The Adams Family Young@Part

 

The Adam  Family Youth@Part is an adapted version of the adult show based around Wednesday who falls in love with Lucas a boy from a ‘normal’ family. Having watched the adult show I must say that this version lost nothing and was a fast-moving romp through the story with all of the humour and pathos of the original show.

 

Thank you for your warm welcome at my first visit to your society.  It was great to see the reception area had been appropriate adorned with decoration related to your show.

 

The hall, which was a wonderful size, was set up with tiered and flat seating with plenty of room around them which at this time made me feel happy to remove my mask to watch the show.

 

The stage, certainly set the scene for what we were about to watch from the two demons with red eyes on the front of the stage to the brilliantly adorned large front apron. This was set both stage left and right with superb 3D cut outs of gothic like walls, grave stones and an exceptional tree. I loved the face image in the tree and time had obviously been taken to add names to the grave stones I particularly liked ‘Dee Compose’ and ‘Righa Mortis’. Working these names out certainly kept us occupied before the show began. A wonderful touch.

I thought using Lurch and Fester to remind people to switch off their mobiles was inspired, I’m sure no-one would want to get into trouble with them!

 

It is great to see a youth group having the use of a school hall which was obviously set up to be used for performances. The lights and gobo were attached to a bar hung from the ceiling and controlled from the back of the hall with a follow spot on auditorium stage right. The sound desk was set up with the lighting. It was expertly controlled and the radio mics were wonderfully balanced, you could hear every word.

 

The stage sets throughout were magnificent, they were so professional I checked with your director to see if you had hired one. There was so much detail added to every separate set, all entrances and exits were integrated so you had to look carefully to see where the cast arrived and departed from. I especially liked the use of the cut-out picture frames and how they were used by the cast.  Many congratulations to your set designer and crew.

 

Costumes are my love and your costume department certainly came up trumps! The Adams Family outfits are iconic and your cast were all brilliantly attired from the members of the family to the period American outfits of the Beinecke’s.  All the casts clothing fitted beautifully. I especially liked the fact that Morticia was wearing a jumpsuit which must have been easier to move in rather than the tight-fitting trumpet dress, it took nothing away from the character and I didn’t realise until part way through the first half. I feel I need to mention the Ancestors clothing from the colours and materials chosen to the construction of the outfits each character was very clear. Many congratulations.

 

The make-up and hair team had their work cut out but again, the result was detailed throughout, everyone looked their part.

 

The props were period, detailed and well used by all the cast. The trees certainly gave us the feeling that we were in the park and the cast gave us the feeling of the wind blowing through them. The pièce de résistance was Fester’s flying machine to fly to his love and his light bulb!

 

Your musical director obviously had a great chorus of voices to work with. She had drilled them well and their diction was very clear. The songs were certainly ‘catchy and upbeat’ but when needed the emotion could be heard when your main characters sang, superb.

 

The choreography throughout the show was exceptional. All the varied routines from ballet to tango had been well prepared and rehearsed so all the children knew exactly where to go and what to do. It was great to see some of the iconic Adams moves incorporated within the dances. Brilliant.

 

Before I mention individual characters, I would like to praise your director on the stage craft she has given all the members of your company. Their transitioning from scene to scene was seamless. Obviously, all the skills she gained on the Noda Summer Schools she has passed on to the cast. Every single member was on point all the way through the performance. They demonstrated attack, pace, energy, pulled every ounce of comedy and pathos from every scene, what a fantastic group of young people.

 

Gomez, the smooth sophisticated head of the family held his accent throughout the show. He kept up his contact with the audience and drew them into the story. His singing was on point and handled all his difficult songs confidently. His wife Morticia, with whom there was a believable connection, was a powerful presence on stage, she expected loyalty from Gomez and showed her disappointment when he didn’t, her singing was of a high standard.

 

Wednesday was well cast she demonstrated the anger, love and confusion she felt, she played the truculent teenager brilliantly. She kept her deadpan expression and delivered her songs with conviction.  The actor who played her younger brother Pugsley created an excellent characterisation. He demonstrated his need to have his sister’s involvement in his life convincingly and the singing of his difficult soliloquy was heart breaking.

 

The part of Grandma is difficult to portray for a just turned 12-year-old but she did an excellent job. Her diction was clear, just slow down a little. She pulled out the cookie character and sang well. Fester was a joy to behold! This young actor inhabited the character, he (she) was full of energy, sang with passion, demonstrated every emotion and portrayed the comic book persona brilliantly (she must have been exhausted at the end of a performance).

 

Lurch the tall, shambling, lugubrious butler was played with gravitas. He never changed his deadpan expression or speeded up his movements; even when Fester was pushing him; during the show which must have taken a lot of practice and it was great to hear him sing rather than grunt at the end of the show. The actor playing Cousin It was great. You would think that the anonymity of wearing a full hair costume and glasses would be an advantage but this young actor was constantly running across the stage with purpose and was an integral part of the action.

 

The young man portraying Lucas Beineke had a wonderful stage presence and great singing voice. His accent was good and the interaction between him and Wednesday was believable. It is a very difficult part to play a dad when you are performing in a youth theatre especially when you consider the actors were the same age. The 15-year-old performance of the role of the controlling Mal was excellent, he spoke and sang clearly and his polar opposite change was handled well.  Mal’s wife Alice was quite a complex character to play. This young actor did it with aplomb and the transition from downtrodden wife speaking in rhyming couplets to the confident independent woman following the drinking of the drug was wonderful.

 

Finally, I would like to mention your outstanding ensemble. There wasn’t one weak link, everyone was engaged throughout the performance. This young cast produced a show that I feel should be viewed by other groups intending on presenting this production. The whole company should be proud!! Many congratulations to all involved.

 

Disclaimer 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be affected by that knowledge. 

The NODA Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular, the performance.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

 It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

Sheila Gill

Representative NODA Southwest District 2

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