UND Theatre to open Starcher Stage on Oct. 8 with ‘The Addams Family’
Ribbon-cutting for new Starcher Stage starts at 6:45 p.m. on opening night, Thursday, Oct. 8, at Starcher Hall
Who: UND Department of Theatre Arts
What: “The Addams Family,” music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice based on the characters created by Charles Addams
Where: Starcher Stage in Starcher Hall (please use the east side entrance)
When: 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 through 10 and 15 through 17; 2 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 18
Tickets: $30 for adults, $15 for students, seniors and military (with ID). Free for student military (available at box office on night of the show, with ID).
Box Office: UND Department of Theatre Arts
UND Theatre is excited to open the 2026-27 season with “The Addams Family” on a new stage at Starcher Hall.
“The Addams Family” is a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, featuring an original story and a dilemma that is every father’s nightmare.
Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family — a man her parents have never met.
And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia.
Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.
For the first time since 1962, UND Theatre has a new performance space. The new Starcher Stage, located in Starcher Hall, will be unveiled on opening night of “The Addams Family” on Thursday, Oct. 8.
An opening night ribbon cutting will start at 6:45 with celebrations before the show and food and drinks at intermission. Join the Department of Theatre Arts as it opens the state’s premiere black box theater and embarks on a new era of UND Theatre.
UND students, faculty and staff are looking forward to seeing everyone at the new Starcher Stage!
Production Information
Production Team (*student):
Director: Emily Cherry Oliver
Music Director: Justin Montinge
Choreographer: Emily Wirkus
Stage Manager: Oliver van Tiel*
Scenic Designer: Victor E. Shonk (guest artist)
Costume Designer: Amy Lyste
Lighting Designer: Brad Reissig
Sound Designers: Matthew Koehler, Elijah Holman*
Technical Director: Matthew Koehler
Cast
Gomez: Blake Storbakken
Morticia: Madi Watts
Wednesday: Isabella Voller
Pugsley: Eamonn Smith
Fester: Bethany Shipley
Grandma: Lora Gatheridge
Lurch: Kira Hartmann
Lucas: Mirko Drago
Mal: Joseph Shappell
Alice: Addison Foley
Ancestors: Violet Fonnesbeck, Jasper Grothmann, Videesha Perera, Zac Quinn, Noralynn Reyles, Molly Robb, Bri Rucker
Production Staff
Assistant Stage Managers: Eli Adams, Chloe Mathew
Fight Choreographer : Emily Wirkus
Dance Captain: Violet Fonnesbeck
Props Head: Sam Samson
Scene Shop Foreman: Chazz Primeau
Scene Shop Staff: Max Dobransky, Zachary Evans, Liliana Hirsch, Andrey Jacobs, Andy Reland, Sam Samson, Oliver van Tiel
Backstage Run Crew: Remington Brade, Anthony Flagg
Costume Shop Manager: Amy Lyste
Assistant Costume Shop Manager: Rebecca Uglem
Costume Shop Staff: Kyanne Galbraith, Danika Halvorson, Kaela Mehranfar, Laura Riley, Joseph Shappell, Bethany Shipley
Hair and Makeup Design: Bethany Shipley, Lora Gatheridge
Wardrobe Crew: Samuel Henderson, Henry Shay
Master Electrician: Elijah Holman
Electrics Crew: Eli Adams, Riley Boekhoff, Brody Dickhoff, Mark Gichina, Rylan Holt, Gavin Kinkel, Robbie Judd, Michael Muller, Oliver van Tiel
Light Board Operator : Sam Samson
Sound Board Operator: Elijah Holman
House Manager: Ivan Chen
Box Office Manager: Ivan Chen
Social Media: Emily Wirkus, Videesha Perera
