Secrets are the enemies of passion! Speaking truth will get you through the day. Truth is not a thing that one should ration— and believe me as I open up and saaaay—

Actually…they do a lot of the saying. I’m just doing the asking. In this sit-down, round-robin TheatreBloom interview, we’ve got seven Addamses and two Beinekes* talking all about their current experience of working on The Addams Family musical, opening on Sunday August 16^th 2026 at Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre. BTCT, which produces one impressive main stage musical each summer season, is being pulled in a new direction this summer, moving toward the darkness and embracing their creepy-kooky-mysterious-spooky side. And we’re going to hear all about it!

Thank you all so very much for coming together to share some fantastical experiences. Thank you especially to Bella Comotto for reaching out and helping to coordinate and facilitate this gathering. Let’s start with the basics of who you are and who you’re playing and then we’ll dig into the graveyard dirt with the real questions!

Cormac O’Malley: My name is Cormac O’Malley and I play Lucas Beineke. 

Bella Comotto: My name is Bella Comotto and I play Wednesday Addams.

Luke DiBello: My name is Luke DiBello and I play Pugsley Addams.

Nicole Smith: I’m Nicole Smith and I play Morticia Addams.

Kendra Keiser: I’m Kendra Keiser and I’m playing Grandma.

Brian Mellen: I’m Brian Mellen and I play Gomez Addams.

Brian Singer: I’m Brian Singer and I’m playing Fester Addams.

Alex Frazier: I’m Alex Frazier and I’m playing Mal Beineke.

Bill Kohlhoff: I’m Bill Kohlhoff. I’m playing Lurch.

We have a cast sampling that spans the age ranges nicely so this first question should be fun. What was your cultural exposure to The Addams Family before you came into this project?

Cormac: I mean Addams Family is very popular; it’s everywhere. My parents watched the TV show and the movies. And now there’s the TV show with Jenna Ortega (Netflix’ Wednesday), it’s always been in pop culture. It’s always been there.

Bella: I watched The Addams Family movies growing up. And I was Wednesday for Halloween when I was eight or nine.

Bella, you’ve played Wednesday Addams before, haven’t you?

Bella: Yeah, when I was 15, I played her at Calvert Hall. I’m also really into Wednesday the TV show, it’s super fun.

Luke: I wasn’t very exposed to Addams. My parents had watched the TV show but the first time I really knew about it was when I saw it at Toby’s (Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia; 2024) a couple of years ago.

Nicole: I feel like I’ve had exposure to the characters for a long time, through Halloween and everything like that. But I think the musical was really my first exposure to it, back when Dundalk did it. (Dundalk Community Theatre; 2015.)

Kendra: For me? I’ve known of The Addams Family since I was younger because I’m one of the older people here. 102 as a matter of fact! I grew up with The Addams Family but I swear to you, as I was flying from Buffalo this morning, I watched Wednesday, because I have it downloaded from The Netflix.

Nicole: From THE Netflix!?

OH MY GOSH. I’m leaving that. Grandma Addams would say exactly that. HAHA!

Brian M: I have a weird correlation because I grew up in Westfield, New Jersey where Charles Addams actually lived. And my friend lived nearby, so we trick-or-treated near that house! It was awesome. I’ve seen the TV show, everything all the way up to the musical, and I did the musical at ASGT (Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre; 2015) with an incredible cast.

That was— ooh lemme think— Vince? Yeah— I think that was the year he did it back to back first at ASGT and then at— ooh gosh…uh…no! He did it at Dundalk first then at ASGT and then again three years later at Silhouette (Silhouette Stages; 2018) and I saw him do all three!

Brian M: That’s right!

Excellent. At 40 my memory hasn’t completely failed me. Other Brian!

Brian S: Also being old, I remember the TV shows from way back when. Along with The Munsters. I remember growing up seeing that on TV. Then through the years, all the way up until now where we have Wednesday on The Netflix.

Kendra: On The Netflix!

Brian S: And the musical. So I’ve known about the characters and I’ve seen them evolve over a long time.

Alex: For me, I grew up watching the shows with the family because they loved watching them. My grandma used to love watching them as well. But I also did the production— as Mal— in 2013 for my high school.

Bill: I remember the original TV show.

How are— and this is a character specific question, so it will be different for each of you— we’ll start back over here with you, Cormac, how are you and Lucas Beineke similar and different?

Cormac: I would say similarities, obviously we’re both young, all-American boys. Differences? Hmm. Shoot. I don’t know, I feel like I’m just like him.

Bella: Wednesday and I are very different aesthetically. I am very girly and I love the color pink. Wednesday is very…not. She loves the color black. She’s a lot more confrontational than I am. I’m pretty sensitive and I’m very outgoing and friendly. She’s more reserved and non-conformist. She’s gonna do what she’s gonna do, she doesn’t care what other people think about her. I’m actually really into horror, so I guess that’s how we’re similar. I think that crime is really fascinating. I love reading up on that and I love horror movies. I love scary stuff and Halloween.

What about you, Luke?

Luke: I do not like horror. Pugsley is very different from me because he likes to be tortured and get hurt. I would not like to do that. But I do get annoyed with my sister sometimes so we have that in common!

Nicole: I love Halloween, love a true crime doc, I’m fascinated by it. We’re different in the sense that I’m a very smiley lady. And Morticia is not. As we’ve been going through the show, I’ve been taming my smile.

Oh that must be a challenge. I know for me, as someone who likes to smile, it’s hard not to!

Nicole: Yeah, I’m learning how to keep it stoic!

