Let’s live before we die, let’s laugh before we cry— let’s hold each other close and dance! And there couldn’t be a more in-love, truly romantic couple filling out the roles of Morticia and Gomez Addams than Michele and Greg Guyton. They’re so goofy and crazy about one another, the whole interview was almost a half an hour, 20 minutes of which was the pair of them laughing and canoodling and laughing while canoodling. Which is why they’re a perfect match for these star roles in The Addams Family musical opening at Tidewater Players in Havre de Grace. Oh— and full disclosure? They’ve played the pair before!
Thank you both so much for giving me a moment of your time during rehearsal; so excited to see that you’re both back in the saddle, so to speak! You’re already laughing so I can tell this is going to be a fun evening.
Michele Guyton: This has to be fun or we ain’t doing it.
Greg Guyton: What she said.
Already we’re off to a smashing start! Michele and Greg Guyton here with me, playing Morticia and Gomez Addams. And this is not your first Addams rodeo.
Greg: That’s right! We got to do these roles in 2019. Hereford Community Theatre.
Michele: The new Baltimore County Community Theatre that got to do one performance before Covid. But we will bring it back! I just haven’t had a chance to do that yet. We’re hoping for next summer. It had a lot of support from the community and it had a lot of funding from the Baltimore County Rec. Council, so I don’t think will be a problem, we just had Covid to finally get through. Which we have. Finally.
That’s wonderful! Many happy returns to reviving/rebooting Hereford Community Theatre. I’m all in favor of any theatre that’s within 15 minutes of my house, which HCT is. Now, why did we want to come and do these roles again, what was the draw?
Michele: The draw was that we just love doing these parts together. Really any parts we get to play together. We do a lot of shows together.
Greg: This is the show that showcases the best versions of ourselves.
Michele: You think this is the best version of ourselves?
Greg: Well, my best version of me. But we love the interactions.
Michele: Yes, we love the interactions of these characters. And it’s maybe not completely dissimilar to some of our real-life interactions— in a good way! Gomez and Morticia are a really, very loving couple.
Greg: I think I may be closer to Gomez than she is to Morticia.
Michele: Well thank you for saying that. But they are weirdos and they’re a very loving couple.
Greg: And that’s us!
Michele: Yes. Now, as you know, we got the phone call from the theatre, saying they were kind of in a bind, they needed a Gomez and a Morticia, and we had worked with Al (Director Al Herlinger) before, though it’s been many years, probably since Mame way, way back. I knew how great he was to work with, we already sort of know the show and the characters, so we figured why not? It would be great to explore these characters some more with a different company, a different director, and a different spin on it!
What are we finding that is different for you two this time around, particularly considering your first Addams was pre-pandemic, and this one is just on the tail-end of Covid finally being behind us.
Michele: The choreography. It’s sophisticated and it’s great and it’s pretty hard, some of it.
Greg: The musical style is a little bit different, just a little bit. So we’ve had to learn a slightly different musical style for the same songs that we already know. But you still have to adapt. And that’s both fun and fine.
What has been the biggest challenge for you two up to this point with this show?
Michele: Driving here.
Greg: No, no. Time. It’s the time.
Michele: Yes, okay, time. Though second biggest challenge— driving here.
Greg: I say time because it’s a little bit compressed. This is a shorter more truncated rehearsal process than we’ve done with musicals in the past, but it’s fine. It’s not an undoable schedule. And the physical timing of when this run is happening worked out well for our lives.
Michele: It’s tight. But because we have done it before it’s less learning from scratch so that helps.
That’s wonderful to hear. Is there a moment in this show that really defines what this show means for you two as a married couple, as performers, as individuals?
Michele: For this show? I’m going to say it’s “The Tango.” We’ve both worked really hard on this one. It’s a more difficult tango than we did before. I dance a little and he doesn’t dance so much.
Greg: Oh gee, thanks!
Michele: No, no, I just meant that you aren’t always as comfortable dancing, and even for me it’s been a long time since I’ve had to dance. But it really does bring us together and we love practicing it, we love getting to look into each other’s eyes. And actually, this go-round of Morticia and Gomez is a sexier version of Gomez and Morticia than the one that you’ve seen before.
Greg: I was going to say the most touching moment of the show is actually “Happy/Sad” with Wednesday. That song makes you take a different look at Gomez and it really demonstrates what’s really touching about this show. This is a show where some school district in Pennsylvania—
Michele: Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Greg: Right. So Lancaster banned this show from their high school, which is crazy, because it’s full of fantastic family values. It’s in a setting that’s reminiscent of fun Halloween and at its core is filled with family values. This show is all about togetherness and family and loyalty.
Michele: That’s right. We love our little vermin.
