Ann Kotze’s son Joe Kotze went from participating in summer youth productions through the Emily McCabe Musical Theatre Program to participating in some of Curtain Call Theatre’s adult shows.
Now his mother continues to help get children involved in theater by directing fourth- to eighth-graders in Curtain Call Theatre’s Fall Young Performers Program’s “The Addams Family Young@Part” Nov. 1-3 at Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort.
“I worked on the regular version of ‘The Addams Family,'” said director Kotze, who was music director for Lincoln-Way North High School Music Department’s “The Addams Family” in 2016 in Frankfort.
“It’s a super fun and funny show. Everyone knows of this family from TV, cartoons and things like that. Also, when this show falls for us, it’s the week of Halloween. It’s the season to do a kooky musical about this crazy family,” she said.
“All the kids in the ensemble are the Addams family ancestors so they’re generally dressed in shades of white and gray so they look like zombies.”
Adapted by Marc Tumminelli for younger actors, “The Addams Family Young@Part” is a 60-minute edition of the Broadway musical, which was based upon characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams.
The show features book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who co-wrote the book for “Jersey Boys,” and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, who wrote the hit “Evil Like Me” from the movie “Descendants.” Brickman also won an Academy Award with Woody Allen for best original screenplay for “Annie Hall.”
“It is about the Addams family, which we know is an unusual family, that has their house in the middle of Central Park,” Kotze said about “The Addams Family Young@Part,” which features a grown-up Wednesday Addams.
“Wednesday, the daughter, has fallen in love with a boy named Lucas who is from a ‘normal’ family. It’s about the families coming together one night to have dinner and meet each other because the two kids are talking about getting married.
“The message becomes to define what’s really normal. It’s about them all coming together and embracing each other and embracing each other’s lives so it’s a good, happy ending.”
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The cast includes Frankfort, Manhattan, Mokena and New Lenox residents.
“They’re all having a blast. The principals as Gomez and Morticia Addams are really making smart choices,” said Kotze about eighth-grader Cooper Kosteck and seventh-grader Molly Czechanski, both of Frankfort.
“They’ve gone and watched episodes of ‘The Addams Family’ just to get to know these iconic characters, which is really fun because they’re really just starting to wrap their heads around the stories.
“Sometimes it’s hard to play an iconic character. People expect a certain thing. I’m really proud of the principal kids because they’ve really done their homework. Even all the rest of the cast is really having fun being monsters, zombies and ancestors from the grave.”
The Kotze family’s involvement with Curtain Call Theatre started with Joe Kotze, circa age 8, being cast as one of the children in “Oliver!”
Kotze’s husband, Mike Kotze, most recently directed “Nunsense” in late 2018, at Curtain Call Theatre’s Front Street Theatre in Mokena while she was music director for Emily McCabe Musical Theatre Program’s “Frozen JR.” in July at Lincoln-Way Central High School Auditorium in New Lenox.
“Curtain Call Theatre is pretty passionate,” Kotze said.
“The people put on great productions. They’re a really great part of the community.”
‘The Addams Family Young@Part’
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 1-2; 2 p.m. Nov. 3
Where: Summit Hill Junior High School, 7260 W. North Ave., Frankfort
Tickets: $10 general admission
Information: 708-607-2281; www.ccctheatre.com
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.