Penn State alum Melody Munitz stars as Wednesday in Broadway tour of ‘The Addams Family’

From the Penn State family to one a bit more macabre, College of Arts and Architecture alum Melody Munitz will return to Eisenhower Auditorium starring as Wednesday Addams in the national tour of the musical “The Addams Family.”

Born outside of New York City, Munitz grew up with a love for both theatre and neuroscience. She attended Penn State starting in the fall of 2018, where she studied musical theatre and psychology in the Schreyer Honors College.

“I did an interdisciplinary thesis that combined the two,” Munitz said. “I was looking at the role of empathy in response to theatre and in response to the arts, and trying to understand how people can come into a theatre and watch a bunch of strangers, and leave feeling something deeply.”

In May 2022, Munitz graduated valedictorian with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Now, she continues pursuing her passions all over the country.

“I wake up every morning and I thank my lucky stars,” Munitz said. “From when I was 7 and saw my first Broadway show and pointed to the stage and said, ‘That’s what I’m going to do with my life,’ I’ve dreamt about being that person up there on stage, getting to tell stories and give people an opportunity to feel and process their own lives.”

Munitz has starred in off-Broadway and regional theatre productions, she’s written and directed plays, and she’s published original music and original research.

Becoming part of the family

“The Addams Family” is Munitz’s second national tour, after “American Girl Live” in 2023.

“The roles I tend to play are a little more demure, a little more sweet,” Munitz said. “But then we find Wednesday Addams, who is this kind of gruff, gothic, dark character who looks at the world through a much more pessimistic lens, someone who is known in our general society as being really dark and grim.”

But Munitz said that the Addams aren’t all “macabre and violent.”

“They’re just like the rest of us,” Munitz said. “They’re a family who love each other fiercely, who are unwilling to compromise their sense of self to fit into society. … While Wednesday is dark and spooky on the outside, on the inside, she’s just someone trying to navigate the world, and understand what it means to be human and deal with her conflicting emotions.”

“The Addams Family” will visit over 50 cities across the country, many of which are close to the heart for Munitz, including relatives’ hometowns, personal landmarks and, of course, University Park.

“I kind of have been joking with my family, it feels like it’s my hometown tour,” Munitz said. “It really feels like we’re hitting all of the cities and towns that have a really special place in my heart, and I just can’t believe it.”

A word of life advice

Munitz said the most important advice that her mentors at Penn State gave is to remember that things happen for a reason.

“Things don't happen overnight, and things don’t happen in the way you anticipate,” Munitz said. “And so that big audition that you feel like is the only opportunity to get the kind of role you want or perform in the caliber of show that you dream of, it isn’t your only opportunity, and things will come out of the woodwork. Friendships [and] collaborations will come from the most unexpected places, and it’s a wonderful ride.”

“The Addams Family” will return to Eisenhower Auditorium with two performances as 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, and Wednesday, April 2. Visit “The Addams Family” online to purchase tickets and to learn about the accessibility options for each performance.

Alex Fischer is a communications intern for the Center for the Performing Arts.