The Addams Family stage show is based on the cranky, undead Addams family of the 1960s TV shows and opened on Broadway in 2010. It tells the crazy, ghoulish tale of the oddest family on the block who live in a mysterious mansion set in the middle of Central Park, New York. The stage show revolves around the Addams’ children growing up and their daughter Wednesday – she of the unsunny disposition – meeting and falling in love with a smart, young and ‘normal’ man. She has become secretly engaged to him but is afraid to tell her family due to her domineering, matriarchal mother Morticia’s reaction. She confides in her father and the young man’s family are invited round for dinner for an evening of secrets and full disclosures during a traditional Addams’ family game. During the evening, the entire family realises that change is afoot and must happen despite generations of their traditions and values or risk losing their daughter to a life with normal people.
The opening scene in the graveyard was spectacular with the gravestones, spooky lighting and great sound and singing. The ancestors were all suitably dead, each one unique and acted the zombie undead with convincing effect. The cloths were impressive and well painted to depict the graveyard and the park and the inside of the Addams’ home. The set was a huge, impressive, rotational piece of double stair casing which formed a balcony and mezzanine but mostly was staircasing butted together as an up and down effect or to create a landing outside the bedrooms. Here I struggled a little as I didn’t think it worked effectively for some scenes. It appeared that some scenes were set to fit in with the stairs and things like draping the ancestors on it whilst they watched the proceedings of the evening looked a little deliberate. Morticia and Gomez had a scene where they walked up and down and in her heels it was precarious to watch as was Alice and Mal arguing on the landing where there was no rail. It detracted at times from the acting as I watched expecting a fall or a stumble. I do hope that no one does fall this week! Also, when Fester sang is his first song in front of the curtain, the cast and scene striking behind the curtain drowned him out so quieter feet are definitely needed. That’s my grumbles over.
This was a well thought out and directed piece of musical theatre and the cast ably assisted all the scene shifting and setting and the use of the frames in the house with the ancestors forming oil paintings with white lighting and poses was terrific. The director had added lots of extras which he’d thought of to the piece such as a huge spider, a terrifying tentacled octopus, a Donald Trump reference and Fester’s rocket to the moon in the final scene with a little sparkler for the ignition was genius!
The cast supplied us with the expected style of Addams’ characters. Gomez was a fabulous actor , with great audience interaction and was played by Ian Tyler who showed just the right amount of confident-suave , mixed with under the thumb, adoring and yet highly-manipulated husband. He was well matched by his Morticia , played by Emma Taylor who wheedled, dominated and sashayed through the show in a magnificent gown and sky high heels. I particularly enjoyed her scene with the ancestors of death is ‘just around the corner’. She completely looked the part too. Emma commanded the stage with her presences and oozed seduction. Fester was well played with good comic timing by Robbie Carnegie and the moon song was one of the audience’s favourites. Fester has some of the best lines in the show and Robbie exploited them to their full potential.
Wednesday the vehicle for the plot was played by Harlie Farmer who gave us an older characterisation with contemporary sass, lots of sadism and appropriate levels of teenage angst and eye rolling. She sang well in her number ‘Pulled’ but really came into her own in the duet, ‘Crazier Than You ‘with Lucas in act 2; where he proves his love by allowing her to shoot an apple off his head, blindfolded! Lucas ably matched Harlie with his contemporary, American, clean cut high school boy, played by Harry Bloor who showed he was a fine singer too. Mal and Alice (Lucas’ parents) are the spanners in the works for the evening but through the disastrous dinner party they fall apart then fall in love again by the end of the show. Jane Eastwood made great fun of the drunken mother and the table top crawling and cavorting before passing out was very impressive. Her shrieking voice was enough to set your teeth on edge but suited the role to a tee. Her husband played by Stewart Bowden was a capable foil and they worked and played well together. In the duets at the end of the show, he too showed he had a fine set of pipes. Grandma Addams (or maybe she isn’t even one of the family – no-one knows) was played with energy and lots of comedy by Beverley Eaves who made great business of a caricature old lady with sass. It is really difficult to act old when you’re not and she did well, holding back the edge until the finale. Lurch – the semi mute, zombie butler bumbled through and got lots of laughs until he burst into a huge, booming and resonant singing voice for the finale. Grant Quigley had huge presence physically and really added to the proceedings on stage. Lastly, by no means least, Pugsley (Wednesday’s younger brother) who loves to be tortured, smokes like a chimney, can’t sleep without a monster in his closet and desperately tries to end his sister’s relationship with Lucas was played brilliantly by Connor Wyse. A terrific characterisation. Like his sister’s modern take, slightly edgy teenage boy, Connor made the role his own and left a lasting impression.
What a pleasure to attend such a beautiful theatre in a lovely part of the North West. Thank you for a great performance of the Addams family. Click, click.
Reviewer - Kathryn Gorton
on - 14/11/18
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