performed the School Edition of the musical. 

The touring show, which will play at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts June 6-7, stars Melody Munitz as Wednesday, Renee Kathleen Koher as Morticia, and Rodrigo Aragon as Gomez. Their young interviewers included Mickey DiPasquo, 13 (who played Wednesday), Isabella Franco, 14 (who played Morticia), and Vincent Barnhart, 12, (who played Gomez).  

From mastering the Addams Family tango to embracing their authentic selves, the pros were happy to pass along some acting secrets to this next generation of stars.

Vincent: What would you say is the hardest part about being Gomez?

Rodrigo: The hardest part? Almost nothing because I love it. But probably the physical part. You’re not going to have any problems with that because you're young—enjoy!  Probably for you, because I had your age at one point, like not so long ago, you're going to need not judge yourself. Just go for it.  In high school, you know, who—what are they thinking about me, what will they think if I do this or that?—if you can avoid all that, avoid any kind of judgment from your head, you're going to have like 80% of the work already in your favor.

Mickey: Was The Addams Family a show you always wanted to do?

Renee: I love this show. It is one of my favorites. This is the second time that I've had the honor of doing it. When I found out this was going on tour, I was just like, "Oh my goodness," because I love it so much.  It has so much heart to it, and it's so fun and funny. You really start to become family, and that camaraderie really helps build the show and make it truthful and grounded.

Melody: I had never done The Addams Family before, but I loved the song "Pulled" and loved the score for so many years.  When it first came out on Broadway, I was 10, and I remember just playing that cast album and loving it. So to get to sing those songs now is such a thrill and an honor.

Rodrigo: This is my dream role. It's perfect. I feel comfortable, I have fun, I'm surrounded by talent, I'm grateful. And the dream role came to me at 52. So if you love doing this, and you're going to find out in these next years, never give up the dream because it can come to you at any given point.

Isabella: Did The Addams Family play a role in your childhood?

Renee: Yes. Absolutely. Oh my gosh. I grew up with the 1990s film with Anjelica Huston and Christina Ricci—that was my childhood. I remember watching it in theaters and thinking, "This is so fun. They're so different." And then growing up, seeing all the different iterations—the animated films, the second movie in the 90s—and now with the Wednesday Netflix series, it’s amazing how the story has spanned decades and entertained so many different people.

Melody: I have just one memory from preschool—my mom was singing the Addams Family theme song, "da-na-na-na," while we were driving around the corner from my preschool. I have no idea why she was singing it; she doesn’t even remember it! But it’s stuck in my head forever. It’s an intellectual property that spans generations: the original cartoons, the sitcoms, the movies, and now the Netflix show. There’s a version of The Addams Family for every generation.

Rodrigo: I was born into the '60s series. Well, I wasn't born yet when it aired, but I grew up with it, and it was so fun. I got to see John Astin in the '60s series, Raul Julia in my language, Nathan Lane—and it's just so much talent. You grab a little from each: 

Vincent: What has your Broadway experience been like? Like, how did you start, and where are you now?

Melody: I saw my first Broadway show one month before turning seven—I saw Mary Poppins. At intermission, I turned to my family, pointed at the stage, and said, "That's what I'm going to do with my life." I was very lucky to be bitten by the theater bug early. I started performing locally, then professionally in New York City Off-Broadway, and stuck with it. Now I’m here on a Broadway national tour!

Mickey: Do you have different techniques for getting into your characters?

Renee: For me, it honestly starts with putting the makeup on. Every month, I get my nails done—l always do the long, red nails for her—and it’s like a ritual. Then it starts with the makeup. Becoming Morticia, getting her face on. It’s all that process of getting ready before the show. And that helps to embody who she is. Melody and I have shared a dressing room and she probably sees me—I’ll look at myself and do all these weird eyes because I’m just channeling this calm, grounded person. That’s my ritual.  

Rodrigo: That’s a great question, Mickey.  The interesting thing is that we all usually have different ways to approach the character. Thank God, for me, Gomez is very close to me, so it’s not much work. But each and every single one of us, I would bet that we have very different ways to prepare. Never be afraid of the different. You can learn a lot from other people. We are different. On stage, when everybody brings different things, it is such an amazing, enriching experience; it always gets better. 

Melody: Unlike Rodrigo and Gomez, Wednesday and I are quite different. It was a longer on-ramp getting into character and being as deadpan and lacking emotion as she is. So to dial myself down and get into her world and her shoes was something that would take a little longer. But now, after about 70 times, she’s a part of me. It’s like running a certain file of code. I can flip in and out of that energy. 

Isabella: When you were auditioning for the show, was the role you have now one you originally saw yourself playing?

Melody: I honestly never thought I would play Wednesday Addams because she and I are so different. I loved her and loved the show, and of course, she was on my radar, but I never dreamed I would get to embody her.  Wednesday was the character I auditioned for, though, and I went through the process as this character, but that was the beginning for me to discover that she really does live in me. Even though we’re different, she makes sense in my soul in her own way.  It was during the audition process that I realized I really can play this part—and I love to do it. 

