Berkshire on Stage

It is a true testament to the enduring legacy of The Addams Family that a mere four notes can compel an entire audience to clap and snap in unison. This is exactly what happened when the music began at R’ville Stage Creations’ production of The Addams Family Musical, currently playing at Conkling Hall in Rensselaerville. 

For those unfamiliar with The Addams Family franchise, I am concerned about what rock you’ve been living under to have missed such a cultural phenomenon! But the idea behind The Addams Family is a simple one: they are a strange and “spooky” family with humorously macabre tastes and interests who ultimately love each other just as much (or perhaps more) than any other family, but still sometimes struggle to fit in with “normal” society and the other families around them. For those unfamiliar with The Addams Family Musical, it concerns the Addams daughter Wednesday as a young-adult who has fallen in love with and plans to marry a “normal” man. The couple hopes that their two families can get along despite their differences before the couple announces their engagement, but their best-laid plans are complicated when the couple announces their plans to the family patriarch and asks him to keep their secret from his wife. 

The Addams Family has been re-imagined and revived for many generations, and the musical is just one more iteration of the strange and delightful family. I therefore want to try to avoid comparing the musical to any previous movie, television, or other versions of the classic kooky and spooky sitcom family. But I must also acknowledge that I came to the musical with my own expectations based on my previous exposure to The Addams Family media. So too, I’m sure, did every other member of the audience who was compelled to snap along with the theme song as soon as it started playing. So I’ll just advise that this show will be best enjoyed by audience members who leave their expectations at the door and go in with an open mind to see what this particular version has to offer.

R’ville Stage has committed to the season of spookiness and, much to their credit, has done many small things to help the audience get into the spirit of the season and the show. The outside of Conkling Hall has been decorated for the season; the pièce de résistance is a very well-behaved live vulture on a tree stump. (Apparently some of the theater volunteers also do wildlife rehabilitation.) Inside the venue, themed cocktails help get the audience into a spooky-fun mood. And as we wait for the show to begin, before the lights go down and the pre-show announcements begin, the curtains open partially on the zombie butler Lurch (Sean Allison) playing the piano. 

The excellent and immersive decorations extend to the show’s set and the props. The gate to the Addams Family crypt looms over the stage and the simple set is bleak yet stylized. Most superb of all are the costumes and make-up, designed by Avinash Lekram, especially for the ensemble chorus of undead Addams ancestors. Lekram clearly understood that the cast and ensemble should be creepy in a fun way but not actually scary, and toed that line perfectly.

The titular family, along with a handful of outsiders, are brought to life by a talented cast. Marina Plattner is strange and lovable as Uncle Fester, who sets the plot in motion by trying to help Wednesday in her pursuit of love–and perhaps have a love affair of his own with the most unlikely partner. Vocal powerhouse Koda Laverne is delightful and equally endearing as the good-natured Addams family patriarch, Gomez, who spends the play nervously caught between his daughter and his wife.

Opposite Laverne, Tara McCormick-Hostash plays matriarch Morticia Addams. McCormack-Hostash certainly has impressive stage presence; but her interpretation of Morticia was too condescending and diva-like for my taste, and lacked the humorous aloofness and unabashed creepiness that I find so endearing in other renditions of Morticia. (I have striven to avoid unnecessary comparisons to other Addams Family iterations, but this one stands to be mentioned because in all versions the family members are all meant to be likable and ultimately fairly wholesome, despite some strange sensibilities. This rendition of Morticia made her come off like an antagonist at times, which does the character an injustice.)

On the other hand, Gabby Smachetti found the perfect combination of creepiness, aloofness, and heart as the lovestruck Wednesday Addams. Of the visiting Beineke family, the standout vocal performance is that of Gillian Bellarmino as Wednesday’s cheerful but repressed would-be mother-in-law, Alice. In supporting roles, Aurora Hostash is delightfully impish as Wednesday’s younger brother Pugsley, and with limited stage time, Sean Allison works in some top-notch physical comedy as the Addams’ butler, Lurch.

All in all, The Addams Family Musical is an excellent show for anyone looking for some family-friendly spooky-season entertainment. The show is well-crafted and well-performed; plus R’ville Stage Creations and Conkling Hall have taken care to bring the spirit of the season to some of the most minute details. I would advise any Addams Family fans to leave their previous experience at the door so as to avoid comparisons, because The Addams Family Musical is its own piece of media with its own interpretations. If you can do this, you are sure to be delighted by R’ville Stage Creation’s October offering.

R’ville Stage Creations presents The Addams Family Musical, directed by Tara McCormick-Hostash, runs from October 17-26, 2025, at Conkling Hall, 8 Methodist Hill Rd, Rensselaerville, NY. Choreographed and assistant directed by Moses Oscar. Music director: Nick Graziade. Stage manager: Alana Healy. Cast: Tara McCormick-Hostash as Morticia Addams, Koda Laverne as Gomez Addams, Gabby Smachetti as Wednesday Addams, Lydia Clermont as Little Wednesday Addams, Aurora Hostash as Pugsley Addams, Laurie Fischer as Grandma Addams, Marina Plattner as Fester Addams, Sean Allison as Lurch, Steve Key as Lucas Beineke, Gillian Belarmino as Alice Beineke, and Paul Truncale as Mal Beineke. Ensemble: Fenix Downs, Michele Galea Bertelle, Henry Pino-Hojlo, Teddy Boltz, Caroline Cunningham, Daniel O’Callaghan, Hannah Ravenheart, Grace Mirabella Bertelle, and Lyra Rose. Costume design by Viviane Galloway. Set design by Sean McCormick. Hair & makeup design by Avinash Lekram. Lighting design by Malcolm de Long. Sound engineer: Andre Valverde. Properties master: Colleen Rosenblatt.

Performance dates are Friday-Sunday. Friday, and Saturday curtains are at 7pm and Sundays are matinees only at 2pm. Tickets are $30 for adults, $26 for seniors, students, and military. Runs approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission. Contains light sexual innuendo. Recommended for ages 8+. For more information or to order tickets, visit https://rville-stage-creations.square.site/.