‘Addams Family’ has something for everyone

Seeing your daughter meet a “normal” guy, marry and settle down is every parent’s dream. Unless you’re Morticia and Gomez Addams, that is.

Snap, snap.

Whether 1 or 100, the “Addams Family” is for everyone, according to Cortney Wolfson, who plays Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, in the musical production set to premier in New Orleans Sept. 15-24 at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts.

“There is something in it you’ll be able to relate to and you will leave feeling completely fulfilled and laughing your head off,” Wolfson said. “It’s a great show for everybody.”

With Hurricane Irene hurtling toward the East Coast, Wolfson stepped away from rehearsal recently to talk by phone about the upcoming show.

“The Addams Family” combines the talents of writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who wrote “Jersey Boys,” the 2006 Tony Award winner; lyricist Andrew Lippa; choreographer Sergio Trujillo (“Next to Normal”); directors and designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch; and creative consultant and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks.

This most recent installation of “The Addams Family” stars a grownup Wednesday, now a college student in New York City. She’s fallen deliriously in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family, a boy she meets in Central Park while pigeon hunting.

Now, the family is planning a dinner party for the boy and his parents.

“The Addams Family” in general is so unique and compelling because everyone is just looking for someone who is a little stranger than they are so they can feel normal,” Wolfson said. “Wednesday certainly is that girl.

“She is wearing black clothes and shooting a cross bow across Central Park, trying to shoot pigeons, while other young ladies are out picking out prom dresses and wearing pink. It’s fun to be a little bit different.”

A self-described “huge fan” of the Addams Family movies, Wolfson recalls actress Christina Ricci’s take on Wednesday. “When you’re a little girl and there’s a little girl in the film, you are automatically attracted to her,” she said.

And while Ricci’s character was preoccupied with raising spiders and torturing her brother Pugsley, Wednesday’s attention has turned to Mr. Right.

“Now there is a big effort going on to coordinate a big dinner and get the families together so that she can tell them she’s engaged,” Wolfson explained. “Her time is now stretched over three different men in her life: her fiance, her father and Pugsley. She’s running around trying to make everyone happy.”

The cast arrives in New Orleans after Labor Day for three weeks of production in anticipation of the Big Easy launch of the year-long tour.

“This will be my first time there and I can’t wait,” Wolfson said. “I’m excited to be able to take a frozen cocktail outside. We can’t do that in New York. And I am super excited about all the food. Everyone says it is incredible.”

And with Irene under her belt, Wolfson will be a bit more prepared for her arrival in the peak of hurricane season.

“They say this is the first time something like this has happened since the 1800s I guess,” she said of the Category 1 hurricane turned tropical storm. “I’m looking forward to arriving in New Orleans and hoping it remains storm free.”

‘The Addams Family’

Where: Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts in New Orleans

When: Sept 15-24

Cost: Tickets prices range from $30 to $76

For More Info: (504) 287-0351 or mahaliajacksontheater.com

The Addams Family stares at the audience during a recent performance. One of the world’s most famous families heads to New Orleans this month in a show that is sure to please people of all ages.