When Gina Lutvi was 11, her mother, Kathy Dunn, saw a flyer for a community theater group at St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank.
“I was a shy kid. She was like, ‘You’re going to do this.’ It was called ‘The Worst High School Play in the World,’” Lutvi recalled about her mom encouraging acting.
Lutvi, of Oak Lawn, has acted for The Beverly Theatre Guild since being cast as Clarisse McClellan in 2019’s “Fahrenheit 451.” Now she makes her directorial debut for what is billed as Chicago’s longest-running community theater.
The nonprofit’s 62nd season opens with “The Addams Family” from Oct. 25 to 27 at Morgan Park Academy’s The Baer Theater in Chicago.
“I’ve been a fan of the show since I was a kid. My mom used to watch it. I think it was on Nick at Nite when I was a kid,” Lutvi said. “I watched the original ’60s show and the ’90s show when I was a kid.”
Lutvi, an alumna of Reavis High School in Burbank, where she was president of the drama club, said she loves how the Addams family loves dark things, but it’s done in such a dark, happy way.
“It’s the outsiders that look at them like they’re weird. That was always fun,” she said. “They like weird things but for them that’s their normal. Most of all, they’re a happy family that truly love each other.”
Her family has been involved behind the scenes of “The Addams Family” with her husband, Austin Lutvi, as head of set construction and their daughter, Eleanor Lutvi, 3, and son, Arthur Lutvi, 18 months, sometimes accompanying the couple to rehearsals.
“Directing, you have to have your hand in every area, every aspect,” said Gina Lutvi, who has a degree in theater studies with a focus in directing and playwriting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
She has drawn on what she learned directing shows including Palos Village Players’ “Something Rotten” in 2022, “The Drowsy Chaperone” in 2018 and “The Producers” in 2017, and Orland Park Theatre Troupe’s “Legally Blonde The Musical,” which was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Lutvi’s day job for NBCUniversal Media, LLC, where she has been office administrator for the transportation department for TV shows “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Med” and the lone season of “Chicago Justice” in 2017.
“Transportation is involved in everything,” she said. “I deal with the union truck drivers and all of the pieces of equipment they drive from arranging vans that drive people around to 10-ton tractors that drive equipment around. I’m in charge of keeping all the files and ordering things.”
Lutvi also spent a couple of weeks working on “The Batman” when a portion of the 2022 movie was filmed in Chicago.
“It was fun. It was my first big motion picture that I worked on,” she said.
The musical comedy “The Addams Family” is based upon characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938.
“Wednesday is older now. She is 18, met a boy, fell in love and wants to get married. That really throws a wrench in everything ’cause they are such a tight family unit. They feel like she’s slipping away,” Lutvi said.
The more than 30 actors in “The Addams Family” include residents of Calumet City, Chicago’s Beverly and Mount Greenwood communities, Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Homewood, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Park, Richton Park, Steger and Tinley Park.
“A musical is always a great way to start a season,” Lutvi said. “It’s also great because it’s right around Halloween time. The Addams family are known for being spooky.”
Audience members are encouraged to dress for the costume contest at every performance.
The Beverly Theatre Guild’s season continues in 2025 with the drama “12 Angry Jurors” from Feb. 14 to 16 and the musical fable “Gypsy” from May 2 to 4.
‘The Addams Family’
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25-26; 2 p.m. Oct. 26-27
Where: Morgan Park Academy’s The Baer Theater, 2153 W. 111th St., Chicago
Tickets: $18-$25
Information: 773-284-8497; beverlytheatreguild.org.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