Kendra: I’m like Grandma in that I’m really old. Some people might say witchy. Or the other word, the one with the B—

Beautiful?

Kendra: Aww! Yeah, that, sure! But I do like my potions and remedies. That’s how Grandma and I are very similar. Differences? Hmm. I don’t know how many differences I have. She just keeps on going and that’s just what I’m trying to do.

But that’s awesome. Keep it up! Brian?

Brian M: Gomez? I wish I could be more like him. He is the constant love of life. He is a most well-rounded person and he is not the disciplinary of the family, which is sort of like me with my son, which is great. The difference is that he’s got swagger like nobody else and he can tango and dance like a beast. And I wish I could do that!

But you’re totally going to have that swagger and beast-dance-ability mastered before you open, I can feel it!

Brian M: Well I’m going to try!

Other Brian?

Brian S: Similar… I think Fester, when you get down to the base of it, has a huge heart. He has a huge heart and he’s a romantic and he’s loyal to his family, he would do anything for his family. But he has this childlike wonder when looking at the world. And since I work with lower-school kids all the time, I would like to think I have some of that as well. Different? I’m not as manic, though Nicole might say differently—

Nicole: I mean the hair is a difference!

Brian S: Sure. The hair is a big difference. But I think Fester goes over the line and doesn’t know where the line is necessarily? I’m hoping that I do!

Alex: I like to think that me and Mal are very different people. Personally, I think Mal is kind of rude and aggressive. I think I’m the opposite of that. I like to believe that I’m nice to people, while Mal is over here shouting, “What the heck is going on?”

Sure. Bill, I’m real curious to hear your answer here.

Bill: In some ways I think I’m like Lurch in that I’m a firm-believer in the old adage that it’s better to be silent and thought the fool than speak and remove all doubt. But at the same time, I think that being able to express your opinion is important and a thing to cherish.

I love this. And I know we’re all currently loving our individualized, personal character tracks that we’re playing, but if you could be any role in the show, not the one you’re currently playing, regardless of age, gender, vocal capability, etc. who would you be?

Cormac: Wednesday. Cause I love her songs. I love “Pulled.” I like doing “Crazier Than You” as Lucas but Wednesday gets to sing that and “Pulled”, “One Normal Night”— actually, I’d like to be any of the Addamses really because of the first song. I’m sad that I’m not in that opening number, “When You’re An Addams” because that’s one of my favorites.

It is a fantastic number. What about you, Bella?

Bella: I would love to play Morticia.

Nicole, Kendra, & Mandy: You will!

Bella: I love her costumes and I love her vibe and all of her songs.

Luke: I would like to be Fester because I really like his over-the-moon song and I just really like that character.

I can absolutely see you doing that, Luke. Give it 15 years or more and you’ll be right there. What about you, Nicole?

Nicole: I’d be Grandma. I’d be smoking in the attic. Gimme a light.

Kendra: If I could do anything all over again, I would love to do Wednesday. I’d like to go back to my younger self and do Wednesday.

Brain M: I’d go down too. I’d be Pugsley. Because Pugsley is the constant creator of chaos but he grows in this show into a real, awesome kid. It’s incredible. He gets all these little moments, like underneath the table and talking with Grandma, and he’s like “Come on, I wanna be your sister, let’s just be brother and sister” and it’s really great.

I love that. Pugsley for the win. Other Brian?

Brian S: Grandma. Two words? NO. FILTER.

Kendra: Ooh! THAT’s what we have in common.

Brian S: She thinks it? She says it. I want to do that.

I love this for all of you. Alex, who would you be?

Alex: I would also go with Pugsley because I love the little brother energy that he brings to the show. I love his song too.

Bill: Fester. Because of the line “is there anything more important than love?”

Brian S: So that’s what— two Festers, two Pugsleys, two Grandmas, and a Wednesday-Morticia.

I’d be Alice if I thought I could sing it.

Brian S: You’re wearing the dress for it!

That I am. Yellow is the color of— next question. What is the moment that just speaks to you the most in the show?

Cormac: Um— you can come back to me? Please? Sorry.

Sure! The kids get a pass. The rest of you…put your thinking caps on. Bella?

Bella: My favorite moment in this show is “Happy/Sad” because I just think that it’s such a touching exchange between Wednesday and Gomez. And I’m really close with my Dad in real life. I always think about my Dad in that scene and it makes me really emotional.

I love that song. My sister used that song at her wedding as the Daddy-Daughter dance in 2020. How about you, Luke?

Luke: I really like the end, when everybody comes back together and everybody forgives each other.

Brian S: Wait? What? When does that happen?

I think Fester is rocketing away somewhere…so maybe you miss that part. Nicole?

Nicole: I love the Pugsley-Morticia scene, where he’s in bed, and there’s no monster under the bed. I just love that scene— it’s so touching.

Kendra: Of course, I’m going to say I love my scene with Pugsley, it’s like my main scene but I love it so much, and of course, I do love the ending of the show too.

Brian M: Mine again is “Happy/Sad.” It’s incredible. It makes Wednesday becomes a child for that moment, you don’t see her as Wednesday. And to me, Gomez singing that song— I have son who’s 22— and I just think about that. It’s hard not to cry at the end of the song. And I’m chanting to myself, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, you’re not going to get the note out if you cry.” It’s incredible to watch this and then you watch how much Gomez finds the family with that song, bringing Wednesday to Morticia and Morticia to Wednesday. It’s just an amazing thing that they have together. Most people don’t’ see what Gomez and Wednesday have outside of this musical. That Daddy-daughter dynamic is precious.

Absolutely. Other Brian?

