'Addams Family' Musical Moves To Holmdel High For March Shows

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Holmdel Theatre Guild presents "The Addams Family" for its winter musical production this March, with a cast and crew of 40 from among Holmdel High School students.

The Holmdel Theatre Guild is a student theater company at the high school that produces three shows each school year: a fall play, winter musical, and spring one-acts, says Holmdel High School theater teacher Jim DeVivo, who is directing the production.

And the play, featuring everyone's favorite weird family, is actually a "timeless tale," about "what it means to be family in the face of an ever-changing world," DeVivo said in a news release about the show.

The show will be presented on March 16, 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. at the high school, 36 Crawfords Corner Road. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, and $5 for students. Seating is general admission, sold at the door.

Here is the plot outline: "On the special night when the iconic Addams Family celebrates relatives living and dead, Wednesday Addams reveals a secret engagement to Lucas Bieneke, a young man from a typical family in Ohio. She has invited Lucas and his parents to the Addams mansion to receive the blessing of her mother, Morticia, and enlists the help of the rest of the family, Gomez, Pugsley, Grandma, Uncle Fester, Lurch, and a litany of Ancestors to help in her cause."

The show features a cast and crew of 40 students across grade levels at Holmdel High School, featuring seniors Mason McCarthy (Gomez), Alex Bauman (Morticia), Bella Moitoso (Wednesday), Erin Maurer (Grandma), Laina Yiu (Bride Ancestor), Amanda Nash (Production Stage Manager), Billy Szilasi (Lighting Designer), and Kai Campuzano (Sound) in their final musical production with the HTG.

Rounding out the cast are Jones Almeida (Pugsley), Cooper Bilsland (Fester), Annika Raj (Lurch), Mark Moitoso (Mal Beineke), Nicole DiBlasi (Alice Beineke), and Lucian Khachaturian (Lucas Beineke).

Members of the Ancestor ensemble include Adrian Cardinoza, Aidan Carscadden, Zainah Allan, Katie Bauer, Valerie Khalil, Caroline Liedel, Rocco Impreveduto, Sofina Perez, Gabby Postigo, Gabby Truett, Jenna Yiu, and Jay Zurovchak.

“The excitement and positivity among cast and crew are high and we cannot wait to share this work with the public; yet we also don’t want it to end,” director DeVivo said.

The winter musical is a collaboration among the performing arts teachers at Holmdel High School. Joining DeVivo (director) are Katrina Roberts (vocal director), Shannon Mannuccia
(choreographer), and Christie Riso (orchestra director). Stage crew is directed by Shirley Campuzano (technical advisor), Ted Mester (master electrician), and Bill Szilasi (master carpenter/advisor).

"The Addams Family: A New Musical" is presented through special arrangement with and all
authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide, 1180 Avenue of
the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 (www.theatricalrights.com).

For information about the Holmdel Theatre Guild, including pictures and insights throughout the rehearsal process, as well as details about upcoming performances, follow the Guild on social media via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram or on the HTG website, DeVivo says.