The Addams Family

This musical tale of teenage lovers and the impact their romance has on their respective families, based on the cartoonist Charlie Addams 1938 characters, was a perfect vehicle for this talented group - full of comedy, songs and dancing. Lewis Moggach was outstanding as Gomez, the patriarch of the Addams family, with a powerful singing voice (shown to its best in his rendition of “Happy Sad”), strong acting and step perfect dancing. Bekkah Davidson as his wife Morticia, impressive in a black velvet figure-hugging gown, was more than a match for him and their singing and dancing in the duet “Live Before We Die” was a delight. Her solo, with the chorus of Ancestors, “Just Around The Corner” was a show stopper. Young Ellen Fairbairn, in her first principal role, as Wednesday was perfect as the teenager pulled between her family and her first love especially as expressed in her rendition of “Pulled”. As the object of her affections Lucas, played by Martin Bell, gave a very strong performance as he too struggled with the choice between his “normal” family and his love for Wednesday. Neil Bell-Forsyth was a delight as Uncle Fester adding much to the comedy as he strove to bring love to everyone and, of course, to himself as expressed in his rendition of “The Moon and Me” with the Ancestors. Ciara Addams as Pugsley, the Addams family son, too added to the comedy as he schemed to keep his sister close so she could continue to torture him. Lauren Macaskill as Alice, Lucas’s mother, was another who gave a strong performance and her transformation from meek housewife to free-spirit in the act one finale “Full Disclosure” was a hoot. Strong support was given by Sarah McWilliam as a wild-haired Grandma, Peet Michielsen as Lucas’s conservative father Mal and James Watt as the towering Lurch. The large chorus of Ancestors sang and moved extremely well when required. The set was a very good representation of a Victorian gothic-style mansion with use of sliding walls to effect the changes for the more intimate scenes. The lighting too added much to the atmosphere. The 13 piece orchestra handled the various styles of music well. Congratulations to Hannah, Hugh and everyone at Aurora Productions for another most enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

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