The Addams Family

     

They're Creepy and They're Kooky!

    Welcome to another musical review! This week I'll be discussing The Addams Family Musical! This is a comedy musical based upon the classic characters created by Charles Addams in the 1930s.  It deals with the struggles of relationships between the various couples of the show, with lots of humor and hilarity. 

    This is the first review in awhile that's been about the OBC instead of a film version of the show! This cat has never actually read the actual comics or seen some of the older TV shows and films, so all of my Addams Family knowledge comes from this musical. Whether or not you're familiar with the original versions of the family, you'll enjoy the content of this musical. Let's get right into the review! 

Krulwich, Sara

The Addams Family

History

    The Addams Family opened in Chicago in 2009 before moving to Broadway a year later. The show closed in late 2011, after almost two years on Broadway. Since then, it has had a US National Tour and a West End tour. A new West End tour has been announced, but it's been postponed due to COVID-19. 

Who's in the Cast?

    Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth played Gomez and Morticia Addams, respectively. Krysta Rodriguez stars as their daughter, Wednesday Addams, and Adam Riegler as their son, Pugsley Addams. Their Uncle Fester was portrayed by Kevin Chamberlain, and Grandma Addams was played by Jackie Hoffman. The Addams' family butler was portrayed by Zachary James. Finally, the "normal" Beineke family consists of Terrence Mann as Mal Beineke, Carolee Carmello as Alice Beineke, and Wesley Taylor as their son, Lucas Beineke. 

Overview

    Our show opens with the full Addams family, Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley, and even their zombie-butler Lurch. They're a macabre family, who find joy in death and the unusual. They are in their family graveyard to visit their deceased relatives and invite their ghosts to celebrate what it means to be an Addams (When You're an Addams). After the celebration, Uncle Fester stops the ghosts from returning to their graves because he needs their help. It turns out Wednesday is in love with Lucas Beineke, so Uncle Fester wants the help of the ghosts to make sure Wednesday and Lucas are good for each other and that their love will last. Wednesday has invited Lucas and his parents over for dinner, and Gomez is sad that she is growing up fast and changing. Wednesday is torn between her love for Beineke and how different they are, and how she feels pulled in a new direction (Pulled). Gomez and Morticia worry about how much she's changing (Where Did We Go Wrong). 

    Wednesday tells her family exactly how she wants them to behave at dinner so they don't scare off Lucas's family with their unusual lifestyle. Lucas asks his parents, Mal and Alice, to keep an open mind about Wednesday's family. Mal is a very proper man, and Alice is full of joy and loves to rhyme her sentences. Uncle Fester is still working with the ghosts to help Wednesday and Lucas's relationship succeed, not permitting them to return to their graves until they help the the two young lovers (One Normal Night). However, the introductions do not go the way Wednesday and Lucas planned. Mal is disgusted with their house, and Grandma, Pugsley, and Uncle Fester fail to act "normal," causing tensions to rise between the families. Wednesday shocks her family by wearing a yellow dress. After dinner, Wednesday and Lucas discuss with each other about how they wanted to have the dinner to announce their plans to get married. Gomez tries to bond with Mal by showing him the family squid, which does not help Mal's negative outlook of the family. Alice confides to Morticia that her relationship with Mal has lost its passion. Morticia overhears Wednesday calling her old,  begins to worry she is. She rejects Gomez's invitation to dance, and he feels unhappy (Morticia). 

    Pugsley grows worried that with Wednesday occupied with Lucas, she won't be able to play their favorite game with him anymore: torture. Grandma tells him that she has a potion that will bring out the dark side of someone, so Pugsley steals it to put in Wednesday's drink at dinner (What If). Finally dinner time, the group plays "The Game," where each person must confess something to the others, with Uncle Fester confessing that he is in love with the moon (Full Disclosure). During the chaos of confessions, Alice drinks Wednesday's glass, the one that Pugsley added the potion to. She announces to them all that she has no passion in her relationship with Mal and that her life is miserable (Waiting). Mal is humiliated, and attempts to drag his family out of the house, but Wednesday announces that she and Lucas want to get married. In the ensuing disarray, Uncle Fester has the ghosts create a storm to trap everyone in the house through the night (Full Disclosure, Part 2). 

    

    Act 2 opens with Lucas and Wednesday having their first fight, with Lucas trying to convince Wednesday to work things out between their families. Morticia is worried that she's not an integral part of her family, and waits for the prospect of death (Just Around the Corner).  Mal fights with Alice about her dinner confession, and she is so upset that she can't rhyme her sentences anymore. Meanwhile, Uncle Fester celebrates his love for the moon (The Moon and Me). Gomez stops Wednesday from running away, and she tells him that her fight with Lucas has her questioning their relationship. Gomez tells her that love is complicated, and that although he's happy she's found love, he's sad that she's not a child anymore (Happy/Sad). 

