What is a DMV-area theatergoer to make of a student production that is instantly recognizable, plays in a 50-seat, hard-to-find black box theater, and costs no more than $10? Answer: a lot of fun.
Georgetown University’s Nomadic Theatre brings a delightfully kooky and spirited staging of The Addams Family to the Village C Theatre.
As the lights go dark, this production opens with the snap-tastic “Addams Family Theme” song, and a 10-piece live band offstage. This overture, which composer Andrew Lippa integrates seamlessly into the show’s opening number, “When You’re an Addams,” is a wise decision; while the television show and the famed song premiered in 1964, the musical opened in 2009. As such, it serves as a brilliant connector and comfort between past and present as this relatively new production begins.
The musical itself is tremendous fun, filled with highlight performances by these talented students. Among them are patriarch Gomez Addams, Aiden Brennan, who sports a pencil-thin mustache and enormous charisma on stage. Emily Feichthaler, adorned in ripped stockings and pitch-dark leather boots (costumes by Angelina Inirio), delivers the angst of young adulthood effectively as Wednesday Addams. And Mikey Ruff shows off his banjo skills as the amusingly morbid and emotionally connected Uncle Fester.
The story centers on Wednesday, who falls in love with a “normal” boy, Lucas Beineke (Ethan Agustin-Calloway), and begs her father to keep it a secret from her mother, Morticia (Margie Conner). The drama unfolds as the entire Beineke family visits the Addamses’ home for dinner. How will the mix of normalcy and unusualness blend? Will Gomez be able to keep the engagement a secret from Morticia until the time is right? Will the two loved ones persist through a stressful night with their parents?
The answer to these questions — and the plot points themselves — is that it really doesn’t matter. The brilliance of this show is in its writing and the fun of it all; it is easy to see why Lippa received a Tony nomination for Best Original Score for his work on the original Broadway production. In “Wednesday’s Growing Up,” a short solo from Gomez in Act One, he sings with wonderment about how “she became someone else’s chum.” Later, as he struggles with keeping the engagement from his wife, it’s “with his wife to his left, and his daughter to his right…. I’m trapped.” It’s an instantly recognizable conundrum for the girl-dads among us.
And the fun, particularly for this production, is the talent itself — both on and off stage. Conner, as Morticia, brings a pitch-perfect tone to the role, sauntering on stage at just the right moments, and effectively balancing motherly frustration with the essential morbid je ne sais quoi of the Addams matriarch. The 16-person cast, including the perfectly square-jawed Alex Goldberg as Lurch and the wonderfully weird Kayley McPherson as Pugsley, fills the small theater stage with line dances and a memorable dinner thanks to direction from Charlotte Hibbert and choreography by Raquel Silva and Makenna Faddis. And the musical direction, by Shehryar Chaudhry, is an essential backdrop; in “Secrets,” where Morticia sings in disbelief that Gomez could keep anything from her, drummer Sean Bruinius provides a perfectly on-point staccato beat.
The second act brings the kook, including Fester’s love for the moon, the conclusion of the Beinekes’ visit, and a couple more unnecessary interludes. This is not a show with big, grand Les Miz–style anthems or other great showcases for the actors’ voices. It’s pure quirkiness, including Fester’s aforementioned love for the moon, and a romantically macabre moment where Wednesday insists that Lucas risk his life to show his devotion for her. It is, all told, The Addams Family. Snap a couple times, and you will love it.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, with one 10-minute intermission.
The Addams Family plays through Saturday, November 15, 2026, presented by Nomadic Theatre at the Village C Theater on the campus of Georgetown University (3795 Library Walk, Washington, DC). The remaining shows may be sold out, but click here to add your name to the waiting list in case seats become available.
Age Recommendation: 13 and older (language, mature themes, and some seductive vamping from the female leads)
The program containing credits is online here.
The Addams Family
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Directed by Charlotte Hibbert (CAS ’27)
Produced by Isabella Hill (CAS ’29)
Stage Managed by James Zaidman (CAS ’29)
Technical Direction by Alec Hamblet (CAS ’27) and Julia Swanson (CAS ’28)
Instrumental Musical Direction by Shehryar Chaudhry (CAS ’29)
Vocal Music Direction by Sophia Rauenhorst (CAS ’29)
Choreography by Raquel Silva (CAS ’28) and Makenna Faddis (CAS ’29)
