The Addams Family

An appropriate choice for this time of the year with Halloween fast approaching, The Addams Family depicts a ghoulish American family with a taste for all things macabre. It started life as a comic strip cartoon but has had numerous film and tv adaptations (one of which I can vaguely remember from my childhood) over the years before emerging as a musical comedy which premiered in the UK at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre in 2017. This was my first experience of the show, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I was not disappointed.

Will McGovern is an experienced member of CAOS, but this is his first outing as a director. He has chosen a very strong cast to bring these iconic characters to ‘life’, so we were in safe hands.

The curtain opened to reveal an elaborate set on two levels, with many nice touches, including picture frames that had ghostly apparitions behind them. Scene changes were made by the cast, with each scene merging smoothly into the next. Suitably macabre lighting enhanced the picture, as did the well-chosen costumes and excellent makeup. Colour themes identified each group of characters with the Addams family in monochromes, the Beinekes in bright colours and the ghosts all in pale ashen shades – most effective.

Head of the family Gomez was well portrayed by Aiden Jowers, desperately rushing around trying to keep everyone happy and prevent things changing. Bee Anderson was perfect as Morticia – cold and aloof but very sexy, a beautiful singer and fabulous dancer. Bee also choreographed the show, making inventive use of the fairly limited stage and incorporating a lot of humour into the well-executed chorus numbers. Sarah Melville and Aengus Strand were spot on as their children Wednesday and Pugsley, the stroppy teenage daughter wanting freedom from the family and her younger annoying brother who she liked to torture. Ben Horner brought great humour to the awkward and quirky character of Uncle Fester, and Gilly Williams was an absolute delight as the eccentric Grandma. Dan Farmiloe as Lurch the butler towered over everyone (even more than he usually does) somehow keeping a straight face right until his big moment at the end.

Being thrust into the middle of this crazy family must have been quite a shock for the Beinekes. Dan Grey as Lucas, Wednesday’s boyfriend, gave a good portrayal of the naive boy next door, while Jonny Clines, as his father Mal, was suitably respectable, repressed and outraged until he finally releases his inner self. In my view, one the best performances of the evening came from Emily Horner as Lucas’s mother Alice, going from the demure neglected housewife to utterly liberated and dancing on the tables (under the influence of a potion) – a great performance!

The standard of singing and movement throughout by principals and chorus was top-notch. The band too, under the baton of MD Harry Wells, produced a great sound. They were hidden away backstage but unfortunately their volume was generally too high, which tended to overwhelm the cast and make it very hard for us to pick up the lyrics, especially during underscored dialogue.

What more can I say? This was another great production from this very talented company, which the appreciative audience thoroughly enjoyed. Huge well done to everyone involved!

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