The Academy Players are performing their second musical The Addams Family at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Ocean Township, over two weekends, May 7-15, 2022. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take some photos from the opening night performance.

The Academy Players are the Musical Theater students of the  Axelrod Performing Arts Academy (APAA) located at Bell Works in Holmdel.

The Addams Family, with a score by Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa and an  original book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice  (Jersey Boys), ran on Broadway starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. While most people in the audience remembers  America’s favorite “creepy and kooky” family from reruns of the 1960s  hit TV series (or one of the five Hollywood films), the musical is actually based on the source material of Charles Addams’ original single-panel cartoons. The musical has a completely new storyline about the 18-year-old Wednesday, played by Juliana Harary (Navesink), who has fallen in love with a “normal” teenager from Ohio, Lucas Beineke, played by Sealth Grover (Navesink) and the ghoulish chaos that ensues as Wednesday’s parents, Gomez and Morticia, played by Sam Cusson and Giada Garcia (both from Middletown), face the possibility of changing their nontraditional macabre ways. Mr. and Mrs. Beineke, Lucas’s conservative parents, are placed by Aman Tolia (Holmdel) and Ava Giglia (Middletown). Rounding out the Addams family are Micah Schachet-Brisken (Marlboro) as the quirky Uncle Fester, Brennan Boyce (Howell) as young brother Pugsley, Kara Kube (Toms River) as the mystical Grandma and Max Oster (Asbury Park) as the groaning butler Lurch.  

Tickets for the final weekend can be purchased at www.AxelrodArtsCenter.com or by calling the box office at 732-531-9106, ext 14. Remaining performances are May 14 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm and May 15 at 3:00pm. Please check the website for the current COVID guidelines at the theater. 

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.