    Wednesday meets with Lucas again, and tells him that part of the problem is that she's crazy, and he's not crazy enough for her. To prove her wrong, Lucas blindfolds her and tells her to shoot an apple off the top of his head with her crossbow. He says he has faith that their love will guide the arrow. She succeeds in hitting the apple, and the two reconcile (Crazier Than You). 

    Morticia talks to Pugsley, but he doesn't admit that he put the potion in the goblet at dinner. Gomez and Fester try to talk to Mal about his relationship with Alice but he stubbornly refuses to open up (Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love). Suddenly, a giant squid pulls Mal into the sewers of the Addams family's mansion. Lurch leads Alice to the grotto, where Mal has swum out of the sewers. He tells her that his swim with a giant squid has opened his eyes and he that he knows to appreciate what they have. He tells her he loves her and wants to bring passion back to their relationship (In The Arms). Meanwhile, Morticia confides in Grandma that she is downcast and asks for a potion to help her. Grandma tells her there's no potion to help. Gomez professes his undying love to a downhearted Morticia (Live Before We Die). They dance on the roof with the ancestors (Tango de Amor).

    All of the couples are reunited and happy with each other once more. Pugsley finally confesses, at Grandma's insistence, to stealing the potion, but is congratulated instead of reprimanded because everything worked out for the best in the end. Uncle Fester announces that he is going to fly to the moon to be with his love, and blasts off with a rocket. The families all rejoice in their happiness, and the ancestors are finally able to return to their graves (Move Toward the Darkness). 

Thoughts

    What a fun show! Just about everybody knows who the Addams family is, and their affinity for all things morbid and gruesome. It was super cool to see how a theatre adaptation could portray various torture devices and swamp creatures. And the humor! There were many funny moments throughout the show, especially when the Addams were attempting to be "normal." 

    Right off the bat I want to say that Nathan Lane was my favorite actor in the show. His portrayal of Gomez Addams was paw-some! He had the perfect amount of hilarity, love, and concern for all things. I laughed so much every time he was on stage. His jokes were great, but when his character had to be solemn or sad, Lane was able to really display a different side to Gomez. Overall, Lane created a very well-rounded character who was enjoyable to watch on stage. 

    Bebe Neuwirth also stood out as Morticia Addams. She was the perfect amount of smooth, suave, and sultry. I truly felt intimated by her presence on stage. Kevin Chamberlain was perfectly cast as Uncle Fester. He was able to show little bits of insanity in the character but still provided the depth of Fester's ambitions, both in his love for the moon and his desire to help Wednesday. Uncle Fester is a bizarre character, and Chamberlain captured his peculiar attributes in an incredible performance.

    One of my favorite aspects of the entire show was the incredible set. Even the little details mattered. When Gomez accidentally cuts the tassel of a curtain off with his sword, it comes to life and runs off the stage. Morticia feeds a small bird to a giant, living Venus Fly Trap that actually swallows the bird and cuddles Morticia. And the set for inside the mansion was incredible as well. Two grand staircases and an enormous dinner table were staples of the house. I loved to see how the show was able to create the perfect atmosphere of the Addams family's home. 

    Although there are a few curses and adult humor, it is a somewhat family-oriented show. It explores important themes about relationships, including honesty, trust, and love. It also explores various family dynamics, and how people who appear very different can actually work together and get along. 

    I would recommend this to pretty much everybody. If weird humor is your thing, you're especially going to love it, but the show is great for pretty much everybody. There's so many elements that appeal to different types of people, so there's something in it for all people. Overall, I loved it!

    There weren't any cats but there was a cool squid and a giant lizard, so I'm not too upset about it. Although they probably could've added a black cat for some extra darkness. It totally fits the theme. 

Ratings

Find the rating scale here.

Soundtrack          ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set                        ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall                 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat rating             ⭐

Best song: Pulled

Best actor: Nathan Lane

Best set: Inside the mansion

Fun Facts!

• The Addams Family Musical is very popular for high school productions. In fact, my mom, Grace, was in the pit orchestra when her high school performed this musical during her senior year!
• Composer Andrew Lippa wrote most of the score to match the personality of each character, for example, giving Wednesday more contemporary styles (Pulled, Crazier Than You) and Gomez more traditional Spanish style.
• The show won an Outer Critics Circle Award for "Outstanding Set Design" in 2010.