JADAR

★★★★☆

The kookiest and spookiest family around are back and ready to boo-gie around the UK with this ghoulishly mad musical extravaganza.

The macabre family, first originating in Charles Addams’ humorously dark 1938 newspaper cartoons, have had numerous adaptations, from the 1964 and 1977 televisions shows and a 1973 animation, to the cult-classic 90s revival movies starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci. Alongside multiple other spin-offs and the newest instalment in the form of Netflix’s smash-hit show Wednesday, by 2007 the family finally branched off into musical theatre.

The Addams Family feels like an appropriately Frankensteinian amalgamation, combining the teenage angst and unhappy parental relationships of Bat Out of Hell, with the powerhouse vocals and madness of Heathers, with a healthy dollop of the supernatural and a lick of the films’ classic dark humour and the spooky ensemble of Rocky Horror.

Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book effectively recreates the characteristics and mannerisms of the family, with a Shakespearian twist as Wednesday’s (Maria Garrett) secret infatuation with a respectable and “normal” Lucas Beineke (Jacob Fowler) threatens to pull the family apart. Chaos ensues as the Beineke and Addams families meet, but will they get through dinner unscathed?

The show roars into action as Thing, spotlighted through the manor letter-box, starts a fun click-along to the classic Addams Family theme. The set by Diego Pitarch is stunning, with crooked wood panelling, crumbling walls, coldly lit plank covered windows, turning staircases, balconies, and the occasional piece ornate décor. Behind the paintings are spooky apparitions, and each area of the house feels like it could hold a treasure trove of secrets.

Ben Cracknell’s moody lighting is haunting, sometimes capturing the eerie silhouttes of the family, other times enhancing their grim expressions, or dressing the house with an ominiously dark hue.

The Addams Family Musical is filled with the usual shenanigans and witty repartee. Its main drawback is that the story never really develops past the surface-level with its many entangled story threads. It hops between Gomez’s (Ricardo Afonso) predicament as he keeps Wednesday’s secret engagement from Morticia (Alexandra Burke), while Lucas’ parents’ (Alice and Mal, portrayed by Kara Lane) and Dale Rapley, respectively) false façade of optimistic poetry and masculine egotism reveal frustrations with a stale and unexciting marriage.

Between this, Uncle Festor’s (Clive Rowe) cupid act and his crush on the moon, Pugsley’s (Nicholas McLean) cute jealous fight for Wednesday’s attention, Grandma’s (Lesley Joseph) poison cart and odious manners, and the ancestor ensemble trying to return to their crypt, the show just feels a little overcrowded. Act one stays on track with these plots unravelling seamlessly side by side, but act two feels like a freshly decaying corpse, a tad over-bloated as they try to each part into a nice, neat bow.

Despite this, the show is filled with laugh-out-loud gags, from Pugsley’s delighted screams on the torture rack during Wednesday’s ‘Pulled’ solo, and the monster puppet creeping from Pugsley’s coffin bed, to the family’s backwards sentiments, and absurd attempts to look “normal” for Wednesday’s dinner party. There’s a good mixture of both British and American humour, sprinkled with silly sound effects, a couple of more racy jokes, and the usual oddities of the peculiar family. In fact, the comedy, cast, and characterisations are where the show really shines.

Dickon Gough’s Lurch was phenomenal with the heavy stomps, slow walk, dim facial expressions, varied groans, and an unexpected operatic moment in The Sound of Music‘s ‘Climb Every Mountain’-reminiscent ‘Move Towards the Darkness’ finale.

Additionally, Andrew Lippa’s score is eerie-sistible! Each song feels so varied and refreshing. Wednesday and Lucas’ solos are rock-pop ballads enhanced by Garrett and Fowler’s flawless belts and riffs and palpable chemistry, while Gomez’s songs are filled with Latin flair from the acoustic guitars to Afonso’s intoxicating trills, and believable desperation.

Others are far more creepy and mischievous, with Clive Rowe’s particularly engaging interludes as Uncle Fester, his hunched shoulders, naïve tone and enigmatic charisma constantly stealing the show with cheerful optimism.

Alexandra Burke’s incredible vocal ingenuity is awe-inspiring, and her soft speech and captivating eyes perfectly match Morticia’s demeanour. At times, the show could have benefitted from a touch more sharpness and cunning from Morticia, but her tenderness was sweet and endearing. Her tango with Afonso was beautifully choreographed by Alistair David, and the ensemble looked incredible during this scene, but it did slightly stall the last few minutes of action and could have benefitted a touch more pizzaz.

While it suffers from a few pacing and story issues, The Addams Family is a riotous show, jam-packed with fun characters, a star-studded cast, a surprisingly fresh score, and a few spooky surprises that’s sure to keep the family entertained.

Photo: Pamela Raith