The Addams family has moved into Cleveland Heights for a limited run, taking up residence on the intimate stage of Cain Park's Alma Theater through September 20. The production, based on the macabre characters cartoonist Charles Addams introduced to the public in 1938, follows Wednesday Addams as she seeks her family's blessing for her relationship with Lucas Beineke and invites his parents over for a fateful dinner.
As reported by Cleveland Scene, the musical features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The stage show is directed by Colin Anderson, who also serves as Director of Production at Dobama Theatre, Cleveland's dedicated Off-Broadway company, where he specializes in queer theater and intimacy choreography, according to Dobama Theatre. Anderson earned his degree from Oberlin College and has directed across multiple Northeast Ohio venues.
A Local Cast Anchors the Macabre Comedy
Leading the ensemble is Cleveland native Mariah Burks as Morticia Addams. Burks holds an MFA from the Case Western Reserve University / Cleveland Play House program and has a credit as The Cook in Clue: A New Comedy, according to Mariah Burks's own website. She was previously a recipient of the National Irene Ryan Acting Award at the Kennedy Center, per Dobama Theatre.
Per the Cleveland Scene report, Chris Richards plays Gomez Addams opposite Burks, while Maddie Jones takes on Wednesday Addams and David Lenahan plays her love interest, Lucas Beineke. The supporting cast includes Peter Seidl as Mal Beineke, Katie Rotuno as Alice Beineke, David Turner as Uncle Fester, Samuel Bartlett as Pugsley Addams, Rosalyn Blystone as Grandma, and Lysander Mills as Lurch. Felix Grittner serves as music director, and Jailyn Sherell Harris created the choreography, the outlet noted.
Costumes and Set Built for the Family's Signature Gloom
Costume designer Inda Blatch-Geib handled the show's costuming and makeup. According to Cleveland Public Theatre, Blatch-Geib has created costume and production designs for more than 1,000 theatrical, film, and commercial releases across a 37-year career, and has served as resident designer for Karamu House and Cleveland Public Theatre. Larry Heyman designed the production's two-tiered set, the Cleveland Scene report noted, and the show notably runs without a live orchestra.
An Intimate Stage With Its Own Long History
The Alma Theater itself carries a backstory nearly as unusual as the show it now hosts. A smaller 300-seat theater was completed in 1944, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. The theater underwent a major postmodern redesign in the late 1980s while maintaining its 262-seat layout.
Cain Park as a whole was dedicated on August 10, 1938, making it the first municipally owned and operated outdoor theater in the United States after originating as a high school drama project in a Cleveland Heights ravine. Dr. Dina Rees Evans originally directed student productions there in 1934, before the Works Progress Administration built the theater. The park is owned and operated directly by the City of Cleveland Heights, per Cain Park's own site.
Beyond the Alma Theater's 262 seats, Cain Park also holds the much larger, 2,782-capacity Evans Amphitheater, which includes 1,222 covered pavilion seats — a stage that has hosted a Yellowjackets and Patrice Rushen event, as Hoodline has previously reported. The 22-acre municipal park rounds out its offerings with an art gallery and tennis courts.
Broadway Roots and National Recognition
The stage musical itself dates to a Broadway run that opened on April 8, 2010, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, starring Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, and running through December 31, 2011, according to the Internet Broadway Database. That production was produced by Elephant Eye Theatricals following a 2009 Chicago tryout. The production's awards history is not detailed here.
Tickets and Timing
The Addams Family Musical continues at Cain Park's Alma Theater, located at 14591 Superior Road in Cleveland Heights, through September 20. Tickets range from $15.88 to $31.75 and are available through cainpark.com or by calling 216-371-3000, per the Cleveland Scene listing.