Brian S: So continuing the Brian riff, I would echo everything there. As a parent, as a father, when you hear that song, you can’t not be moved. How can you not be moved? But not just in terms of the show, but it makes you think in the broader sense of what the family means. And this family, this stage family, it’s so important. You have all of that going on, but underneath, they love each other, they protect each other, they’re there for each other. The fact that this is helping to bring that all back is just powerful and touching.

You guys are going to make me cry! Alex?

Alex: For me, it’s actually the second part of “Crazier Than You” where Mal starts to fall back in love with his wife. That scene always gets to me, because I lost my wife.

I’m so sorry to hear that and thank you for sharing. Bill?

Bill: There’s a line in Moby Dick, where Melville’s talking about going down to the sea, he says there’s magic in it. And there’s magic in this play. I think when people talk about the relationships, Father-Daughter, Son-Mother, there’s magic in that.

Brian S: Grandma-Rat.

Kendra: Yes! Grandma-Rat. They love each other very much.

I absolutely love that you guys are all drifting along with your answers, and then we come around to Bill who has these deeply profoundly anchored and weighted answers. Okay, next— wait! I almost forgot— we have to swing back around to Cormac who asked to come back to him! Cormac? Did you come up with an answer?

Cormac: Yeah, it’s not at all an emotional thing. But I really like doing “Full Disclosure” because I like doing anything with the family and within the house. My favorite thing about the Addamses as a family is the insanity of it. I love whenever I can be right in the middle of that.

Being right in the center of crazy and chaos, as long as it’s not your personal crazy and chaos, is absolutely fantastic. One of my favorite moments is when Gomez goes to show Mal the heretic’s chair; not everyone’s favorite moment is deep and heavy, but our next question is going to go a little deeper here, so buckle up! The song, “Move Toward the Darkness”, that you all sing at the end of the show, what does that phrasing or that song mean to you personally?

Cormac: Come back to me.

Bella: I think honestly it’s just learning forgiveness. That’s super important. Even when things happen and things gets crazy, you’re loved ones and especially your family, will always been the ones you can fall back on and have.

Cormac: I’ve got one now, can you come back to me?

Yep!  Share it!

Cormac: Move toward the darkness, I really like that phrase because I do think it’s important in life to not always be comfortable and happy all the time. Be okay with being uncomfortable. It’s just important for us in a world with all our phones where you can get so easily distracted by things that might cause you grief or pain, it’s important to be able to face your problems, your grievances head-on.

Absolutely. Luke?

Luke: Can you come back to me, please?

I will absolutely come back to you. Kids get the passes. Nicole?

Nicole: I would say most of the show is the family being encouraged to act normal. But what is normal? So the idea of moving into the darkness is embracing who you are, even if it is a little dark. Just let it out. We love to see it.

Kendra: I would expand on that. Moving into the darkness? Sometimes the dark sides of us are as important as what people see on the outside. Moving into it, is again, allowing yourself to be in it, and accept it.

Nicole: There’s beauty in it.

Kendra: There is absolutely beauty in the darker sides of us.

This has immediately answered my internal question of whose mother Grandma Addams is? She’s yours, Nicole, based on this. Brian?

Brian M: Mine’s a little deeper in that every person and every family has a two-sided coin. One is happiness and one is sad, light and dark. The same thing, at the beginning of the show, they bring out all their ancestors, they bring out the dead people. You have to realize that all the sorrow that you go through gets to the highlights of everything else. You can’t have good without bad, you can’t have sorrow without happiness and you see it through the whole show. It’s finally at the end, when we all turn to Lurch, amazed to— well, I won’t spoil it, but you know what happens there, Mandy—

I do! I’ve seen Addams a good two dozen times or more now!

Brian M: And then you get when Gomez delivers his last line to Morticia and the answer she gives; it brings that all together, everything I just talked about.

You’re so very right. And I love that so much. Other Brian?

Brian S: I would say yes, on the bigger family level, but individually, everybody has their stuff that they’re dealing with. And you don’t resolve it by going around it. You have to move towards it so you can through it. If the darkness represents whatever it is that each person is wrestling with, then you have to move towards its, embrace it and face it, in order to get through it and come out on the other side, for growth and happiness.

Alex: Yikes. I’ve been thinking this whole time and I don’t have an answer but I’m not one of the kids so I don’t think I get a pass—

Brian S: I don’t think you want to go after Lurch!

I’ll give you a minute, Alex…Bill?

Bill: Life’s a continuum. No matter which way you go, you’re going to end up back around. In order to get to the light you gotta see the darkness.

Alex: That was not enough time.

Keep thinking, I’m going to go back over to Luke here:

Luke: Good because I have one now! I agree that you have to move toward problems that you face in order to resolve them and face your fears.

Bella: I’m going to give Alex even more time, Mandy. I know that you love Grey’s Anatomy—

FACTS!!! I am such a Grey’s girlie!

Bella: One of my favorite Grey’s Anatomy quotes is ‘…no matter how dark it gets the sun will rise again.’

YES!! But we all know where they pulled that from, right?

Kendra/Nicole/Others: LES MIS!**

Correct! ‘Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.’ Though I am a personal fan of the ‘when it’s dark, look for stars’ quote and I feel like that fits right up in here with the moving toward the darkness, Fester and the moon, and all. Alex, they have stalled for you as long as possible. Also feel free to just talk about what you’re experiencing or feeling when that “Move Toward the Darkness” song is happening. There are no wrong answers here.

Alex: For me, moving toward the darkness is the end of the show. We’re moving toward the blackout. It’s symbolic how we’re all moving towards the darkness in our own way.

