Photos: Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse Presents THE ADDAMS FAMILY

With the stage hit praised by BroadwayWorld as "entirely entertaining and enjoyable," a spooky, kooky, musical comedy makes its debut at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse in the Tony Award-nominated THE ADDAMS FAMILY.

Running through November 2, this theatrical treat is inspired by the beloved TV comedy and Charles Addams' iconic cartoon strip and boasts an electrifying team of professional talents.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY will be presented at Circa '21 through November 2, with performances on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday matinées at 1:15 p.m. Pre-show entertainment featuring the theatre's wait staff, the Bootleggers, also will precede all performances. Ticket prices are $63 for the Friday -Sunday dinner-and-show productions and $56 for all Wednesday performances.

Reservations are available through the Circa '21 ticket office. For reservations, contact the theater at 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island or by calling 309-786-7733 ext. 2.

In the upside-down world of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams. Nonetheless, this quirky group still has to deal with many of the same challenges faced by others, as well as the spookiest nightmare faced by every family: the kids are growing up.

The Addams’ have lived by their unique values for hundreds of years and Gomez and Morticia, the patriarch and matriarch of the clan, would be only too happy to continue living that way. Their dark, macabre daughter, Wednesday, however, is now an 18-year old who is ready for a life of her own. She has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart boy from a normal, respectable Ohio family - the most un-Addams-sounding person imaginable. And to make matters worse, she invited the Beinekes to their home for dinner. In one fateful, hilarious night, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested and the Addams family must face change – the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations.

A Broadway smash by composer Andrew Lippa and book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, THE ADDAMS FAMILY is being directed and choreographed by Circa '21 veteran Ashley Becher, who previously helmed productions of A Christmas Story: The Musical, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Just Desserts.

Portraying the delightfully creepy Addams clan are: A.C. Lam (Gomez); Sarah Hayes (Morticia); Marc Christopher (Uncle Fester); Shelley Walljasper (Grandma); JuJu Palmer (Wednesday); Fulton Young and Gavin Hook (alternating performances as Pugsley); and Joshua Ponsones (Lurch) with Samuel Sommer portraying the in-over-his-head Lucas, additional members of Becher's cast include: Tristan Tapscott, Caitie Moss, Samuel Sommer, Noah Casner, Brynne Davidson, Adam Cerny, Kirsten Sindelar, Emily Winn; Emmett Boedeker, Nolen Petrosky and Sophia Kilburg.

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