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Uncle Fester has been found after a widespread search by Echuca-Moama Theatre Company for its next big production.
And the man who landed the kooky role is Jacob Honeychurch.
He is so keen, the 30-year-old cook is commuting from Bendigo for the twice a week rehearsals. Which doesn’t bother him in the slightest.
‘‘I have travelled a lot of places to be an actor, paid or unpaid. You never know what’s around the corner,’’ he said.
‘‘Entertaining and performing has always been a passion of mine and I’ve always loved The Addams Family.
‘‘I’ve seen the movie heaps of times and my girlfriend just got me a copy of the original series from 1964 so I’ve been doing a lot of research — facial expressions, body movements, the voice but I’ll be putting my own take on it, so hopefully the audience will be surprised.’’
Jacob has a wealth of experience in theatre, his latest role in Creswick in a play called The Sum of Us, but he hasn’t performed musical theatre since 2003.
‘‘I was very nervous about the audition coming in,’’ he said.
However, director Luke Westley said Jacob nailed it as the quirky character.
‘‘I’m very excited about Jake and what he brings to the role of Uncle Fester,’’ he said.
‘‘After auditioning a number of potential Festers, Jake suited the role perfectly and understands who Fester is.
‘‘It’s going to be fantastic to share Jake’s interpretation of the role, it’s amazingly close to Jackie Coogan’s in the original TV series. Along with the fantastic ensemble we’ve put together, I know audiences are going to love this show.’’
Jacob said he was looking forward to working hard over the next four months to bring the hilarious musical to life.
‘‘I just love collaborating and performing with all kinds of talent, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most as well as the audience reaction,’’ he said.
The Addams Family will be held at the Paramount from May 24 to June 1, 2019.