The Panther Players welcome one and all to their presentation of the Addams Family musical on the weekend of March 21 - 23 at Wallkill Senior High School. The Panther Players invite you for a show filled with quirks, drama, colorful characters, odd happenings and overall fun for the whole family.

The production of the Addams Family follows the iconic, ghoulish family in the midst of a dilemma following a regularly held family event. Wednesday Addams has fallen in love with a “normal” boy and plans to bring him to the house to introduce him and his family to theirs over dinner. During the course of the evening, strange events play out revealing truths and testing relationships, which leads to both families coming together in the end.

Longtime Panther Players Director Liz Bailey shares excitement for the upcoming showcase, all while balancing the different happenings and events in the district. She returns alongside other longtime director Mark Cambalik to lead the cast, crew and all other inner workings of the show. For this year Bailey said she has really great kids in this cast and in the crew. Bailey recalls when first announcing the show, her cast could not wait to perform it.
Over the course of the past few months, the Panthers Players have been working on creating sets for the show, learning the mannerisms and quirks of their characters and working on their vocals and timing to ensure all runs smoothly. In this year’s production, there will be two casts performing on different days during the show’s weekend. One is the Cousin Itt Cast and the other is the Thing Cast.

Bailey is looking forward to the show and for Wallkill to see a fantastic performance. “I think that they’re going to be very, very much entertained. And this is a family show, and they are going to enjoy it, because these kids are going to give them what for I tell you,” said Bailey. “I’m very proud of them. And it’s funny, and you’ll hear me laughing.”

For senior cast members, they are feeling excited and a bit nervous as they prepare for opening weekend but are ready to put on one last big show before they close the curtains, heading off to the next chapter of their lives. “It really is pulling together these last couple weeks that we have left,” said senior Nick Petralia.

“It’s very nice, it’s nice to see everyone kind of get along and also to see the show really come together and us solidifying things,” said senior Bryanna Wallace. “In previous years, we were learning dances two days before the show, people didn’t know their lines,” said senior Adrienne Silvestris. “Those shows were pretty good. So I’m hoping this will be a great one.”

“I was really intimidated because we lost a third of our cast who graduated. I was really worried about who was gonna fill that kind of void and I just have to commend the freshmen and people who joined, who are not freshmen,” said senior Eric Scheerer. “Speaking to the show itself. I think it’s very fun, and I’m having a fun time with my two vastly different characters.”

Other cast and crew members describe what they think the show is all about to them and what the community can expect from their performances. “I would probably say the power of connection, just because throughout all these shows, you see all these different bonds between people and you see them fall apart throughout the show, and then all end up coming back together,” said Lillian Kilpatrick.

“It is a really funny show, and it’s unique. It’s not what you expect from the Addams Family and I think it’s got a lot of nice little one-liners in there,” said Cooper Heidemann. “It’s just such a fun show, and there’s so many comedic moments. Just come see,” said Rylee Lynch.

“I think they [the audience] should be expecting to just see the Addams Family come to life in front of them. I think we really embody the characters, and have done a great job,” said senior Kat Holmes.

For the iconic character of Gomez, portrayed in the show by Jono McLaughlin, who is a senior and Ryder Kilpatrick, both actors are feeling good, confident and proud of all the work gone into the show. For both of the actors, they have felt they have been able to play off each other, learning how to portray the character on stage. As the show gets closer to opening weekend, both actors are ready to perform a great show for Wallkill. “It’s gonna be a funny show. It’s sad at parts but mainly it’s a comedy,” said Kilpatrick. “Expect a lot of fun. These characters, so much fun. They’re so interesting. A lot of colorful personalities,” said McLaughlin.

A senior citizen show will be held on Thursday, March 20 at 3 p.m. at the high school and tickets for the upcoming show can be purchased online: https://wpplayers.booktix.com/ or at the door upon arrival. Opening night will be on Friday at 7:30 p.m., two shows will be held at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and the final show will be at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. There will also be concessions, flowers and raffles for sale in the lobby. Adult tickets are $15 and students/seniors are $10.

