Are You an Addams?
Laurie Farquhar
Da-da-da-dum. *snap* *snap*. Da-da-da-dum. *snap* *snap*.
That’s right. Your favorite macabre family, The Addams Family, is coming to the Renaissance Theater next spring and you are invited to be part of this ghoulish musical production being presented by ShowTime Productions.
You probably remember the Addams Family as an endearing household of kooks from the early 1960s television show. There was Gomez, Morticia, and their children Wednesday and Pugsley, along with Grandma, Uncle Fester, and Lurch. They live in an upside-down world where to be sad is to be happy and to feel pain is to feel joy.
In the musical, daughter Wednesday has grown up and has (heaven forbid!) fallen in love with a “normal” boy. On top of that, she has invited the boy and his family to dinner at the Addams family mansion where she intends to tell both sets of parents that they are getting married. It will be a fateful evening in which secrets are revealed and relationships are tested. Can they all handle the change?
The Addams Family will run April 10 through 15, 2023, but auditions are coming up next month, on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Friday Oct. 7, from 4 to 7 p.m., in the Eagle’s Nest Ballroom. Callbacks will be on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m.
There are 10 speaking roles, plus an ensemble known as the Ancestors (the dead, the nearly dead, and those who cannot decide). Audition material is available starting Sept. 1 on the ShowTime page of the HOA website at www.pebblecreekhoa.org. Once you have logged in to the website, click on “Things to Do,” then “Clubs,” and then “ShowTime Productions.” At the top of the Showtime page, there will be a link to all of the forms and material that you will need for your audition, including a digital copy of the script and practice music.
To book an audition time, contact assistant director Susan Young at [email protected] or 314-882-5915. For any questions about the production, please contact co-director Melissa Kallett at [email protected] or 623-882-6170.
The Addams Family Musical is open to everyone in PebbleCreek, so if you have been thinking about getting involved in PebbleCreek’s fun theater community, then this is the show to check out. What better way to find out how much you enjoy being on stage or behind the scenes than in a kooky musical about your favorite family of morbid misfits.
Celebrating the Best of the Best with ‘The Beat Goes On’
Laurie Farquhar
What’s your favorite style of music? Country? Rock and roll? Opera? If you like any one of these genres, then you are going to want to check out ShowTime’s fall production, The Beat Goes On.
The Beat Goes On will be a celebration of some of your favorite iconic performers from James Taylor to the Eagles to Beverly Sills. But how can a legendary opera star have anything in common with a laid-back pop singer or a heavy metal rock and roll band? What’s the link? They are all Kennedy Center Honorees who have been recognized for making significant contributions to American culture through their art.
Chanca Morrell, writer and director of this original musical revue, says using the songs and art of some of the many artists who have been awarded the illustrious honor, is one way to bring the best of the best to PebbleCreek. And she says there is now so much talent in this community that it is possible to showcase many different music styles in one production.
Chanca says the music that she has chosen for the show will “take our audience down memory lane with special songs they remember,” but at the same time, she will show how other artists might take that same song and “change it up a bit” to make it their own. And because Chanca likes to make her audiences laugh, there will be comedy routines by some of the comedians who are also the Kennedy Center Honorees, plus performances by Dance Fusion.
The Beat Goes On runs six nights from Monday, Nov. 14 to Saturday, Nov. 19. Tickets will go on sale in mid-October and will still be only $16.50 each.
More than 200 artists have been chosen to be Kennedy Center Honorees since the awards began in 1978. Their talents and influence have left their mark on American culture. There is also a lot of talent in PebbleCreek just waiting to be unveiled. So, come see what happens when your friends and neighbors transform the Renaissance Theater stage into the Kennedy Center auditorium. It will be a magical evening of music, comedy, and dance.
‘You Can’t Take It With You’
The cast of You Can’t Take It With You
Laurie Farquhar
What happens when a family that lives by the philosophy of “follow your bliss” meets with one that believes in old-fashioned traditions? There could be fireworks (literally), particularly if one of the families happens to be the Vanderhof-Sycamore clan. And you can meet this quirky, colorful household when PC Players presents the Pulitzer prize-winning comedy, You Can’t Take It With You, next month.
Despite having been written more than 85 years ago, audiences still love You Can’t Take It With You because everyone can relate to at least one or two of the oddball characters. There’s Grandpa who quit a successful business career to raise snakes and spend his days at the zoo or school commencements. Penney, the mother, writes plays because a typewriter was delivered to the house by mistake; the father Paul spends all day building fireworks in the basement; and daughter, Essie, dreams of being a prima ballerina despite having no dancing talent. Everyone is welcome to visit the Vanderhof-Sycamore household and some guests even stay for years at a time.
The one exception, however, is the second daughter, Alice, who has a traditional job in a downtown office. She has fallen in love with her boss’s son and now she must try to make her family appear “normal” when she introduces them to her future in-laws. What kind of fireworks will ensue?
You Can’t Take It With You runs four nights from Wednesday, Oct. 26 to Saturday, Oct. 29. Tickets go on sale, both online and in person, on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. To purchase online, go to the HOA website at www.pebblecreekhoa.org and click on “Things to Do” and then scroll down to “Ticket Sales.” You will find the link to purchase tickets about half way down the page. You do not have to log in. VISA and MasterCard are accepted.
“Box office” ticket sales will be sold in the Renaissance Theater lobby from 8 to 10 a.m. on Oct. 1. After that, they will be available in the lobby on Tuesday and Friday mornings, 8 to 10 a.m.
All tickets are only $16.50 each, which includes all of the service fees, and it is reserved seating.
So come and watch sparks fly when the unconventional meet the traditional in You Can’t Take It With You. You will find yourself laughing and shaking your head in disbelief at some of the crazy antics that occur in this old-fashioned, family-friendly comedy about the importance of love and learning to “stop and smell the roses.”
PC Singers Are “Chillin”
Donna Swagger
Outside temperatures may linger in the triple digits, but the PC Singers are chillin’ in the air-conditioned comfort of the Renaissance Theater, rehearsing for their annual holiday concert. What better way to beat the heat than to sing songs about dashing through the snow, decking the halls, ringing Christmas bells, holiday shopping, and other such wintry topics!
September is the time to “divide and conquer” as the section leaders begin working with their voice-part groups prior to full-chorus rehearsal. Singers dig into each piece of music to learn notes, intricate rhythms, dynamics, enunciation, timing, and difficult passages. Additionally, the men and the women meet on alternate Wednesdays with Director Jerry Drake. The Singers will continue this routine for the next three months, doing their utmost to perfect each number and present another first-rate performance! By the time of opening night on Wednesday, Nov. 30, audiences can be assured that the PebbleCreek Singers will be ready to “Ring Those Christmas Bells!”
It’s not too late to become a part of this prestigious singing group! The chorus is recruiting new members, particularly basses and tenors. Any PebbleCreek resident interested in joining may call Virginia Baker (623-248-6323) or Myra Saunders (505-320-8085) or pick up an application form in the Eagle’s Nest Clubhouse, at the club information center across from the Pro Shop.
Concert dates are Wednesday, Nov. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 3. Mark your calendar!