Kendra: We’ve accepted ourselves.

Alex: Yes. That!

Brian S: But it’s ironic, right? You’re moving towards the end of the show, towards the blackout, and yet the family is moving more towards light, in terms of having resolved things.

Kendra: We move toward the darkness because that’s where we—

Nicole: Thrive.

Kendra: Took the words right out of my mouth.

You are definitely Morticia’s mother. Let’s undive-undelve and bring it back up here, what’s your favorite implement of torture?

Cormac: Favorite instrument or favorite way? Hmm, lemme think about that. I like the chair— The Heretic’s Chair from the show. I don’t study medieval torture so that’s all I got.

Bella: Oh my— come back to me!

Luke: I’m actually very excited to get tortured in the show on The Rack! When I was at auditions I kept thinking “I wish I could do that! I hope I get to do that.”

Yes! Nicole?

Nicole: I want the one where they stretch out your arms and legs and they pull you apart? Because my back— I feel like I’d get a real good crack in there and it would feel great.

I feel like all of us here, except the kids, could use a back-crack on that rack, Nicole. I’m with you on that one!

Kendra: I’ve been physically tortured— I mean I’ve had many back surgeries and other medical-body things so I don’t need any more of that! My favorite form of self-torture is doing theatre. And I’m being 100% serious. Because the whole time you’re in the process, you’re rehearsing and you’re second-guessing, you’re doubting yourself and sometimes you’re not getting your music or you’re not getting your lines. And you’re torturing yourself, right? Because you want to do better, you want to be better. You’re beating yourself up. It’s self-torture but it is my most favorite way to torture myself; it’s when I’m in a show.

Brian M: Mine’s kind of weird because I’m big into psychological stuff— I’ve watched 15 seasons of Criminal Minds. Watching people get through their grief and their torture is incredible but watching these profilers get things out of you is incredible. Not that I want to go through any of that but watching these people get to that other side. And you think about people who do this— all these cops and profilers— how they get through a day dealing with this nightmare stuff that they go to work dealing with.

I do love that we’ve gotten physical, intellectual, references from the show, self-torture, this is the beauty of lacking specificity.

Brain S: Yeah, I don’t know which way to go on this one! What’s torturous? I’m trying to assimilate all these answers because like you said we’ve just run the spectrum from physical to stage stuff to psychological.

My personal favorite way to torture people is to talk non-stop about Grey’s Anatomy. I’m a Grey’s Girlie. I also self-torture myself with running. I ran a nice hilly 4-miler before coming to interview you all. And then had to run a bonus half-mile up the vertical incline because rehearsal ended early. Like Kendra, this is my favorite form of self-torture.

Brian S: Wait, did you say you’re a Grey’s Girlie? Is that a thing? Is there a fanclub?

Yes, there’s a whole following. Team McDreamy, Team McSteamy, 22 seasons and still going strong with three original cast members and just renewed for a 23^rd season starting back in September of this year.

Brian S: See what I did there? Stalling…

For you or for Alex?

Alex: I appreciate the stalling!

Brian S: But back to torture… It’s torturous when an interviewer askes a question and you’re stymied. I think that’s what I’ve got.

That’s a perfect answer. Alex?

Alex: My friends always say hanging out with me is torture, so that’s what I’m going to say. No, honestly, probably my favorite type of torture is just being on stage. You know how the lights can be really heated and then with the costumes, like suits and heavy stuff. That’s my favorite.

Bill: I don’t have one. I’m absolutely opposed to the whole idea. The world would be a place if there wasn’t such a thing. Imagine peace.

Leave it to Bill to have the mellow answer that brings all back to the good in the world.

Cormac: I just thought of another one. I don’t know if this counts as torture but when the magicians do the thing and they lay their assistant down in the box and then move the pieces of the box with the body-parts all around? Contortion on the inside of the box and watching the illusion of it from outside the box.

That’s a double-whammy. Bella?

Bella: My favorite form of torture, for myself, is driving around in my car late at night and listening to really sad love songs or break-up songs at full volume. Sometimes you just need to cry and sometimes you just need to let loose! It’s the best! I turn the volume up all the way! That’s my go-to.

That’s the perfect answer. You guys are doing so great with all of these questions. The next one is going to involve a little bit of thinking but it is fun. If you and your character were coming to a show-and-tell together, and you had to bring an object from your life to give to your character that would explain your life to them, and your character was going to give you an object from their life that would explain their life to you, what would you two be giving each other?

Cormac: Just one thing to bring, hmm. What would Lucas bring and what would I bring, right? There’s a lot of things I could bring. Maybe I’d bring my guitar. I love playing guitar. Or maybe I’d bring something else— oh, when I was 13 I made my own Spiderman mask. I got spandex and a bunch of materials and I made my own, I thought it was so cool. I think that shows who I am. Lucas? What would he bring? Maybe he would bring— and I don’t know if he’s overly sentimental like this— but maybe if he had kept the pigeon with the arrow in it, he’d give that to me.

Bella: I think that Wednesday would bring her crossbow because she brings that everywhere. It’s very important to her. I think I would bring my makeup bag because I bring my makeup bag everywhere. And I would give her a makeover. I love doing makeup and doing other people’s makeup.

Luke: I think Pugsley would definitely bring a knife or TNT or something like that. I really like to dance so I would probably bring my jazz shoes.

Nicole: Morticia and I would be exchanging photo albums. I’m a big polaroid girl and she has her family album. I think we’d be able to have lots of conversations over photographs.

Kendra: Grandma and I would just be exchanging our favorite potions and…herbs.

