Different versions of “The Addams Family,” including TV shows, films and comics, have resonated with people of different generations. Many fans identify with and have their favorite Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Grandma and Pugsley. In “The Addams Family” musical, Wednesday is grown up and has found love with a young man who is very different from her, and their families come together for a chaotic dinner.
Saguaro City Music Theatre will present the show Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28 at the Berger Performing Arts Center.
The show is a Youth@Part edition and is 70 minutes long, making it ideal for people of all ages.
It will feature professional adult actors, who also acted as teaching artists, alongside youth from the company’s summer camp program Studio Arts Presents.
Saguaro City Studio Arts offers tuition-free, inclusive arts education throughout the year for young people of different skill levels and abilities.
“The Addams Family” has been directed by Chris Will, the theater and dance department head at Pima Community College. He played Willy Wonka in Saguaro City’s production of Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka” and served as associate director on “Shrek the Musical.”
Many of the main roles in “The Addams Family” will be portrayed by the adult actors/teaching artists.
The show has a total cast of 76, making it the biggest cast Saguaro City has ever had.
About half of the youth and teaching artists involved have done shows with the company in the past.
One of the youth actors will be paying Grandma Addams. Teens will be portraying Lurch and understudying the role of Uncle Fester.
Many of the students will be taking on ancestor roles.
Dena DiGiacinto, the show’s choreographer and Saguaro City’s managing director and director of education, said when they notice that kids have specific talents, such as vocal or dance abilities, they try to spotlight them in some way.
Saguaro City’s production has been inspired by different versions of “The Addams Family.”
DiGiacinto grew up watching the 1960s TV show.
“I don’t think that the majority of our audiences are going to be thinking about that original version on television, especially the young people. I don’t want to ignore that inspiration that I have. I loved the original, and I find it extremely funny and fun. I love the look of it. When I think of ‘The Addams Family,’ that’s what I think of. I’m trying to keep in mind how important it is to be able to speak to the younger generation, with 63 kids and teens in the show. Most of them are looking more towards these more modern remakes,” DiGiacino said.
Drew Humphrey, Saguaro City’s CEO and producing artistic director, said while they want to honor previous renditions, it is important to find their own version.
“I think when you do a show like ‘The Addams Family,’ you are playing to nostalgia. You’re playing to a memory, and everyone’s memory is different. I think the best way to always tackle anything that feels nostalgic is to just be honest and let your memory of it flow out of you in your own interpretation. If you do that honestly, I think it appeals to people’s memory more than doing an impression,” Humphrey said.
Humphrey said the show is relatable because audience members can see parts of themselves in the characters.
“This is a family that is struggling with the daughter coming of age and how that feels to watch their daughter grow up, go off and get married. That is at the root of this. The relationships, the family dynamics are relatable to everyone, whether they’ve had a sibling that annoys them or sibling that is going off to go to college, and they’re going to be left home alone with mom and dad and a crazy household. Everyone thinks that their family is the weird family on the block. The story makes the Addams so outrageous that everyone can sit there and go, ‘Oh, interesting. That’s my family. I know that relationship. I know what that marriage is,” Humphrey said.
The show requires some very specific props, such as Pugsley’s torture machine.
In the opening number, they will have 63 young actors onstage at the same time.
“It’s such a fun song, fun music and a fun story to tell right off the bat. It starts off with a bang…. It’s a lot of planning. In the strategy of choreographing and staging, I’m just trying to keep in mind all the different levels of skill that we have so that everyone can be successful,” DiGiacinto said.
The camp has run for six hours a day for a two-week period. Sometimes, the teaching artists play games or talk with kids so they have time to regroup and reset.
Humphrey said that working with young people with different abilities can help the teaching artists to expand on their skills.
“Roughly 40% of our campers have a declared diagnosis. They need to be met specifically where they are, depending on what their needs are or what’s going on with them on that particular day. That’s new for most teaching artists….I feel like once that becomes normalized or becomes comfortable for all of them, they work at an even higher level of confidence…They could walk into any environment and be able to convey a point or meet someone where they are and work together towards a common,” Humphrey said.
