I have enjoyed many performances at The Stage, but my hands down favorite to date is the musical comedy The Addams Family directed by Lori Koenig. I had the distinct pleasure of catching last night’s performance and I can only gush about the tremendous performance the cast, crew, and orchestra put on! The set design, the choreography, the costuming,  the staging. the singing, the tongue-in-cheek humor, the overall quality of the production – I must say, it checked every box. The entire cast was very strong and were each given an opportunity to shine (kudos to Koenig for seeing to that).

I must give special shout outs to four of the 20 cast members that I deemed spectacular.

• Cody Gerszewski was delicious as Gomez. The caliber of his performance was on par with performances I have seen on Broadway. His comedic timing is spot on and his use of facial expressions, movement, and space to enhance the depth of his character’s quirky charm was stellar.
• Abbey Immer as the delightfully dark and twisted Wednesday was absolute perfection. I cannot imagine how she could have performed that role any better.  Everything from her posture to her dour expression evidenced her complete commitment to her character.
• It was nice to see Taylor Schatz as Fester (local Rocky Horror Show theatre fans will remember Taylor in the role of Doctor Frankenfurter). That man has more personality in his little finger than most folks have in their whole body and it adds magic to his performances. He knows how to work the audience.
• And finally, I must say that a high point in the production was when Josh Tappe as Pugsley showcased his beautiful voice. His final note in What If took my breath away.  Josh is in eighth grade presently, I can only imagine how bright his future will be.

The Addams Family has two remaining performances – tonight (April 30th) and tomorrow (May 1st). If you have not seen it yet – get there before the run ends. I am telling you friends, it does not disappoint!

Another day in the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C