I think I’m going to the potion and herb swap with Grandma up in the attic. Brian?

Brian M: Just like Nicole said with Morticia, I think me and Gomez would be sitting in a bar and we’d exchange wallets and pictures of our family. And we’d tell stories about our lives together just to expand on each other, and say “this is what I have, this is my whole life.” How do I explain myself? It’s everybody that sits around me.

I love that. Other Brian?

Brain S: That’s an easy one. I would bring my guitar. Fester would bring his ukulele. That’s how we both express things.

Aww. Alex?

Alex: I think Mal would probably bring either his Grateful Dead T-shirt or his headband. And for me I probably bring my AC/DC shirt and we’d have a little swap and jam out.

Bill: It’s a toughie, with Lurch. What is really going on inside this guy? He’s faithful to the family. I can’t help but think of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. On the surface, he seems ferocious and almost threatening but deep within his soul, he might really be at peace. And I think also, he’s fundamentally good. As Tolstoy says in War and Peace, “the pleasure of doing good is the only certain happiness in life.” And I know for myself, that’s when I’m happiest.

Brian M: And for you, too, Lurch is the protector of the family. He is the one that knows all the secrets. And he keeps everybody’s secrets. He knows Wednesday’s secrets, he knows Pugsley’s secrets, he knows the secrets of Morticia and Gomez, and he protects them all from the world and from each other.

Nicole: I love that Lurch is bringing War and Peace.

Brian S: Feel the Lurch.

That might be the new hashtag— #FeelTheLurch.

Bella: Stop trying to make #FellTheLurch happen!

**MULTIPLE CAST MEMBERS**: #FeelTheLurch

Oh my goodness! I’m team #FeelTheLurch. Now, what are the challenges that you’re facing this far in this production?

Cormac: Challenges? I mean there’s not many challenges for Lucas. He’s just a regular guy and we’re pretty similar. I need to think on it. Come back to me.

Bella: My biggest challenge with Wednesday, both the first time I played her and now this time, is trying to find the balance. She is so stoic. She is known to be super deadpan. I think someone who gave a masterclass performance is Jenna Ortega (Wednesday on Netflix.) I’ve watched her a lot. It’s in her body language, it’s in her eyes a lot, and in her movements. So really homing in on the balance of when Wednesday is letting her guard down, which is often around Lucas, verses when she’s much more like the Wednesday that we all know. That’s a hard balance to find. And also her songs can be tricky. I’ve been meeting with my wonderful voice teacher, staying hydrated, not pushing it, and getting a good night’s sleep!

Luke: I would say— and I was telling Bella this earlier— screaming. I don’t want to hurt my voice. It’s very hard to try and keep that sounding real without hurting my voice.

Nicole: This is my first time doing a full-length musical since 2019, since pre-pandemic. Getting back into the world and rebuilding your confidence after having not been on stage for so long has been a big, mental challenge.

Kendra: Challenges for Grandma for me right now— it’s trying to figure her out physically. I want to figure out physically who she is and how I’m going to carry her around.

Brian M: For me there’s two. You’ve had two amazing figures in history play this role— John Astin and Raul Julia— and everybody knows those two as Gomez. And that immediately sets my mind to “okay, I have to live up to that.” And then dealing with the whole family. Gomez deals with the crazy kids, he deals with Morticia, he’s trying to keep everybody together and all this crazy stuff. And for me? I haven’t done a show in 11 and a half years. It was Guys & Dolls at 2^nd Star. So you go from that, with that long of a gap, and Gomez has 12 songs and all these words he says, it’s a lot. But it’s one of those roles where I said, “I have to do this role, bring it to me.” And for me, I know we’re still in early stages of rehearsal, but these guys give a lot. It helps because Gomez is just this little piece of people and all of you guys color on him and that’s where his reactions come from. He gets all of Morticia— she gets mad, she gets loving, and everything in between. He gets Wednesday— he’ll go to the bitter ends of the earth, keep her secrets, die for her but then she just yells at him. He gets Pugsley— who is just the cool kid, he sees himself as a kid in Pugsley and he says that at the end, ‘You’re a true Addams.’ And then you have these people who come into his house and he feels like he needs to be the great patriarch, welcoming them in, introducing them to his family. It’s a big thing!

It sounds like you’ve got it well in hand, though. Other Brian, challenges?

Brian S: I think there’s a few that are kicking around in my head. Figuring out the physicality of Fester but in terms of the character, there’s the romance and yes there’s the childlike wonder, but he can also be ominous. He can be dangerous. So finding the right amount of— Acremonium— to put into him; finding that balance— like at the end of the first act when he’s calling in the weather and loving the chaos of it. It’s almost like there’s this little malevolence there. He has that in him. So the question is how do you balance that with the rest of “Three Stooges” mentality that he has. I’m definitely finding a challenge with that. The other thing that I’m finding challenging— and Brian, you talked so well about how Gomez plays so well off of other characters— Fester doesn’t play off of other characters. When you think about it, other than the moon, who is interacting with?

The audience and the ancestors?

Brian S: Right, but even with the ancestors it’s not so much a dialogue as he’s telling them, he’s talking at them. He’s ordering them around, there’s no give and take, it’s very unidirectional with everyone and everything. I’m finding that weird. I haven’t been in a role before where there’s really nobody that I’m playing off of in this way. And then vocally there are just a couple of notes in some of the songs where they’re just out of what I’m used to, so I’m working on that.

Alex: I mean, I taught my son over there— we’re good there are no challenges.

Cormac: Actually I came up with two.

