Inland Empire Community Newspapers • December 5, 2013 • Page A11

Ooky ‘Addams Family’ musical to hit stage at FoxPerforming Arts Center

By Yazmin Alvarez

The creepy, kooky and alto-gether ooky Addams Fam-ily are coming to the Fox

Performing Arts Center in River-side next week for a one-nightshow.“The Addams Family: A New

Musical Comedy”—a Broadwaytake on the television series andfilm that are both based on CharlesAddams’ cartoon—is expected tobe as “spontaneous” as the genera-tions-old family, said Jesse Sharp,who takes on the Addams lead of“Gomez.”“(Wednesday) brings her fiancéand his family to the house for din-ner and all hell breaks loose,” saidSharp, who refrained from spillingmore details of the production.“It’s the basic Addams plot—whenever the family interacts withsomeone ‘normal,’ it’s chaos—itsets us up for a lot of comedic mo-ments. That’s where the hilaritycomes from, I wouldn’t want toblow it.”First starting as a cartoon series,the The Addams Family had its runin the 1960s as TV series starringJohn Astin and Carolyn Jones. Afilm version starring Raul Julia andAngelica Huston hit the big screenin 1991, and in 2010, a hit musical,starring Nathan Lane and BebeNeuwirth, premiered.Sharp said his Gomez perform-ances are based on Raul Julia’s andJohn Astin’s characters. “Gomez is still very much so aslicked-back haired Latin lover,” he

added.“There’s a lot of room for us toplay and make (the show) sponta-neous. That’s the beauty of live the-atre,” Sharp said, who’s beentouring with the production for ayear. “It’s fun. If something strikes usin the moment, then we go for it—you’re always on your toes andthose moments definitely give for agood time.”“The Addams Family” features abook by Marshall Brickman andRick Elice, and music and lyrics byAndrew Lippa. Musical numbers include “WhenYou’re An Addams,” “One NormalNight,” “Pulled,” “The Moon andMe” and “The Addams FamilyTheme.”The production is directed byJerry Zaks with choreography bySergio Trujillo. Production design(sets and costumes) by Phelim Mc-Dermott and Julian Crouch with setadaptations byJames Kronzer. Theproduction features lighting designby Natasha Katz, sound design byCraig Cassidy and puppetry byBasil Twist.The Addams Family at the FoxPerforming Arts Center in River-side, 3801 Mission Inn Avenue,will be a one-night only run at 7:30p.m. Dec. 12.To learn more or for ticket infor-mation visit www.foxriverside-live.com or call 800-745-3000.

COURTESY PHOTO/CAROL ROSEGG

The classic macabre family—The Addams Family—visits Riverside for one night performance of “The Addams Family: A NewMusical Comedy” at the Fox Performing Arts Center.

COURTESY PHOTO/CAROL ROSEGG

From left: Amanda Bruton (Grandma), Jennifer Fogarty (Wednesday), Dan Olson (Lurch),Jesse Sharp (Gomez), KeLeen Snowgren (Morticia), Shaun Rice (Uncle Fester) and JeremyTodd Shinder (Pugsley) in the 2013-2014 National Touring Company of The Addams Family.The production hits the stage in Riverside at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12.

COURTESY PHOTO/CAROL ROSEGG

Jesse Sharp takes on theleading Addams role of“Gomez” for ‘The AddamsFamily’ musical in Riverside atthe Fox Performing Arts CenterDec. 12.