Rodrigo: Yes! I saw myself playing Gomez right away. I loved it from the first time I read it. “I want this one. I want it.” And my girlfriend said, "This is yours. This is yours.” And I said, "Shut up, you just love me."

Renee: Sometimes you don’t see yourself in the character at first. When I first auditioned for Morticia, I thought, "Wait, what?!"  Morticia sits in a very deep, low place. Her vocal register is so low, and I’m a high soprano! Initially, I was like, “Wait, you want me to do what?”  I cried the first time I did this show because I was so frustrated with myself in how to simplify everything that I’ve always done and how to tone that down to this really deadpan but still energetic person. It was so challenging that I wept to the director. I was like, ‘This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done!’ . . . But when you do it, it’s like, ‘Oh. I got this.” One of the biggest things is putting yourself outside the box and stepping out of the boundaries where you feel comfortable, and you’ll discover so many incredible new things about yourself. It’s amazing. 

Rodrigo: If you allow yourself to be somebody else, that’s very freeing. If you embrace that and enjoy that—even if it’s opposite to you—it’s such a rise. It’s such a thrill. So, you have fun. 

Vincent: Was there anything you choreographed yourselves—that was more of an actor’s choice?

Renee: We pretty much choreographed the tango by ourselves. We had steps that we were given, but it was like, "Let’s see how you can put them together." 

Rodrigo:  No, it was more like, “Renee is an amazing dancer—let’s see what Rodrigo can do!”

Renee: No, no!  What I’m saying is that it wasn’t set choreography. It was like, “Hey, let’s learn these steps and see what the two of you can come up with to feel good within this skeletal structure that we’re going to give you. 

Rodrigo: —And I think it’s much better for it to be not funny, but fun. And not a perfect tango, because that wouldn’t be them. 

Renee: Rodrigo can do his improv and change it every night, and that’s what makes it exciting. (Both laugh.) There are things that are not set in the show, let’s put it that way.  

Isabella: (To Renee) Did you always feel you had that gracefulness Morticia has, or was that a challenge?

Renee: I feel lucky because I grew up as a dancer, and ballet was a big part of my whole career. And so having that gratefulness, that body control… I was very blessed with that ability to control my body in that way. But applying it to her was so fun and fascinating. I’m a big mirror person when I’m developing character—I love to go in a mirror and really see what it looks like. And look at myself and say, “Is that right? Does that look right?” It takes a level of confidence to feel at home in her skin. To me, Morticia doesn’t have to answer to anyone. She knows that she is in control. She knows that she is the head of this household. And she knows that people will wait for her. And so being able to incorporate her stillness was a challenge, but in that stillness there is confidence and control. 

That’s always my advice for people who play Morticia: Stillness can speak a thousand words. One movement, one look of the eyes—it’s enough.  

Mickey: Did you look at different versions of The Addams Family to help create your characters? 

Rodrigo: I did. Little things. For example, Raul Julia in the 90s movie—he’s like a beacon from a part of Europe, which is very different from John Astin’s 60s series Gomez. John Astin’s physical comedy, Raul Julia’s eyes, Nathan Lane’s energy—huge talents. You try to bring it all of it from the outside to feel what the character feels.  

Renee: When you're playing iconic characters that people already know and love, it's important to do your homework and your research . . . I watched the entire 1960s series; I’ve watched all the Angelica Huston movies; I’ve watched the Netflix series for Wednesday with Catherine Zeta Jones. Even Sarah Gettelfinger who played her on the first national tour, I tried to find as much material as I could. Then. I took little pieces from each of them that I admired and loved, and added my own take on all of that.  

Melody: I feel similarly. Wednesday is so big in the cultural zeitgeist these days, especially with the second season of Wednesday coming out on Netflix very soon. Wednesday is a character that a lot of people know and love—I’m loving your outfits, by the way. You look fantastic; it’s making my heart very happy.

What’s really interesting in this musical, which I’m sure you’re finding out, is that these characters are written slightly differently than they are elsewhere. Wednesday in the musical is not like she is in the Netflix show or the sitcom or the cartoons. So I really enjoyed looking into Lisa Loring, Christina Ricci, and Jenna Ortega and all these iconic actresses who've embodied Wednesday previously and built her into this character that we know and love—but also then needed to figure out, ‘Where is that line between where that character stops being the the complete truth for the character?’  

Mickey: Exactly. Because even when we read through the script, sometimes when I was learning my lines, I was like, ‘Oh, I didn't think of Wednesday saying these certain things.’ And then I had to like take it and be like, ‘Oh, maybe she would and why.’ 

Melody: Absolutely. Well said. 

Mickey: What's been the most exciting part of the process? 

Renee: I think this whole process was fascinating. We got to spend about three weeks total in New York City, rehearsing this and starting from scratch. And the really interesting and wonderful thing about our process is that we have the material, but our director really wanted to take a new and fresh look at it. And so we have done, we've kind of Frankensteined the Adams family a little bit, where we've added beautiful things, and we've cut thing,s and we've manipulated scenes, and really brought a whole new life to the script.

All kids: Thank you guys so much for doing this interview!

To see the full zoom interview, go to Youtube.com.