Teaching artists and youth actors are often able to connect with each other because of how theater gives them a space to be themselves and grow as performers and humans.
“When they find that place of belonging, then things start to make sense for them. When you’re an adult teaching artist, you have that story. You remember where you were like, ‘I think I’m supposed to be here in this room,’” Humphrey said.
In the show, award-winning actor, director and arts educator José “Chach” Snook is portraying Gomez Addams.
Snook has done a national tour of “Forever Plaid” and been in “A Little Night Music” at Goodspeed Opera House. In Arizona, he has done shows such as “Les Misérables”,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Evita,” “Titanic” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
He has a vocal performance degree from Northern Arizona University and works regularly with The 4GENTS, Khris Dodge Entertainment, the Southwest Tenors and Alex Mack Music.
He has also appeared as a special guest with the Tucson Pops Orchestra.
Snook knew about Saguaro City from his wife Jodi Darling, who worked with the company for “Annie” and “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”
Snook has had some experience with “The Addams Family.” He directed a production of the show at Pima Community College in 2024.
“They wanted it to be bilingual. I grew up speaking Spanglish, which is not completely bilingual but a little bit mixture. I made the show Spanglish. The licensing company gave us a copy of the script in Spanish, and I plugged in some of the Spanish, for Gomez and some of the other Addams family characters. That was a lot of fun to work on that project, and my daughter was in it…. Secretly the whole time I was directing it, I kept thinking how bad I wanted to play Gomez. You try hard as a director not to give line readings… This made for a great opportunity for me to be able to do it finally and not get in trouble,” Snook said.
Snook has tried to showcase Gomez’s Latin heritage when directing and acting in the show.
“Gomez initially was not a descript ethnicity until the 1964 TV show, where he was Castilian from Spain. He morphed over the years to be more South American. Oscar Isaac voiced the cartoon, and Luis Guzmán, who played him, he’s Mexican… Just keeping the Latin roots, that was something that was important to me when I directed it. It will continue to be important to me in this role as I portray it, just to give an homage to my pops, who’s from Mexico. He’s an incredible singer and my inspiration,” Snook said.
When Snook was directing the show, he did extensive research into the comic book version of “The Addams Family.”
“I dug into Charles Addams, what he created, why he created it and his idea of mixing horror and comedy together. No one thought they could go together, and he was able to create a comic strip,” Snook said.
The actor hopes to honor other actors’ depictions of Gomez, such as Nathan Lane’s and John Astin’s, but find his own version of the character. He will especially emphasize Gomez’s eccentric nature.
Snook can identify with his character as someone who has been married for a number of years.
“My wife and I are about to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. The things that we’ve been through in that time, I feel I can draw from that experience and utilize that, as far as the relationship goes between Morticia and Gomez,” Snook said.
Snook has been an educator for the last 20 years. He has been bringing this experience as a teaching artist for Saguaro City.
“It’s a strength I feel I have. I’ve worked with kids from preschool to eighth grade. I love doing theater with kids…. I’m here to learn, and I’m here to contribute in any way I can. Whenever the moment calls, I’ll be there ready. I got a lot in my tool bag, probably too much,” Snook said.
He teaches choir and drama to elementary school kids. When working with children, he tries to make the arts accessible and fun for them.
“I do a lot of drama games with my older kids, a lot of getting-to-know-you games and theater drama games that they really enjoy. One kid just got promoted from sixth grade. In third grade, I taught him this game called ‘Splat,’ where you have to try to splat somebody before they splat you. For three years, he would do that every time he’d see me,” Snook said.
Saguaro City Music Theatre’s production of “The Addams Family”
WHEN: 3 p.m. Friday, June 26. 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28
WHERE: Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Boulevard, Tucson
COST: Tickets $17 – $32.50, children 17 and under free when accompanied by an adult
INFO: saguarocity.org