Aah. The little vermin. You have three, real-life little vermin, right? But all sons, no daughters?
Michele: I do think that if we had one she’d be exactly like Wednesday.
Greg: Of course she’d be like Wednesday. One of our sons played Pugsley the last time we did this. (David Guyton at HCT 2019.)
What are you guys bringing to this— Greg, you’re bringing something to Gomez, Michele, you’re bringing something to Morticia, what is it? Other than having done the show once before what was your previous working knowledge of The Addams Family?
Greg: To us the classic rendition is the movie. Raul Julia and Angelica Houston in the movie. That’s the one we like the best. While we can appreciate the old television show from the 60s, because that was what created the characters… many people don’t know that the characters didn’t have names or backstories in the original cartoons and Charles Addams worked with John Astin and the others to create those characters, to give them backstories, to make Gomez Spanish and all of that. But they were confined a little bit by the medium of 1960s television-censorship. When the movie came along they were a little more free. And they had some terrific actors playing those characters. They played those same elements but they played them to greater extremes and that contrast is what makes it so fun. Gomez is so bubbly and happy and a little shallow in a way but in a loving way. You see all of those characters that spark together because of that.
Do you have a favorite moment in the show or one that you absolutely love the most?
Greg: I love the tango and I love the song that leads into it.
Michele: I love that one too.
Greg: That’s a beautiful, sweet duet that encompasses the way we live our lives.
Aww. You two are adorable.
Greg: We think so.
Michele: Now for me, I like “Secrets” because it’s a little sexy number.
Greg: Well if you’re going off on that one then I’m going to say “Not Today!’
Michele: I like that one too.
You know, ironically enough, both of those numbers— “Secrets” and “Not Today”— were not a part of the original Broadway production. They were added for the highly-edited-revamped touring and now-licensed version of the tour.
Greg: That’s why they’re the best!
Very good. Now, where are we drawing our inspiration from for these wacky, off-kilter, and highly-stylized characters?
Greg: My daily interactions at work and in life. To be honest with you I’m not that far from Gomez. If you were to interview my residents and my fellows in a medical setting, they would tell you the same thing. It’s not a stretch for me.
Michele: It’s a little bit more of a stretch for me because I’m not the type of person who isn’t very expressive. I am very expressive. I move a lot and it is hard for me to be still. So it’s a little bit more of a stretch for me in that way but I love coming out of a legislative session and going right into this show. You know, everyone leaving session says “it’ll be nice to get back to ‘real life’…” And I’m over here thinking, “I’m not going back to ‘real life’ I’m going back to an ‘unreal life’ that I choose. And it’s a crazy life but it’s one that I choose to be a part of and I love it. The people in the show are great.
Greg: We’ve had nothing but great experiences so far.
Michele: It’s been very welcoming.
Greg: They’re all very talented people.
Michele: And it’s a lot of new discoveries in this one. I have a new son in this one, a new Pugsley (Ethan Buttman) and he’s amazing.
Greg: He’s a natural little creep.
Michele: He’s very good. And that’s a tall bar to stand up to because my last Pugsley was my own son (Davis Guyton) and we had a lot of fun at home, me calling him vermin and cockroach.
Here’s a fun question— and I can’t believe I have to preface this here, but please don’t say anything that’s going to get you into legal trouble (and yes, there is a story behind that, but just like Gomez… “not today!”) it’s now time for you to give us your— “Full Disclosure” something you’ve never told anyone before.
Michele: Well that’s impossible. We tell each other everything. We’re just like Gomez and Morticia. I don’t think we have any full disclosure. Or do you, Greg?
Greg: Full Disclosure… to Mandy?
Michele: And all her readers. I think we need to have this conversation alone and then we’ll come back to you!
Ooh boy! Let me try to reroute this— maybe something awkward and innocuous from childhood?
Michele: But he knows everything! I can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t have told him somewhere along the way. And since I’m in politics I probably shouldn’t answer this question. I’m kidding. I’m kidding!
Oh my goodness, this is supposed to be the easy question.
Greg: I know! But I seriously have to think about it!
Michele: Yeah because we’ve been talking to each other for 35 years.
Greg: And who can remember anything before that?
Michele: We’re going to come up with something. Tonight we’ll go home and make a full disclosure.
Greg: Ooh! We don’t know what happened to the Morticia dress from the last time you did this show. But I wish you’d kept it. That’s a full disclosure.
Michele: I did not keep that dress! But it is missing.
Greg: I wish you had…
Michele: Oh me too. Because then I’d have a dress already for this show.
Greg: That’s not what I meant. But we’ll go with that.
Michele: I mean there may have been some times when we’ve taken props home from shows… to play with… that never got returned…
Greg: Oooh I can think of some props.