Alex: Haha! Honestly, it’s just finding the balance of where he has to be rude and mad verses where he’s scared of The Addamses.

I love that. Bill?

Bill: Speaking of balance…wearing those shoes. That might be the biggest thing especially when I’m just standing there. My sciatica and those shoes… but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Our doubts are traitors. They make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

Beautiful. Back to Cormac.

Cormac: First one! And it’s not necessarily to do with the role but in doing this show? It’s coming to a new place. I’ve never done anything here. So that’s always a little bit scary and challenging to try and insert yourself into a space where other people know each other and have worked here before. So far it’s been great, and I do have friends. My other challenge is with the role. They’re always talking about Lucas, even when he’s not on stage. The biggest thing for me with that role is in this show if you don’t like Lucas, the whole thing falls apart. If you don’t understand why Wednesday and Lucas want to be together then you don’t really care about them and then the show doesn’t work. So trying to be that boy that everybody routes for, that’s my challenge.

Luke: I thought of another one, can I add it?

Of course! What’s another challenge for you, Luke?

Luke: I also have such a hard time keeping a straight face. I’m going to have to work on that!

Okay! We’re doing to the final four. There’s one more heavy-ish one and then our last three. By being involved with this production, what are you learning about yourself as a performer and or as a person?

Cormac: What am I learning? I would say for this… for this show… for this show in particular… is it obvious that I’m stalling so hard right now? Say the question again?

The big words come out when it’s time to stall. What is it that being a part of this show is teaching you, what are you learning about yourself as an actor and or as a performer?

Cormac: Even though I like to think of myself as someone who’s always happy and as someone who likes normal things, I’m finding with this show, I’m liking some of the darker things. I like some of the naughtier jokes. I didn’t think that I would like it as much as I do but I love this show!

That’s awesome. Bella, what are you learning about yourself?

Bella: I’ve been away for the past— almost a year, actually. My last show was a year ago. I’ve been training at college. I’ve really just tried to look at the script and annotate everything how they taught us to do at school. And I’m trying to really take all the training that I’ve been going through and put that into my work here. I want people to come and say “Oh, wow! Look how much she’s improved since going to college!” I want to really put a lot of effort in and to be able to give a good performance. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how far I’ve come with approaching it this time. When I was 15 I had no idea what I was doing. But now that I’ve been at school, have several years under my belt, and I feel like I have a better idea of what I’m doing and I have a lot more technique.

Luke: I think the main thing that I’ve learned is how to work with different people. I’ve only ever done shows with people my age or people in school. It’s really cool to work with adults.

Nicole: I think I’m learning a little bit more about myself through Morticia. She’s such a strong woman, Morticia, she’s empowered, she’s a powerhouse of a lady. I’m learning to be more like her, stand in your power and stand in your strength.

Kendra: Oh. Learning? Every day on the stage is a learning experience. Learning to work with new people. Learning to work with new crew. That’s just where I am. I love learning.

And that is perfectly okay. There are no wrong answers here. Brian?

Brian M: For me it’s going back on the stage, coming to a new place. But this show helps a lot, because like I’ve said to everybody who wants to do Addams Family, ‘the ancestors do more than the family does’ on stage. They are part of the family itself and its an amazing thing. Just taking in all the people and all the feels from everything, it’s amazing. You have the feels from all the kids, you have the feels from the Beinekes, then you have everything from Morticia— the love of his life who is suddenly throwing him away and how do you handle that— and it’s all these emotions coming at you all at once. Like everybody says, being on this stage is incredible as a person, but I also think of it as ‘I’m not me.’ And it takes me half of the rehearsal process to realize that it’s not me on stage, it’s somebody else, and not have to talk myself out of being panicked or scared.

I love that for you. Other Brian?

Brian S: Other Brian. That’s now officially me. The O.B. I’m going to pair the learning with remembering. Because for me— I took last year off. So coming back after taking a year off from performing, I’m remembering how much I love theatre. How much I love the process. The process of coming back to this and everything that that entails— from meeting the cast to being in the space. Now, I work at this school so I’m in here all the time, but this is a very different role, no pun intended or maybe pun intended, right? There’s the learning in terms of exploring the character and what do I bring to it, what does it give to me, and how do I mesh that together and make it something palpable on stage. But the other piece of it is just remembering everything that goes into putting on a show. And how much I love every aspect of that, which I have loved since I was 14 or 15 and now I’m 102***…so it’s really wonderful. I’m in my happy place here.

Alex: My answer is actually going to be very similar to our Wednesday’s answer. I’ve also played the role before…not Wednesday…Mal. But seeing how I’ve grown as an actor, rediscovering the role, how I’m approaching it differently this time, that’s about it.

Bill: Just about everything is what I’m learning. I have no background in theatre. I’m a retired school teacher but I’ve been doing this for the past three years. Everything about it is a learning experience. I’m very, very grateful. I feel very, very fortunate that I must have done something good here, because here I am.

I really truly love hearing that. And I think I misspoke. I said that we were doing the final four before…and yet I just asked you one and we still have four more. But two of them are very silly. So here we go! We all know the chalice comes out for full disclosure… what do we think that chalice tastes like when you’re taking a sip from it?

Cormac: Oh phew!! I thought you were going to make me say a horrible secret.

Yeah, funny story…that’s the question after this one. But for now— what does that Full Disclosure Chalice taste like?

Cormac: I don’t know. I guess I think it tastes like…tea in my mind.

Bella: I imagine it to be purple or reddish. And I feel like it would taste like grape juice but more like wine? I mean I don’t know because I don’t know what wine tastes like…

Luke: I feel like it might taste like water that you left in the car for years and then it tastes horrible.

