Addams Family spooks the stage

By Alejandro Cardenas |Staff Writer|

The mysterious and spooky Addams Family (Snap, Snap!) came to life in the timeless, Old Town Temecula.

When I was told that I would be traveling to Temecula to see an Addams Family Musical, I was apprehensive to the idea considering that musicals have never been my thing and I had never heard of Old Town Temecula, all I could think about were the million other things I could be doing with my Friday night.

My mood quickly changed as I made my way into Old Town’s, Front Street which was alive with the lights and music of the numerous restaurants and cantinas.

I wobbled my way towards the Old Town Community Theater, when I finally arrived I found myself at a giant wooden mansion that looked like it was built during the times of the “wild west.”

With the outside of the building and the whole town having such an “old school” vibe, I was expecting the inside of the theater to be old as well, possibly with some wooden benches and an old rickety wooden stage.

Again, the unexpected surprises continued as I walked into a large and very modern theater with professional stage equipment and surprisingly, comfortable seats.

“The Addams Family Musical” was directed by Terri Miller Shmidt and the Grammy nominated Leonard Patton, the play was a presentation by the Temecula Valley Players.

“The Temecula players’ club always puts on excellent productions, every time they put on a show I have to see it at least once”, said local resident Daniel Lacasse.

For those who don’t know, “The Addams Family” is a creepy inversion of the ideal American family and originally made its start as a cartoon which eventually developed into a 60’s television series as well as a movie in the early 90’s.

The play centered around Wednesday Addams who is planning to introduce her normal human boyfriend, Lucas Beineke and his parents to her ghoulish family.

Situations arise as Wednesday’s mom, Morticia, attempts the impossible task of keeping her family normal as her husband Gomez deals with trying to keep a secret and little brother Pugsley copes with no longer having an older sister around to torture him.

I hadn’t heard much about “The Addams Family” since I saw the movie as a little kid but the play did an excellent job at filling me with nostalgia as the actors made all of the characters on stage feel remarkably familiar.

The musical brought loud cheers and laughter from the very diverse crowd as it was full of hilarious pop culture references as well as adult innuendo.

From creepy graveyards to an enormous dining room, the sets of the play made the entire musical experience believable with the help of fog machines, strobe lights and music that never missed a cue.

Combined with excellent acting and vocals from the entire cast, the play turned out to be a great cap to a surprisingly entertaining evening, proving Old Town Temecula to be a worthy weekend destination.