Fear and laughter in Fullerton, just in time for Halloween

Fullerton is welcoming a couple of productions this month that scream Halloween.

Although they are both season-appropriate and inspired by decades-old premises, they couldn’t be more different in tone.

“Carrie the musical,” a drama based on the 1976 movie featuring Sissy Spacek, which was an adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel, is being performed at Cal State Fullerton’s Joseph A.W. Clayes III Performing Arts Center from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1.

It is about a girl who is bullied in school and also by her religious-fanatic mother but discovers she has the power of telekinesis.

“It’s an allegory for how she becomes powerful herself,” said James Taulli, CSUF theater professor and director of the student production. “The question that this piece asks of the audience is: What does it take to be kind?”

He said the musical takes the point of view of the character Sue Snell, the only one to survive the prom — because she doesn’t go. Sue feels sorry for what she has done and asks her boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom instead.

Taulli noted that the musical, which entered the scene in the late 1980s, flopped on Broadway. In 2012, the composers went back and tightened the work and “now it is quite a success,” he said.

Taulli said the work, which also is a “romantic story of young love that focuses on how teens navigate love at that age, absolutely lends itself to music.”

As in the film, “blood” figures prominently.

For information, visit fullerton.edu/arts/Clayes_Performing_Arts_Center/boxoffice.html or call (657) 278-3371.

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‘The Addams Family’ at the Plummer

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, “The Addams Family” is being performed at Plummer Auditorium from Oct. 10 to 25. The musical comedy stars Bronson Pinchot and Rachel York in the title roles of Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Though the TV show of the same name ran only from 1964 to 1966, it is a memorable part of television history, with the eccentric Gomez and the refined Morticia, their kids Wednesday and Pugsley, Uncle Fester, their servant Lurch and others, as well as the home on Cemetery Lane.

The characters, though scary looking, treat “normal” visitors with great warmth, while the guests often harbor ill intent.

“It’s a great commentary on what you perceive to be normal, which may be highly dysfunctional,” said T.J. Dawson, artistic director with 3D Theatricals and executive producer of the show.

He said the show has a “tremendous amount of heart.”

Dawson, a Huntington Beach resident who has two young children, notes that he can’t help but break down when he hears one particular song that presents “the parent-child relationship to a T.”

“In addition to the fun and comedy, people will find themselves being moved,” he said.

For further information, visit 3dtshows.com/productions/addams-family.