Nicole: I just feel like it’s a smoky taste, right? Listen… there’s smoke coming out of it so it has to taste smoky!

Kendra: I think it is super bitter and nasty with a little sweet aftertaste.

This is all over the place. I love it. Brian?

Brian: I am the first one to drink from it. Please don’t anybody tell the props person to put slushie in the actual cup. It freaks me out and I’ve had nightmares of there being slushie on-stage in the cup. Anyway, for the taste itself, I think it’s sweet but then it has that tangy potion flavor to it. You know so it makes you say something that’s going to rock your life!

Brian S: This is interesting, right? Because you guys are all like it’s smoky and it’s bitter and I’m over here thinking it’s sweet. The ‘Full Disclosure’ is something you don’t want to be doing, but I’m looking at it like ‘this is freeing.’ So I think it’s somewhere between a nice, cold Dr. Pepper and a Tequila Sunrise.

Kendra: I will take that Tequila Sunrise.

Alex: My answer? I think it’s just rum. Straight up, very strong rum.

Bill: I think it’s Maker’s Mark on the rocks!

Brian S: I think most of us may have just overthought this question.

Personally, I’m going with Chianti and hoping there are fava beans somewhere on the table. Now, we’re going to do as that song indicates. It is now time to reveal your “Full Disclosure” a secret that you have never told anyone before. Whatever you’re comfortable with…and nothing that’s going to get you arrested, please. The fact that that now needs to be stated…at any rate, here we go, Cormac. Full Disclosure?

Cormac: That I haven’t told anyone? I tell everyone everything. Oh gosh, this is going to be hard.

Kendra: Just pass?

Cormac: No. I can’t pass. I’ve passed so many times already. I’ve got this. Umm— I’m going to get it— it’s literally on the tip of my tongue. I’m stalling for all of you guys—

Here, I’ll go. I own several costumes that were smuggled to me from a certain theatre’s costume storage by a former costume manager that have lived with me for over a decade now and are therefore mine. Full Disclosure.

Cormac: Awesome! Also, I was lying when I said it was on the tip of my tongue…

Alex: See that was your secret! Full Disclosure.

Cormac: Yeah, we’ll go with that. Unless I think of something else. Then I’ll raise my hand.

Sure. Bella?

Bella: I’m a pretty open book so this is pretty hard for me. But this is not one that I like telling because I find it so embarrassing. One time I was driving home after dance class and I ran out of gasoline on the highway. And my parents had to come pick me up and refill my gas tank for me. It was so embarrassing. I was sobbing because I was so upset. I just didn’t see that it was on empty and I was so scared, I was all alone, I was 16, it was awful! Full Disclosure.

Luke: I don’t like mentioning about the time when I got this really big rug-burn. And it was really embarrassing because it was from just walking down the steps. I wasn’t doing anything, and I just tripped over myself and then boom. Rug-burn. So embarrassing. Full Disclosure.

Nicole: Um… in high school I was required to wear a name tag every day. But I lost mine. And you had to pay for another one if you lost it. So I wore a blazer that we were only supposed to wear on Wednesdays, I wore it every single day for a year to avoid paying for another name tag! But in the last few months of the school year, they did a school-wide uniform check and I finally got caught. Full disclosure!

Kendra: Okay, okay, here we go. I am, like Grandma, getting older and getting up in years. And sometimes when that happens, you lose teeth. So, full disclosure, I am in the first phase of getting an implant. But you don’t get the actual tooth for four months! So right now I have a big gaping hole in my mouth, just like Grandma! FULL DISCLOSURE!!!

I love this for you, Kendra! You’re moving toward the darkness…of the hole in your mouth. You guys are a hoot. Brian?

Brian M: I tell a lot of people a lot of things so I don’t have many crazy stories. But here we go. My secret shame…during opening night? I eat a Big Mac meal because I did it when I was 16 in my first lead show.

Kendra: Oh, you’re superstitious!

Brian M: Yeah I am. The other thing is, when you see me, every show, I will walk the stage. One of my directors always said, “if you know where you are on stage at all times, you will always feel comfortable.” I have a playlist, and at least three girly-pop songs will play on that playlist, I change it around a lot, for my pre-show stage-walking. Full Disclosure.

Brian S: Other Brian…I’m also an open book and it sounds like we’re telling embarrassing stories about ourselves…let’s see… but I’ve got one! When I was in university, you know college but back in Canada, I was doing my undergrad and I was in a dance troupe. I thought I was in pretty good shape. I go to the weight room because I wanted to do some weights. Some of you will know, you know those ‘universal gym’ type equipment machines? I go up to one of the machines and I put in the pin…but you have to understand… the guys in this room— now I was dancing four or five times a week, so I was thin, but these guys, I could hide my whole body behind one of their arms. They were serious body-building weight-lifting guys with the weight belts and everything. I’m wearing a little green t-shirt and shorts. I was 115 pounds at the time. So I put the pin into the weight stack, I grab the bar, and I go “Huuah!” yanking on it, and nothing happens. It doesn’t even happen. And I’m looking around to see if any of these behemoth mountains are looking at me. And nope. So I go back and I make the weight a little bit less, move the pin up, I go up and grab the bar— “Huuah!” NOTHING. So now I’m going down in increments of five and ten pounds, I just take the pin out completely. I’m holding it in my hand, I go around, I grab the bar, grunting and growling, jumping up and down and it’s just not moving. One of the huge guys comes lumbering over to me and he says “It’s broken.” And I tried not to die of embarrassment and said “Thank you so much.” I put the pin back and I left the weight room never to return. Full Disclosure!

