In the kooky, upside-down world of the Addams Family, to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams. Nonetheless, this quirky family still has to deal with many of the same challenges faced by any other family, and the spookiest nightmare faced by every family creates the focus of this musical: the Addams kids are growing up. The Addamses have lived by their unique values for hundreds of years and Gomez and Morticia, the patriarch and matriarch of the clan, would be only too happy to continue living that way. Their dark, macabre, beloved daughter Wednesday, however, is now an eighteen year-old young woman who is ready for a life of her own. She has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart boy from a normal, respectable Ohio family — the most un-Addams sounding person one could be! And to make matters worse, she has invited the Beinekes to their home for dinner. In one fateful, hilarious night, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change.

It is with excitement and reflection that we celebrate our 25th year as The Old Barn Community Theatre.  It was at Christmas in 1998 that this little theatre in the middle of nowhere came to be.  In the following 25 years we’ve gone on to produce 119 productions, not counting the current season.  We feel like that is an achievement worth celebrating.

Let’s take a moment and reflect on these 25 years of Family, Fantasy and Fun.  

Family:  Through the production process our Old Barn family has become a treasure to each of us.  However, we’ve also introduced you to other families, families that sing and celebrate.  Families of long ago and families of today.  There have been friends who become like families and strangers who find family while floating down a river.  Hopefully you’ve enjoyed meeting these families while sitting in the audience with members of your own.

Fantasy:  Shows of fantasy have taken audiences to castles, cornfields, woods and chocolate factories.  We’ve met characters as diverse as a flying nanny to sisters with a window seat and from gamblers to animated and comic book friends.  Each one fantastic in its own way.

Fun:  What could be more fun than being with people you love cheering for boys in a band, brothers finding brides or youngsters beating the odds.  Maybe your idea of fun is cringing in your seat at a whodunit, laughing at silly antics, entering a jungle or watching it rain.  We’ve tried to provide it all.

We are grateful to all those who have made these years of family, fantasy and fun possible.  Those include:  a dedicated theatre board; the directors of each of those 119 shows; 119 talented and hard-working casts and crews; sponsors, donors and advertisers; and landlords and their families who provide these facilities.  Above all we thank each of you who sit in our audiences, show after show, providing the laughter, applause and cheers that make live theatre come to life.  We salute each of you here, at this performance, and those who have returned time after time for 25 years.

With your continued support our goal is to provide moments of family, fantasy and fun for many years to come.  Thank you and enjoy!!!

​​​The Old Barn Community Theatre Board