Lights Up! Brings the Laughter and the Life Lesson

Lights Up! Theatre Company has been around for eight years and twenty-something productions, but the non-school-affiliated organization might have found its perfect musical to mount for its ethos and our times in The Addams Family Musical. The dark, funny, and unexpectedly heartwarming musical comedy is based on the macabre characters famously created by cartoonist Charles Addams, which were turned into a hit TV show in the ‘60s and found many other adaptations over the decades. With a book co-written by Academy Award winner Marshall Brickman (Sleeper, Annie Hall and Manhattan with Woody Allen; Jersey Boys on Broadway) and with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, the musical updates the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addams for the 2010s.

But it’s the central concept that makes the musical mesh seamlessly with Lights Up! The theater company prides itself on providing a place where teenagers of all backgrounds and life experiences can feel seen – and secure enough to explore their worlds and collaborate with others while training in professional acting, singing, and dance. “We’re a family” is a rallying cry that pervades the company.

In the musical, first daughter Wednesday Addams has grown up and – horrors! – fallen in love with a seemingly normal young man. The chaos ensues when the teen invites her beau and his mainstream family to dinner at the Addams decidedly dark and haunted home. What follows is a tale that resonates deeply with teens who are having their own issues navigating identity, first love and family expectations. The show is full of humor but also real heart in a laughable lesson about living in harmony with others and celebrating differences. In other words, the Lights Up! mission. 

“I think the theme of a teenage situation – falling in love and confronting parental and family expectations, only to have love triumph in the end – is universal,” said Amy Love, the company founder and director. “It’s very cleverly written and it’s legitimately funny and witty and there are fantastic characters to embody for everybody, from the principals to the actors who play the ancestors that are responsible for helping move the plot along. The show is extremely entertaining, and the message of tolerance really has something to say.” 

Taking on the challenging role of (ultimate princess of darkness) Wednesday in one of the alternating advanced company casts is Brynn Wood. Now in her fifth year at Lights Up!,  her roles have included Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, and other major cast members in Hadestown, Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, Drowsy Chaperone, Anything Goes and Matilda. It’s almost a case of casting against type.

“I’m usually a pretty cheery, positive person, so it’s been a lot of fun to get to explore this darker, sarcastic character that I wouldn’t normally get to experience in my normal life,” said Wood, a sophomore at San Marcos High School. “I do have my own dark side, and it’s fun just tapping into that. But Wednesday is also very guarded, with a lot of walls up. She doesn’t know anything else. So when she meets this person who really captivates her, it’s interesting to see how she lets her guard down to adapt to other people around her.”

The message also matters to the actress. 

“The show is about celebrating our differences and coming together despite them,” Wood said. “That’s a very important thing in my life,”

Lights Up! Theatre Company performs The Addams Family Musical for six shows March 12-15 at The Marjorie Luke Theatre. Visit www.lightsupsb.com