The Ordway Presents THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Now thru 5/20

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents the first national tour of the new musical "The Addams Family," based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams. "The Addams Family" runs from tonight, May 8 through May 20 as a part of the Ordway's 2011-2012 Theater Season.

"As a member of Five Cent Productions-a producing partner of 'The Addams Family'-the Ordway has been delighted to be a part of this Broadway hit from the very beginning," says Patricia A. Mitchell, Ordway president and CEO. "We're thrilled to be able to welcome this new version of the hilarious, family-favorite musical to our stage."

Featuring an original story, "The Addams Family" is every father's nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family; a man her parents have never met. And if that weren't upsetting enough, she confides in her father begging him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he's never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the entire family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents.

Joining Tony Award nominee Douglas Sills as Gomez and Sara Gettelfinger as Morticia are Tony Award nominee Martin Vidnovic as Mal Beineke, Gaelen Gilliland as Alice Beineke, Blake Hammond as Uncle Fester, Pippa Pearthree as Grandma, Tom Corbeil as Lurch, Patrick D. Kennedy as Pugsley, Brian Justin Crum as Lucas Beineke and Cortney Wolfson as Wednesday.

Portraying the ancestors are Ted Ely, Karla Garcia, Steve Geary, Victoria Huston-Elem, Patrick Oliver Jones, Lizzie Klemperer, Alexandra Matteo, Pilar Millhollen, Christy Morton, Brad Nacht, Jonathan Ritter, Roland Rusinek, Geo Seery, Samantha Shafer and Ethan Wexler.

"The Addams Family," which began performances in March 2010 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and ran through December 2011, immediately became one of Broadway's biggest hits and began a newly created national tour in September 2011. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune described the production as "classic, full-tilt, fast paced, old-fashioned musical comedy!" And John Simon of Bloomberg News called it "uproarious! A glitzy-gloomy musical entirely worthy of the macabre drawings by Charles Addams."

"The Addams Family" features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The production is directed and designed (sets and costumes) by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, with production supervision by Jerry Zaks and choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The production features lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by ACME Sound Partners and puppetry by Basil Twist.