Q & A with Melody Munitz, Hendrick Hudson Graduate and Addams Family Star
Melody Munitz, a 2018 graduate of Hendrick Hudson High School, is currently performing in a national tour of The Addams Family. She stars as the lead character, Wednesday Addams, in a musical comedy that tells the story of a grown-up Wednesday falling in love.
The national tour, which began this winter, includes stops in 23 states and runs until the end of June. But Munitz will have an opportunity to perform close to home soon; The Addams Family comes to the Eisenhower Hall Theater in West Point on March 30.
During her time on the road, Munitz took time to discuss the show, her character and her experience as a young performer, and she detailed how her time as a student in Hendrick Hudson helped to shape her as an artist.
Q: What about The Addams Family, your character, this show and this role in particular appeal to you?
Melody: This musical follows the beloved Addams Family, who have been adored for decades, dating back to the original cartoons penned by Charles Addams for The New Yorker in the 1930s, the famous ‘60s sitcom, the many TV and film spin-offs in the years that followed, the live-action movies of the ‘90s with Christina Ricci, the animated films in 2019 and 2021.
Despite there being so many iterations of The Addams Family stories and media over the last, nearly 100 years, this musical tells a unique Addams story, one centered on Wednesday Addams, who is now no longer just the mischievous little girl with the white collar, black dress and braids, but now a strong young woman who has grown up and fallen in love.
Wednesday is a lot more than just a gloomy girl with some strange hobbies. Underneath her hard exterior, Wednesday is just like the rest of us: a passionate person with complicated feelings who doesn’t always know the best way to reconcile conflicting dreams, fears, and responsibilities. What makes Wednesday so adored, I think, after all these years — and what I personally love most about her — is how strongly she remains her atypical self as she navigates these typical human struggles. She stands as a symbol of staying true to one’s identity, and not conforming to society out of a fear of being judged.
Q: What can audiences expect from the show?
Melody: Audiences can expect a flashy Broadway musical that will make them laugh, cry, and then laugh again. And beneath all the comedy and music, there’s a story that will leave you feeling hopeful and renewed.
Q: This is your second national tour. Obviously, they are a great experience for a young performer, but the tour can also be grueling. How much of what you learned from your first tour will help you in the coming months?
Melody: I’m incredibly grateful that this show is indeed my second opportunity to travel the country, performing for audiences in nearly all 50 states as I lead a national tour. It’s a surreal lifestyle and an absolute dream come true. It’s one big, year-long family road-trip, where the pit stops are our country’s most gorgeous historical theaters, the “family” traveling with me are my co-workers, who are really my friends, who really feel like my family, and oh, yeah, also it’s my job. It’s crazy!
Q: This tour will give you an opportunity to perform at West Point in March. How do you value a chance to perform so close to home?
Melody: I could not be more grateful that this tour is stopping so close to home, where local friends, family, teachers and mentors can come and see our story. Other than my four years at college at Penn State, I’ve lived in New York my whole life, and it’s all thanks to the opportunities in this community, at our schools, and our proximity to New York that my passion for performing was nurtured from a young age.
Q: You have already earned a tremendous amount of experience as a performer so early in your career. Obviously, your talent and work ethic has granted you those opportunities, but what has been your mentality while continuing to expand your career?
It’s true that it’s not easy to make a life and career in the arts, but it sure is exciting. Working in the theater industry is very unpredictable, and there are plenty of challenges and sacrifices that come along with that, but the other side of that uncertainty is serendipity. That notion keeps me going.
I’ve been incredibly lucky to have such a supportive family. My parents, Shari and Andy, and my brother, Jazz, who have supported me selflessly since Day 1 in my life and career, and my incredible friends, have all allowed me to dream and follow the wild, unexpected opportunities that have come along.
Q: You are less than seven years from graduation at Hen Hud. What experiences here allowed you to develop and harness your talent?
Melody: Hen Hud was an incredible environment to explore my passions. From kindergarten up through my senior year of high school, I felt nurtured by the opportunities available and the incredible faculty, staff and mentors who came alongside me to support my dreams and help me turn them into realities.
I remember weekly music classes with Mrs. (Roberta) Roberts at Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School, ecstatic to get to sing in the middle of the school day, and getting the chance to have my first ever singing solos at concerts in our gym. I remember my first time performing onstage, as a kindergartener in Dr. (Jennifer) Lefevre’s class, when we performed the book, “Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus,” onstage in the cafeteria in costumes we’d made. I remember art class with Mrs. (Kathleen) Irwin, an afterschool science club with Mr. (Alex) Levine, conversations after class with Mr. (Bob) Towle — so many environments where I felt that creativity and enthusiasm were cherished and cultivated. I remember feeling like my voice mattered, whether I was singing a song or asking a question.
This feeling continued throughout the rest of my education at Hen Hud. At Blue Mountain Middle School, MOVAPA (Music of Vocal and Performing Arts) with Mrs. (Carol) Arrucci was extremely formative. Singing musical theatre during school? I couldn’t believe my luck. I remember going to choir concerts, watching clips of Broadway shows on the smartboard in class, designing and presenting my first science experiments with Mrs. (Sabrina) Pereira, and playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid as an eighth grader, which was incredibly special and is still such a fond memory.
My love and gratitude for Hen Hud exploded when I got to high school. A real drama club? With two shows a year? I got to play so many dream roles like Belle in Beauty and The Beast and Mary Poppins on the stage at Hen Hud with the incredible direction and support of Clare Carey. I learned so much about singing and make the best memories in Treble Chorus with Mrs. (Erica) Denler, learned tons of musical knowledge in music theory in with Mrs. (Lauren) Morabito, read fascinating plays in AP Literature with Mrs. (Melissa) Barthelmes, and was able to dive into my scientific passions like never before in the Science Research program with Dr. (Christine) Rogers.
I was surrounded by wonderful peers and generous mentors who went out of their way to support me as I followed my passions down the disparate paths they led toward both the arts and sciences. The way they believed in me helped give me the confidence to keep going in the direction of my dreams, even when there wasn’t a clear pre-existing path. I was able to graduate as our class’ salutatorian in 2018 and go on to Penn State, where I became the first student to ever have a double major alongside musical theatre. I graduated in 2022 with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with Honors and my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Honors, and as the valedictorian of both programs. And now I get to navigate the world after college as a professional theatre artist and scientist? (That second part is another story!)
These days, I still feel like that little kid in the Hen Hud hallways who couldn’t believe her luck that she was getting to spend her time doing everything she loved.