Cast:

Gomez - Jono McLaughlin; Morticia - Bryanna Wallace; Wednesday - Lillian Kilpatrick; Pugsley - Eric Scheerer; Grandma - Adrienne Silvestris; Lucas - Nick Petralia; Uncle Fester - Ryder Kilpatrick; Lurch - Logan Slader; Mal - Rene Martinez; Alice - Naomi Groth; Cousin IT/Maid Ancestor - Hannah LaRocco; Bride Ancestor - Sonali Abrev Almanzar; Caveman Ancestor - Zoey Anne Bates; Softball Player - Cali Dietrich; Death - Joshua Holmes; Solider Ancestor - Gianna Mancuso-Krasher; Saloon Girl Ancestor - Natalia Reyes; Puritan Ancestor - Ariel Culver; Flight Attendant Ancestor - Avery Yustein; Ancestor Flapper - Kat Holmes; Courtesan - Carlie Lacelle and Ancestor - Victoria Perry.

Thing Cast: Gomez - Ryder Kilpatrick; Morticia - Kat Holmes; Wednesday - Rylee Lynch; Pugsley - Victoria Perry; Grandma - Carlie Lacelle; Lucas - Rene Martinez; Uncle Fester - Nick Petralia; Lurch - Logan Slader; Mal - Eric Scheerer; Alice - Lily Kilpatrick; Flight Attendant Ancestor - Avery Yustein; Courtesan - Adrienne Silvestris; Conquistador - Joshua Holmes; Soldier Ancestor - Gianna Mancuso-Krasher; Saloon Girl Ancestor - Natalia Reyes; Bride Ancestor - Sonali Abrev Almanzar; Softball Player - Cali Dietrich; Cousin IT/Maid Ancestor - Hannah LaRocco; Caveman Ancestor - Zoey Anne Bates; Puritan Ancestor - Ariel Culver; Ancestor - Jono McLaughlin; Ancestor - Naomi Groth and Flapper - Bryanna Wallace.

Stage Crew:

Stage Left Manager - Cooper Heidemann; Stage Right Manager - Luke Fragetta; Hunter Annets; Noah Alberts; Grace Boland; Chad Carson; Sofia Delemos; Ellie Fragetta; Jessie Foster; Gavin Griffin; Colt Paul; William Quick; Brianna Reyes-Romero; Courtney Reynolds; Elizabeth Rodriguez; Yanah Spencer and Veda Szajko.
Pit Orchestra: Pit Coordinator-Sax - Arianna Jorge-Martinez; Violin - Catherine Badu; Percussion - Matthew Bongiovanni; Violin - Ryan Campbell; Viola - Darrek Jorge-Martinez; Percussion - Ben Kurpick; Trombone - Brandon Michaud; Violin - Nicole Ordonez; Viola - Hailey Reilly; Flute - Dominic Ricci; Sax - Angel Sena; Violin - Kera Wright; Violin - Bella Wager; Cello - Kateri Warren; Sax - lan White and Trumpet - Liam White.
Directors - Liz Baile and Mark Cambalik; Music Director - Hannah Blair; Choreographer - Anitia McMonigie; Dance Captains - Gianna Mancuso- Krashner and Natalia Reyes; Costume Designer - Bernadette Brewer; Sound Design & Effects - Ron Bitner; Lighting Design - Mark Cambalik; Set Designer - Lauren Cambalik; Scenic Charge Artist - Catherine Badu, Elena Sindt; Assistant Scenic Charge Artist - Lilian Kilpatrick; Program Cover/ T-shirt Artist - Jessie Foster; Set Construction Coordinator - Mark Cambalik; Set Construction Crew - Ernie Bates, Steve Boland, Pete Cuddy, Tom Maur, Kurt Scheerer, George Tobias, John Wynn; Videographer - Bill Celtic; Production Coordinators - Maria Menconeri- Annetts, Megan Heidemann, Kendra Yustein and Communications - Ron Bittner, Christina Wynn.