Addams Family Young@Part

This was a great show to pick for the age range of the group from 8 to 18; giving everyone plenty to do. There was strong direction from Ben Griffiths, assisted by Gary Robson, and they produced a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

The elaborate moving set was built by hand, which must have taken considerable time and effort, and showcases the obvious dedication of the production team and crew. With many visual and special effects and complex scene changes they did a fabulous job making this production look so effective. There was a slight technical issue on first night but it was handled very professionally by the cast and crew. Gomez even managed to ad-lib with the audience and get a laugh, which shows a real confidence and maturity beyond his years.

Lighting had an excellent range of colours to create different moods and sound was also good, although the backing track was a bit loud in places, especially at the start.  However this soon settled down and the cast did a good job keeping in time with the pre-recorded music.

The costumes and makeup were really excellent, with lots of variety and attention to detail. I loved the one covered head to foot in hair, who I didn’t realise was a boy until his reveal at the curtain call!

There was some very strong choreography in this production, by Alicia Pearce. It suited all ages and abilities and was always effective.  The ballet dance performed The Moon, was beautiful and I loved the tap dance.

The programme lists the huge production team that was needed to pull this show off.  I was very interested to see that many of the roles, such as wardrobe and hair and makeup, had junior equivalents, which is a really great way to encourage young people to get involved behind the scenes as well as on stage.

There was a strong line up of Principals with excellent singing and great character acting from this young cast.

The rest of this large cast were used to great effect and created a really lovely sound in the chorus singing.  They all played their characters well as various ancestors and performed with enthusiasm.  The enjoyment of the cast was evident and made this great production all the more enjoyable for the audience. 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.