They’re creepy and kooky—mysterious and spooky—and all together ooky: the Addams family. And they’re coming to the Baer Theater at Morgan Park Academy this month!
The Beverly Theatre Guild (BTG) is thrilled to announce its upcoming fall production, The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy. The musical hilariously explores the macabre as the eccentric Addams family must navigate the challenges of their daughter’s unexpected romance with a ‘normal’ young man, revealing the true meaning of family and acceptance.
In this musical version, Wednesday Addams (played by Joelle Singer Jensen), the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man (Lucas Beineke, played by Sterlin Johnson) from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams (played by Juan Castillo) must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia (played by Erin Renée Baumrucker). Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.
Illinois Latino News had the chance to speak with Castillo about playing the patriarch of the eccentric clan, which delights in the macabre and the grotesque.
Erin Renée Baumrucker (Morticia) during rehearsal.
Photo Credit: Isabella Balta
“As soon as I saw Addams Family was the musical that was happening, I immediately dropped everything and was that’s the next show I’m doing,” said Castillo about how excited he was to audition. “Gomez was a dream role, and lo and behold, I’m here. I’m playing Gomez!”
While Castillo is not new to the stage, he is new to BTG. “It’s been really fun to get in a new theater space,” he said. Castillo said about getting to work with such a large cast, “It’s also really cool to do it with so many people I already know and people that I’ve grown fond of and then new people that I’ve grown fond of as well.” One of those people is castmate Jensen.
“Joelle and I have only worked on it a few times, but even now, the connection is really strong,” Castillo said about his favorite song, “Happy/Sad.” “As we keep working it (song), it gets stronger and stronger. We did it in just the last rehearsal, and I was just starting to tear up.” The number marks where Gomez begins to accept that his daughter, Wednesday, is growing up.
Castillo is from Tinley Park, the son of a Mexican native from Zacatecas (father) and an Irish American from Joliet (mother). He says he’s channeling his family on his father’s side to give voice to the character Gomez Addams. “My dad moved here when he was young. He used to have a very thick Spanish accent. A lot of the times when I am looking at words, I am ok. How would my dad say that, or how would my uncle or my grandfather say this?” He also sees some of the family dynamics with his own. “Like the kooky grandma, the fun uncle who is just a little zany, and lots of kids. I have a lot of aunts and uncles, and my grandparents. There’s a lot of us and a lot of personalities. And I think that very much resonates with the family that is here with Addams Family.”
Castillo at rehearsal with some of The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy cast
This first show of BTG’s 2024-25 Season is being produced by Barb Lenihan (Mount Greenwood) and Shannon Bracken (Oak Lawn), with a creative team that includes Gina Lutvi (Oak Lawn) as Director, Sheilah O’Grady (Orland Park) as Assistant Director, Sharon Mason (Ashburn) as Music Director, Michael Barr-Schinzel (Beverly) as Associate Music Director, and Tom Fagan (Oak Forest) as Choreographer.
The cast also stars in the lead roles: Lucas Mora (Oak Lawn) as Pugsley Addams, Timothy Casey (Oak Lawn) as Uncle Fester, Nancy Alvarez (Garfield Ridge) as Grandma Addams, and Bob Bullen (Orland Park) as Lurch. Additionally, Sterlin Johnson (Calumet City) will play Wednesday’s fiancé, Lucas Beineke, with Sean Henry (Beverly) and Leandra Ward (Steger) as his parents.
The talented ensemble cast of Ancestors consists of Morgan Ayres (Palos Heights), Lauren Bourret (Mount Greenwood), Kathryn Cargill (Palos Heights), Louis D’Antonio (Tinley Park), Elaina Dague (Homewood), Maggie Fechner (Beverly), Allianna Garcia (Evergreen Park), Emma Gavin (Chicago Ridge), Mac Gillespie (Beverly), Kallie Givens (Washington Heights), Lorenzo Kelly (Oak Lawn), Maggie Lavin (Chicago Ridge), Jen Lenihan (Oak Lawn), Erin Love (Richton Park), Kelli Mason (Oak Lawn), Meg Massaro (Beverly), Max Molenda (Orland Park), Danielle O’Malley (Mount Greenwood), Aidan Raubolt (Orland Park), Grace Regalado (Mount Greenwood), Meg Seth (Oak Forest), Laina Van Dyke (Palos Park), Yaya Van Dyke (Palos Park), and our very own publisher, Hugo Balta (Galewood).
The Addams Family franchise is a long-running series based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938. Over the decades, The Addams Family has been adapted into numerous television series, films, and other media, becoming a beloved staple of American pop culture. The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy is the first stage show based on the characters, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.
For this pre-Halloween production, audience members are encouraged to dress in costumes to enhance their show experience, and a Costume Contest will be featured at every performance.
The Beverly Theatre Guild is Chicago’s longest-running community theatre company and is currently in its 62nd season. All BTG shows are performed at the Baer Theater, a 425-seat venue with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, located at 2153 West 111th Street on the campus of the Morgan Park Academy. Information on BTG may be found at www.beverlytheatreguild.org.
Cover Photo: From left to right: Timothy Casey (Uncle Fester), Erin Renée Baumrucker (Morticia), Lucas Mora (Pugsley), Juan Castillo (Gomez), Joelle Singer Jensen (Wednesday), Bob Bullen (Lurch), and Nancy Alvarez (Grandma). (Courtesy: The Beverly Theatre Guild)