Alrighty then. This has gone down the creepy-kooky-mysterious-spooky rabbit hole. And I feel like we’re at the dinner table in the show. I guess we’ll just have to come back to both of you once you’ve come up with a real one! In the meantime, why do you want people to come out and see The Addams Family?
Greg: Because I think they’ll be surprised and they’ll be touched. They’ll be surprised that they find some joy and pathos in the show and that it’s not just a comedy. They’ll be surprised.
Michele: I know it’s going to be a bit of a drive for some people to get all the way up here but it’s going to be worth it. Really talented people are putting their heart and soul into this show. So I hope that people will come and see it. But even for us this is going to be a different show. So you should come see it be different.
What has being a part of this production, this time around, taught you about yourselves? What are you learning?
Greg: I would say we’re incredibly comfortable around each other. She’s been gone for 90 days.
Michele: Yeah, I’ve been gone in session.
Greg: We go through these periods of time where she just disappears to Annapolis and I don’t see her.
Michele: For my job! I don’t just up and disappear.
Greg: She does. She disappears.
You know, Annapolis isn’t even in another state, it’s like what, an hour? You could drive down and visit.
Greg: There’s a lot of traffic between here and Annapolis. And it’s remarkably inconvenient.
Michele: There’s a border wall. They don’t just let anyone in. No, no, I’m kidding. But there are dogs at home.
Greg: Yes. There are dogs at home!
Michele: He does come for dates occasionally.
Greg: I do come down for visits. Conj— dates. I come down for dates. But we honestly don’t see each other, or at least as much of each other. And neither of us had anticipated doing this show.
Michele: I wasn’t planning on being in ANYTHING.
Greg: Yeah, the auditions were held before she was done in Annapolis but then all of the sudden it became an opportunity. So not only do we get to reconnect but we get to reconnect in a very intense way. But then you also realize it’s just so easy because she’s the love of my life.
Awww.
Michele: We really like each other. We really do. We’re happiest when we’re together. I do have to spend most of the session in Annapolis. I live down there when we’re in session. So when I get home it’s really lovely. For me, I really wanted to rest after session. I did not want to do anything. Oh my gosh! I found my full disclosure. I didn’t really want to do this show— but let me explain. I was exhausted after session. I hadn’t done a show since before the pandemic, I had Covid and my voice got all screwed up—
Greg: And I’ve had two hip replacements since then too.
Michele: Right! See? We’re a mess. He’s had two hips, I just got my knee injected— but wait— leave all that out. We’re in perfect shape! What was I saying? Oh, right. There were so many reasons not to do this show. But he was just so excited about getting to do Gomez again… and I’m too jealous to let him do it with anyone else…
Greg: I was so excited to get to do it again with you.
Michele: He didn’t want to do it with anyone else, but he really did want to do it. So despite not originally thinking I wanted to, knowing I might not be up for it because of everything I just said… I am really, really glad I did. It has been so much fun and it has been so wonderful and who needs to rest anyway? Full Disclosure.
Greg: You’ve made me think of mine. When you’re not home… I let the dogs sleep on the bed. Full Disclosure.
Michele: You what? When I— that’s not allowed! But I also do that too. Let them sleep on the bed when you’re not home. Double Full Disclosure.
Oh my goodness, grief, and gravy. You two. If people don’t by tickets just to see you two having your antics on stage… I’ll sum up the marketing phrasing for you— see this show, to see them in it. But seriously, if you had to sum up your Addams experience this time around with Tidewater Players in just one word, what word do you use?
Greg: I got nothing.
Michele: I know, she asks the hardest questions.
What exactly were you hoping for, Michele? What’s your favorite color?
Michele: I can’t even answer that question right now. I’m so tired! I want my word to be tired but that’s a terrible word to get people to see the show. And it’s not actually about the show it’s just about me. So I will say— Greg, what’s a good word that we like?
Greg: Sparkly.
Michele: What? This is not a sparkly show.
Greg, what show do you think you’re doing, just out of curiosity?
Michele: Legally Blonde. Jazz hands!
Greg: There’s no jazz hands in this show.
Michele: That’s not true! One of my numbers has jazz hands.
Greg: Can I make my word, “Devoid of jazz hands?”
Michele: That’s four words.
Greg: What about hyphens?
Michele: We are failing this interview so hard.
Greg: Deep.
Michele: Sexy.
Greg: Deep and sexy!
Michele: Oh my God do not put those two words together! That’s a whole different show!
Greg: Okay then sexy. Full disclosure!
The Addams Family plays May 12th 2023 through May 21st 2023 in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
To read the interview with Pugsley Addams and Wednesday Addams, click here.
