Out stars of The Addams Family musical say an abnormal is normal

Douglas Sills and Blake Hammond know a thing or two about non-traditional families. The two out actors who star as Gomez and Fester, respectively, in the touring production of The Addams Family: The Musical, have brought boyfriends home to meet the parents and understand what it's like to not be understood by a so-called â┚¬Å”majority.â┚¬Â

So the two have a unique understanding of the kooky Addams brothers they will portray at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Oct. 18-23 and Nov. 1-6 at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando.

â┚¬Å”It's an interesting analogy with same-sex marriage,â┚¬Â says Sills over the telephone during a production stop in St. Louis, Mo. â┚¬Å”What looks like normal on the outside sometimes isn't, and what looks abnormal is often more normal than you might think.â┚¬Â

And in The Addams Family: The Musical, there are plenty of oddities to showcase, according to Hammond.

â┚¬Å”What I like so much about this show is that even the so-called â┚¬Ëœnormal' people have their oddities,â┚¬Â Hammond says. â┚¬Å”Is there such a thing as a normal family? When I think about my travels around the world, I don't think I've met a â┚¬Ëœnormal' family. A normal family is one with lots of abnormalities.â┚¬Â

Which is the best way to describe the seven members of The Addams Family.

The musical production, which starred Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth on Broadway, began touring in New Orleans earlier this year before moving to St. Louis. Both cities have been receptive to the musical comedy, the actors said, and the new story, following the now adult Wednesday Addams' engagement to a young man with a more traditional past.

â┚¬Å”I really do enjoy so much of this show,â┚¬Â says Sills, who has been with his partner for 18 years. â┚¬Å”But I really enjoy the scene when the new family arrives at the Addams Mansion and we're meeting each other, all trying to be something we're not for Wednesday's sake. We've all agreed not to behave in a more expected fashion and it creates this tension between the two families that is just delicious.â┚¬Â

It's a scenario to which anyone who has ever brought home a significant other can relate. Hammond says that when he has brought past partners home to meet his family, there is always some trepidation.

â┚¬Å”Will they like him? Will they accept him?â┚¬Â Hammond says. â┚¬Å”I think that most families that do love each other want to like the person you bring home. But at the same time I think we forget that they're just as afraid as that new person.â┚¬Â

Familiar, yet new territory
The Addams Family is an American institution. The popular 1960s television series inspired by the 1930s drawings of Charles Addams spawned several animated series, two blockbuster films in the 1990s and now, the Broadway musical.

The continuing success with the iconic characters is directly linked with society's obsession with the macabre, according to Sills.

â┚¬Å”Look at the incredible fascination with the Twilight series and all of the offshoots of that genreâ┚¬â€True Blood, Walking Dead. Back when I was a kid Dark Shadows was the big thing. Thanks to Bram Stoker, the world is obsessed with all things Halloween.â┚¬Â

Sills says he had seen the 1960s sitcom on which the musical is based, but that he never saw the Raul Julia films of the 1990s.

â┚¬Å”I saw the first Raul Julia film,â┚¬Â Hammond says, â┚¬Å”but I wasn't familiar with the Charles Addams drawings at all. It was interesting to discover them.â┚¬Â

While the darkness that embodies the Addams' are what lures most fans into the fictional world of the odd family, it's their familiarity that makes Hammond feel most comfortable.

â┚¬Å”Of course not every family has an odd, large, bald brother roaming around,â┚¬Â Hammond laughs. â┚¬Å”But it's fun to see something that's not your family that has an eerie quality to it, but still deals with the same issues every family encounters.â┚¬Â

Halloween everyday
Fortunately for Sills and Hammond, both men have always enjoyed Halloween. So dressing up as the characters of a creepy family bodes well for both experienced actors.

â┚¬Å”I don't know anyone who doesn't love Halloween and it just keeps turning into more of a celebration each year,â┚¬Â Sills says. â┚¬Å”Everyone loves dressing up, since the first caveperson stood up in front of his friends and put a pair of antlers on his head from that days' kill and told a story, we've loved dress up.â┚¬Â

Hammond, who bought a home outside of New York City about a decade ago, says that he is also a Halloween fanatic, although the past few years he's stayed in to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

â┚¬Å”I like playing dress up, what can I say?â┚¬Â Hammond laughs. â┚¬Å”It's neat being a homeowner and seeing all these kids come by for candy. But I've been to my fair shar of bars dressed up as things I shouldn't have. My favorite costume was when I went with three other guys out to the bars as the Facts of Life girls. Of course, I was Natalie because I was always the big one.â┚¬Â

Sills isn't as confident on what his favorite Halloween costume of his past is, but he has suggestions for his fellow Addams Family cast mates.

â┚¬Å”Maybe I can get them to all dress up like the field of GOP Presidential candidates,â┚¬Â Sills says. â┚¬Å”I really can't think of anything scarier.â┚¬Â