Monday, November 05, 2012

Addams Family Musical


I thought I would jot a brief review of the Addams Family musical that we saw at the 5th Ave. Theatre on Sunday. Sarah and I were both disappointed in the show. We felt that they missed the boat in capturing the spirit of the Addams Family. I'll address my concerns via bullet points. Spoiler Alert!
- The story was weak. Very shallow.
- The music was fine but, in the end, not memorable.
- Uncle Fester was wasted as a narrator. He had a brief storyline connected to him about being in love with the moon. Stupid.
- Morticia was more like Lily Munster with her cleavage cut to her belly button. The actress was too buxom for Morticia. She was also too animated, not morose enough. When she hiked up her skirt to tango, it didn't feel right. Morticia has always danced just fine in her too tight at the ankles skirt. I can imagine that Bebe Neuwirth probably fit the part physically better than this actress did.
- Grandmama was fine. It bothered me that they kept referring to her as grandma.
- Wednesday wasn't morose enough. In the story she is struggling w/ her dark nature vs. being in love. The dark nature wasn't showcased strongly enough.
- Pugsley was fine. He never has been a strong character anyway.
- Lurch had a couple of fun moments but I felt like they missed some opportunities with him. How about a harpsichord number just for him?
- Gomez stayed pretty true to character. I feel like he was the closest to spirit of the Addams Family. I wish he had been a stronger singer. Uncle Fester's pipes outshined Gomez by leaps and bounds.
- The set was lackluster. The graveyard/gate set was fine but I was really looking forward to when they got to the house. I was so disappointed. The house set was boring. No fun props.
- Thing showed up for one bit. Blink and it was over. Thing is a huge part of the Addams Family and he was hardly in it. The set could have had many fun ways for him to show up but they just didn't do it.
- The ancestor ghost chorus was fine but I think their costumes/characters could have been kookier. The closest they came was having a criminal in the mix. All the Addams ancestors were fiends. They should have looked the part.
- Cousin It had a brief bit. It was cute but he could have been used more as well.
So, all in all, a disappointing show considering the high expectations I had for it. As a big fan of the original cartoons, the 60's show and the movies, I can't recommend this show. It just felt like they didn't live up to the true spirit of the Addams Family. What a shame.