They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, and they’re taking over Cabrillo Playhouse this fall.
The Addams Family, with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, opens Cabrillo Playhouse’s 2026-27 season on October 2 and runs through November 1.
At the center of the story is Wednesday Addams, who has grown up and fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a young man from a decidedly more conventional family. When Wednesday confides in her father and asks him to keep the relationship a secret from Morticia, Gomez finds himself in unfamiliar territory: keeping something from his beloved wife. A dinner between the two families sets the stage for an evening in which secrets are revealed, relationships are tested and “normal” proves to be a matter of perspective.
Leading the Addams clan as Gomez is Patrick Brannelly, making his Southern California theater debut. Brannelly brings a varied background to the role, with favorite credits including Salieri in Amadeus, Donkey in Shrek, the Pirate King and the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. He also performs improv, sketch and stand-up comedy.
Opposite him as Morticia is Juliet Fischer, who returns to Cabrillo after playing Joanne in Company earlier this year. Fischer’s extensive stage career includes Broadway and touring productions of Chicago, On the Town, A Christmas Carol and Kiss Me, Kate, as well as the Off-Broadway production of Waiting in the Wings. A former Radio City Music Hall Rockette and UCLA graduate, she has also appeared in film and television, including The Prom with Meryl Streep. Her recent local credits include The Messenger, The Prom and Such Small Hands, for which she received an OCTG Best Actress award.
Playing Wednesday is Isabella “Izzy” Klein, who is studying musical theatre at Irvine Valley College. Klein says she has a history of playing “terrifying women,” including Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone. Her IVC credits also include Rapunzel in Into the Woods and Lauren Beaumont in Surfin’ Days.
Connor Dapkus makes his Cabrillo debut as Wednesday’s boyfriend, Lucas Beineke. A recent Chapman University graduate and recipient of the Bramlage Opera Director’s Award, Dapkus is already well acquainted with the Addams family: He has previously played both Gomez and Pugsley in productions of The Addams Family. His other credits include Jon in Tick, Tick… Boom! and Ren in Footloose.
Wednesday’s younger brother, Pugsley, is played by Andrew Whitwell, also making his Cabrillo Playhouse debut. Whitwell’s favorite roles include Jojo in Seussical, Les in Newsies, Michael in Mary Poppins and Fletcher in Freaky Friday. Offstage, he plays drums and piano, enjoys soccer and, in appropriately Addams fashion, describes himself as “a strange kid.”
Rob Bergman makes his Cabrillo debut as Uncle Fester and returns to the stage for the first time since 2020. A graduate of Cal State Long Beach with a degree in Theatre Arts/Performance, Bergman has also guested on episodes of Tony Goldmark’s “Escape From Vault Disney” podcast.
Two familiar Cabrillo faces round out the Addams household. Rebecca Leeds returns as Grandma just weeks after appearing in Around the World in 80 Days. Her other Cabrillo credits include It’s a Wonderful Life and A Comedy of Tenors, with recent appearances elsewhere in The Book of Will, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.
Christopher Vournas, appearing at Cabrillo for the fourth time, takes on the towering role of Lurch. A member of the Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus since 2022, where he has sung, danced and choreographed, Vournas’ recent stage roles include Frank ’N’ Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Tick in Priscilla, Lumière in Beauty and the Beast and Lord Clapham in Something Rotten.
Completing the Beineke family are Lucas’ parents, Alice and Mal.
Emily Hood plays Alice Beineke and also serves as the production’s wig and makeup designer. She previously combined acting and design duties as Countess Andrenyi in Murder on the Orient Express and is looking forward, as she puts it, to having “a mental breakdown for you all” as the increasingly uninhibited Alice.
Will Minton returns to Cabrillo as Mal Beineke after playing Larry in Company earlier this year. He returned to acting in 2025 after a decades-long hiatus, appearing as Max in two productions of The Sound of Music and Lionel in Cinderella.
Watching over the proceedings is a collection of Addams ancestors who have been summoned from the family crypt and aren’t going anywhere until Fester says so.
Garrett Claud returns to Cabrillo as the Gangster Ancestor after appearing as Beau Van Kipness in The Cottage and Del Delmonaco in Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. The show is familiar territory for Claud, who first performed in The Addams Family as Uncle Fester in high school.
Lauren Belt, the Bride Ancestor, is back for her third Cabrillo production after playing Diane in The Birds and Marge in Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Her other credits include Jekyll & Hyde, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods and A Christmas Carol. Her sister, Brooke Lynn Belt, returns as the Flapper Ancestor after appearing in the quartet of Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and previously performing in a Cabrillo Garden Cabaret. A dancer as well as an actor, she also choreographs in her spare time.
Making their Cabrillo debuts are Rachel Chapman as the Brunhilde Ancestor, Kirstin Grace as the Saloon Girl Ancestor and Amanda Bobke as the Nurse Ancestor. Chapman holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal music and has previously played Wednesday herself in The Addams Family, along with Maria in The Sound of Music and Chava in Fiddler on the Roof. Grace returns to performing after several years away from the stage, with more than 20 years of theatrical experience and credits including Rent, Les Misérables, Starlight Express and Cats. Bobke’s favorite roles include the title role in Mary Poppins, the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.
The Addams Family runs October 2 through November 1, 2026, at Cabrillo Playhouse.