Creepy, kooky ‘Addams Family’ musical takes stage at Crown Uptown

“The Addams Family” musical, Kyle Vespestad says, is an homage and a parody of its iconic source material.

“I think it’s definitely both,” said the Wichita theater veteran, who is directing and choreographing the show, opening this weekend for the Crown Arts Collaborative. “It’s very tongue-in-cheek, it’s very funny, and there are actually some nice, tender moments. But if you’re a fan of ‘The Addams Family,’ you will absolutely love it — and if you’re not a fan, you will become a fan.”

Vespestad had already directed and choreographed “Addams Family” for Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center, and when Crown Arts executive director Max Wilson offered him the same gig there, “I jumped on it.”

“It was really fun since the beginning. Just getting to know the cast and fitting them into the characters,” he said. “Everyone just did it naturally. Everyone knew ‘The Addams Family’ and had done some type of research beforehand. We’ve had a lot of fun, and we’ve laughed a lot, and that’s what it’s all about.”

The creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky “The Addams Family” first came to life as cartoons in The New Yorker from 1938 to 1964. The most famous of four TV versions of the tale aired from 1964 to 1966. Two successful live-action movies starring Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston premiered in 1991 and 1993, and the family received animated revivals in 2019 and 2021.

“It’s kind of fun to have some source material to base your characters off of,” said Claire Gerig, who plays Morticia. “They’re all kind of so well-known and loved and there’s so many versions we can reference. It’s fun as an actor when there’s so many things to pull from – a little bit of Anjelica Huston, a little bit of the original drawing, some of the ’60s black-and-white TV show. For me it’s a field day to have so much material.”

Vonda Newby-Schuster, who is Grandmama, said she loved playing the character role.

“She is kind of the oddball in a very oddball family, so she’s the square peg,” Newby-Schuster said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing with her and this fabulous cast and crew.”

In “The Addams Family” musical, which premiered in 2010, Addams daughter Wednesday brings home a “normal” boyfriend who encounters the family, later introducing them to his parents.

College Hill Deli will provide dinner of chicken marsala, mini bierocks and cheese tortellini, and the Crown’s charity partner is CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Sedgwick County.

Wichita artist Tasha Wentling will be featured during the run, providing what Wilson calls “an immersive hotel experience.”

“When guests walk in, they’ll see a little key box and an old-timey phone that rings and actually works,” he said. “There’ll be opportunities for people in the theater to use those keys to find something inside of other boxes.”

There will be a chest in the theater that, if unlocked, will hold a time capsule from a former hotel, and for $5, patrons can purchase a grab bag of “anything from an old antique photograph to fake teeth.

“It truly runs the gamut,” Wilson said.

After two of the Sunday performances, the Spirit Hunters Paranormal Society will hold “ghost tours” of the Crown Uptown. Wilson’s research has turned up at least four deaths in the 94-year-old theater, including two children who died in the 1920s and 1930s of “mysterious causes,” a woman who was murdered in the basement during the Crown’s cinema era, and Ted Morris, the owner of the theater from 1977 until a fatal heart attack in 2008, the night before the opening of the New Year’s Eve show.

Wilson said one of the psychics from Spirit Hunters will tell him about celestial activity happening in the theater.

“Silly as it sounds, she has not been wrong yet,” he said.

‘THE ADDAMS FAMILY’ MUSICAL

When: June 10-26; performances at 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Note: The show was originally scheduled to open on June 3, but illness necessitated a week’s postponement.

Where: Crown Uptown, 3207 E. Douglas

Tickets: $40-$45 for dinner and show (discounts for seniors and military), $25-$30 for show only, at crownuptown.com or 316-612-7696

Ghost tours: 5 p.m. Sunday and June 12; Tickets are $30