Oh my gosh!!! That is hilarious! Love it! Alex?

Alex: So my full disclosure— one time I shut the entire highway down all by myself. My car caught on fire.

Kendra: Car-b-que?

Alex: Very, very Car-b-que.

Why did you throw a Car-b-que on the highway!?

Alex: Ah, you know, I was bored. No, so what happened was, I was driving behind a guy who had some hay flying off the back of his truck, and some of that hay got sucked up in the engine, unfortunately. Full disclosure.

Bill: Gee, I don’t know. I taught math in my career, up to and including calculus, but I didn’t do too well with that particular subject when I was in high school. I didn’t have a degree in math either but I did go back to get credits for a teaching certificate and I think I did pretty well with that. If you find that at different points in your life you aren’t being particularly successful, you just pivot. And here I am. Full Disclosure.

Cormac, we’re back to you.

Cormac: When I was a kid, I would sometimes throw away my greens when my mom wasn’t looking so I would only have to eat the chicken nuggets.

Nicole: Wait, you would get up from the table and throw it away?

Cormac: No, no, no, no, my Mom would leave me and I would be at the table by myself—

Bella: There’s a method.

Cormac: I would wait until I was alone and then get rid of them. Full Disclosure.

Thank you all for sharing your delightful and embarrassing stories. Full Disclosure. Now, why do you want people to come out and see The Addams Family?

Cormac: I want people to come out and see The Addams Family because it has an incredible cast, incredible music, I think it’s very funny, and I just love everything about it.

Bella: It’s super-dooper fun I love the Summerween vibe. Halloween and summer! Everyone is doing such an amazing job with their character voices and it’s going to be awesome.

Luke: It’s a really great show, it’s super fun, and because of our Wednesday!

Bella: Aww! Because of our Pugsley!!

Aww. You two!! Nicole, why should people come out and see Addams Family?

Nicole: Everyone should come see it because the cast is very good and we’re working really hard. I would also say, specifically with the BTCT Theatre, there are just not a lot of opportunities for people who keep shabbat to be able to do theatre, and so having a space where we can mix so many different cultures, backgrounds, and different ways of life, I think really good people should come out and support the theatre itself.

Kendra: I would say the same thing. It’s just a beautiful show. The music is great. And I love our cast. And I also agree with what you said about having the space here within the Jewish community. I’ve been a part of it here for four years, four summers, and I just feel so honored and blessed to be a part of it.

Brian M: It’s an incredible cast. I think the biggest thing, for Addams Family, is the way I look at it— it’s like Charlie Brown. There’s a person on stage for everybody to relate to. And everything. This is a family show. You can see dynamics of family and it’s this incredible thing. Nowadays we need more of that, we need things that are happy.

Absolutely. Other Brian?

Brian S: How many reasons you want? A. With everything going on in the world right now, we need to be supporting the arts, we need to be supporting theatre, we need to be supporting community theatre. This is my seventh show here. It’s interesting because I didn’t grow up observant, but once I became observant, I couldn’t do the dinner theatres or the community theatres or the semi-professional houses, all the stuff that I used to do. Having moved to Baltimore, this has been great. The other thing is I think people need to see the level and the amazing productions that are put on here. People need to see this amazing cast. There are amazing performers coming up on this stage. People are going to walk out of here going ‘Wow.’ They’re going to walk out of here with a smile on their face, not realizing that community theatre can be this good.

Alex: Like everyone else said, we’ve got a fantastic cast here. And everyone’s doing a fantastic job. I personally think it’s funny that everyone is suddenly doing Addams—

Funny how that works out. And it comes and goes in waves. In 2014/2015 it was Les Mis, and it’s been Shrek and it’s been Hairspray; everybody does them all at the same time and it’s always a “year of *insert show here*” so it’s all good.

Alex: We’re going to do the best one, that’s all I’m saying.

Bill: Is there anything more important than family? We’re all part of one family— the human race— come out and see the show. And bring the family.

Oh my gosh; that made me tear up! Now, Bella dear over here, she’s had at least three or maybe more of this final question—

Bella: And it throws me every time!

I know! You said that last time too! But at least you don’t have to answer first. That’s Cormac. So, if you had to sum up your experience working on The Addams Family here at Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre using just one word, which word do you use?

Cormac: Exciting.

Bella: Homecoming!

Luke: Fun.

Nicole: Thrilling.

Kendra: Grateful.

Brian M: But mine’s not an adjective— so my one word is— Family.

Brian S: Can I do two words? You can pick the one you like? Nevermind. Stay with me. Engaging.

Alex: Experience.

Bill: Grateful.

The Addams Family, a Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre production, plays Sunday August 16^th & Sunday August 23^rd 2026 at 2:00pm and Wednesday August 19^th at 7:oopm in the Mintzes Theatre of the Rosen Arts Center on the Beth Tfiloh Congregation and Community School Campus— 3300 Old Court Road in Pikesville, MD. Tickets are available for purchase at the door, by calling the box office at 410-413-2417, or in advance online.

*Due to an over-imbibing of Acremonium, Alice Beineke was in repose and unable to attend the round-robin circle for the interview, but will be back to her chipper-yellow-cheery-mellow self by the time the production opens.

**this interview was conducted on Sunday July 12^th 2026…before a certain release of a certain something was announced. #Foreshadowing!?

***102 is the age of Grandma Addams in the play. And although both Kendra Keiser and Brian Singer make reference to being 102…well, if they are, they look phenomenal for their age!!