The Addams Family
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Cititour.com Review
Creepy, crawly, or to quote the popular TV theme song – “they’re kooky.. all together ooky, The Addams Family.” And now, after the show had lived forever in syndication gathering up followers as sci-fi hits often do, and spawning a handful of film adaptations, Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons have finally been musicalized on Broadway to mixed results.
Like Frankenstein before it, this show is interlocked with its predecessors and already enjoys a built-in fan base. They laugh uproariously at the appearance of a mop head, for example, before it actually does anything to warrant the reaction. Such is the case for all beloved characters and all this show really has to do is offer up snappy one-liners like the one about teenager, Wednesday, lovingly described as, “a bundle of malice.” Credit book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with a clever mix of character-driven quips and topical barbs. But the flimsy story about a girl from a Dracula-like family who wants to marry a nice “normal” boy never grows beyond the basics, and that’s a lot of space to fill on a Broadway stage for over two hours.
Composer Andrew Lippa provides a classic opener, "When You’re an Addams", which sets the cute macabre tone and supplies some terrific tongue-in-cheek numbers throughout including the quirky, "Let’s Not Talk About Anything Else But Love."
But the cast is truly the show’s best asset. Nathan Lane, as Gomez does a swell job as the caring family patriarch, and if his accent seems to come and go, chalk that up to the character’s charm. Lane doesn’t rely on his usual shtick and his timing is still the best on Broadway. Bebe Neuwirth is perfectly cast as his wife, the sensuous Morticia, and delivers an appealing blend of aging beauty and loving mother/spouse. The chemistry between them revs up the magic. Comedienne Jackie Hoffman, as Grandma, mixing her potions and struggling to make her way across a room, provides some of the show’s biggest laughs. Krysta Rodriguez, as Wednesday, is handed multiple American Idol-like soaring notes which, for the most part she’s perfectly capable of delivering but she struggles in quieter moments. Adam Riegler as the youngest, Pugsley, already training in S&M, does a credible job.
The object of Wednesday’s affections is played with competence by Wesley Taylor. His parents played by veterans Terrence Mann and Carolee Carmello, rival Lane and Neuwirth for comic timing. Carmello, in particular, reaches new heights here with her frenzied portrayal of an uptight, conservative housewife suddenly let loose from her cage.
The problems with the production probably stem from the ‘too many cooks’ school of show doctoring. The team of Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, whose claim to fame is off-Broadway’s Shockheaded Peter, are credited with directing and designing. The first hour of the show, the set’s modular pieces look as if they’ve been designed for a bus and truck tour but later, they capture the essence of Addams’ distinctive drawings supported by spooky lighting from Natasha Katz. Aiding in their directing duties is “Creative Consultant” Jerry Zaks, whose long list of successes ranges from "Grease" to "LaCage."
Essentially the show is based on a cute idea but most of it’s filler. If the creative team was trying to use the family Addams as an allegory for ‘live and let live’ they missed several opportunities. But any criticism about the show will surely fall on deaf ears. Fans of Uncle Fester and Lurch, and you know who you are, will flock to "The Addams Family."
By Lesley Alexander
Visit the Site
http://www.theaddamsfamilymusical.com
Cast
Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello, Kevin Chamberlin, Jackie Hoffman, Zachary James, Adam Riegler, Krysta Rodriquez, Merwin Foard
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/8/2010
Closing 12/31/2011
Box Office
212-307-4100
Theatre Info
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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