Broadway in Chicago, with the creators from the show, announced May 11 at the Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario, that the stars of the upcoming musical The Addams Family will be played by two-time Tony Award winners Nathan Lane ( as Gomez ) and Bebe Neuwirth ( as Morticia ) . The legendary cartoonist Charles Addams drawings will come to life for a pre-Broadway engagement at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 24 W. Randolph. The new musical will play for a limited engagement in Chicago Nov. 13 to Jan. 10, 2010 prior to opening on Broadway. For more information, visit www.broadwayinchicago.com . Text by Jerry Nunn
Additional information from the press announcement:
Joining Lane and Neuwirth in the cast of THE ADDAMS FAMILY are two-time Tony Award nominee Terrence Mann ( Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables ) as Mal Beineke, two-time Tony Award nominee Carolee Carmello ( Parade, Lestat ) as Alice Beineke, two-time Tony Award nominee Kevin Chamberlin ( Seussical, Dirty Blonde ) as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman ( Hairspray, Xanadu ) as Grandmama, Zachary James ( South Pacific ) as Lurch, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Wesley Taylor ( Outer Critics' Circle nominee this year for Rock of Ages ) as Lucas Beineke and Krysta Rodriguez ( In the Heights ) as Wednesday.
Storm clouds are gathering over the Addams Family manse. Daughter Wednesday, now 18, is experiencing a sensation that surprises and disgusts her — caring about another person. Young Pugsley, jealous of his sister's attention, begs her to keep torturing him, severely, while mother Morticia, conflicted over her daughter's lurch into womanhood, fears being upstaged and discarded…. like yesterday's road kill. All the while, father Gomez — master of the revels, mischievous and oblivious as ever — would prefer everything and everyone remain as it is. But when outsiders come to dinner, the events of one night will change forever this famously macabre family — a family so very different from your own...or maybe not.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY will feature an original book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice ( librettists of the 2006 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys ) , music and lyrics by Drama Desk Award-winning composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa ( The Wild Party ) , direction and design by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch ( Shockheaded Peter, the Metropolitan Opera's recent acclaimed production of Philip Glass's Satyagraha ) and choreography by Sergio Trujillo ( Jersey Boys, Next to Normal ) .
In a prolific career spanning six decades, Charles Addams created several thousand cartoons, sketches and drawings, many of which were published in The New Yorker. But it was his creation of characters that came to be known as The Addams Family that brought Addams his greatest acclaim. With a unique style that combined the twisted, macabre and just plain weird with charm, wit and enchantment, Addams' drawings of Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandmama, Lurch and Thing have entertained millions worldwide and served as the inspiration for multiple television series and motion pictures.
