The Addams family has always been comfortable with things that make other people nervous. Graveyards, ghosts and the occasional threat of bodily harm are all part of ordinary domestic life. But in “The Addams Family Young@Part,” now entering its final weekend at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts, Wednesday Addams has presented her parents with something genuinely unsettling. She’s growing up.
Worse, she’s in love with a nice young man from a respectable family. When Wednesday asks her father, Gomez, to keep the relationship secret from Morticia, the stage is set for a family dinner that would test the patience of considerably less eccentric people.
Thingamajig Theatre Company’s teen production brings the familiar characters to life in a musical that finds its best comic possibilities in the peculiar business of being a family. Behind the Addamses’ macabre tastes and gleeful disregard for convention are parents struggling to accept their daughter’s independence, a marriage complicated by a well-intentioned secret and two families discovering just how little they understand one another.
The young cast is led by Finlay Moore as Gomez, Leela Simpson as Morticia and Olive Fladwood as Wednesday. Quinn Mitchell takes on Uncle Fester, Gabby Padilla plays Pugsley, Lillian Buchner portrays Lurch and Nora Cram appears as Grandma. The visiting Beineke family includes Damian Turk as Lucas, the object of Wednesday’s affection, with Lillian Jones as Alice and Ben Anacker as Mal.
The production is part of Thingamajig’s ongoing commitment to developing young performers in Pagosa Springs.
Following last year’s “Beetlejuice Jr.,” the teen company has again taken on a musical with recognizable characters, energetic comedy and an opportunity for local students to work together on a full theatrical production.
Its final performances take place Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., with 3 p.m. matinees Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1.
While the Addamses prepare to close their doors, Thingamajig’s professional production of “The Shark is Broken” will remain onstage through Nov. 15.
Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, the play returns audiences to the famously troubled production of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” Actors Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss are waiting aboard the Orca while the mechanical shark repeatedly fails to cooperate. The cameras are idle, the schedule is slipping, and the three men have little to occupy them beyond conversation, argument and the occasional bruising assessment of one another’s talents.
The premise is amusing partly because of what audiences already know. “Jaws” became a landmark in American filmmaking, but that outcome was far from certain to the people enduring its difficult production.
The play imagines the private frustrations behind a public triumph, with the movie’s celebrated shark serving mostly as an excuse to leave three complicated men alone together.
Directed by Laura Moore, “The Shark is Broken” stars Tim Moore as Robert Shaw, Scott Morehead as Roy Scheider and Cameron Vargas as Richard Dreyfuss. Its 90-minute running time, without intermission, places the audience in the company of the actors for an evening of sharp exchanges, bruised egos and occasional moments of unexpected vulnerability.
There is a worthwhile contrast between the two productions. The teenagers in The Addams Family play adults learning that they cannot control their children, while the professional actors in “The Shark is Broken” portray grown men who are not always especially good at controlling themselves. Both plays find humor in human behavior that remains recognizable regardless of the rather unusual circumstances.
“The Addams Family Young@Part” concludes Sunday, Nov. 1. “The Shark is Broken” continues through Nov. 15.
Both productions are presented at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts, 2313 Eagle Drive. Performance schedules and tickets are available at PagosaCenter.org or by calling (970) 731-SHOW (7469).
About Thingamajig
Theatre Company
Thingamajig Theatre Company was co-founded in 2011 by Tim and Laura Moore. It is an award winning professional 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre in residence within the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. Its talented actors, directors and production experts come from across the U.S. to produce musicals, comedies and dramas year-round.
Thingamajig also is dedicated to providing theatrical experiences and educational opportunities for youth and teens in our community.
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