The Addams Family

The Addams Family a musical, performed by Southport Dramatic Club Youth Theatre at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Thursday 24th August, 2023

When you hear those ‘opening notes’ and that ‘double finger snap’ … you just know, why, because ‘They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together kooky its The Addams Family’!  The Addams Family became hugely popular in the early 1960 because of the TV Series of the same name. This musical interpretation … taken from a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with music by Andrew Lippa tells the tale of the upside-down world of the Addams Family, where it is said ‘to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, death and suffering are the stuff that dreams are made of’!  Having lived by their unique values for hundreds of years… Gomez and Morticia, the ‘patriarch and matriarch’ of the clan, would be only too happy and willing to continue living that way, that is, until their dark, macabre, beloved daughter ‘Wednesday’, now turning eighteen, falls in love with an ‘ordinary person’ … his name ‘Lucas Beineke’, a sweet, smart respectable boy from a normal Ohio family. To make matters worse, Wednesday has invitedthe entire ‘Beineke Family’ … father, mother and her prospective husband to their home for dinner! During that fateful night, secrets are disclosed, relationships tested, and the Addams’s must face up to the one thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: CHANGE!

Production Team… Deborah Bloom and Jonathon Plunkett (Directors), Adam Dutch (Musical Director), Chloe Morris (Choreographer) was the ‘team’ chosen to guide us through this comic chaos and what a great job they made of it!  When you come to watch any stage production that stems from a well-known, well-loved TV show or film… it’s only natural that you associate the characters with the ones you’ve grown up with … so casting/characterisation is vital, but that wasn’t an issue at all, here at Southport … the casting was spot on, the characters believable, recognisable, not identical (that’s never going to happen), so be ever so proud Deborah and Jonathon, great insight, great casting, great result!  Congrats also to Adam Dutch… impressive as always and, after reading the programme notes, congrats to Chloe Morris, a Youth Theatre member herself, on her choreographic debut here at the Little Theatre… all I can say Chloe, after what we saw tonight, it won’t be your last for sure…  creative, cleverly devised choreography that played to and highlighted the dancers’ strengths… well done young lady, be very proud indeed!

CAST… there are occasions in life when we all think “Oh how I wish I was Younger”, in my case 50 perhaps even 60 years younger!  When you see such a great show, performed by such talented young people, who, to a one, looked like they were having the time of their life – so jealous!  So, it’s that time… ‘sticky neck out time’… where I start identifying MY ‘Showstealer’ and MY favourite characters!  Let me assure you, this wasn’t an easy ‘pick’!  For the first time in a long time, I’ve chosen a ‘couple’ as my ‘showstealer’… genuinely couldn’t separate them and probably shouldn’t separate them…. ‘Gomez’ and ‘Morticia’ played by Harry Corcoran and Zara Newton respectively… were an absolute joy to watch, they captured the essence of their characters perfectly!  Harry gave us everything… energy, enthusiasm, accent, mannerisms, stage presence aplenty and spot on comic timing … looked totally comfortable in this role, which he made his own… be ever so proud Harry… great job!  Zara as Morticia was ‘made for that part’!  Looked amazing, the dress was ‘sensational’… she oozed confidence and stage presence from her first entrance to last… facial expressions, mannerisms, posture, presence and her rendition of ‘Death is Just Around the Corner’… sung/danced with the ‘ancestors’ was sung and danced to perfection, a highlight for me… great job Zara, be ever so proud!  We had two other couples… Bethan Crotty and Evan Thorpe who took on the roles of ‘Wednesday Addams’ and ‘Lucas Beineke’ respectively. Again, both were well cast and perfect fits for these parts. Both are blessed with great stage presence and were able to give their respective characters life!   Be proud you two… great jobs!  The third and final couple where ‘Mr and Mrs Beineke’ … ‘Mal’ and ‘Alice’ played with great aplomb by Orlando Campolucci-Bordi and Carys Gauder respectively.  Another pair blessed with great stage presence, great chemistry, energy and commitment… believable characters, each with their own part to play and story to tell, which they did with ease!  Loved Cary’s singing voice … her solo ‘Waiting’ and her duet with Orlando ‘In the Arms’ were amazing!  Well done you two… be very proud!   From couples to family … we had ‘banjo’ playing ‘Fester’ played wonderfully well by Charlie Gerring, great characterisation!  ‘Pugsley’, brother to Wednesday, was played well by Andrew Dunnett-Edge.  Hattie Gloyne gave us a great interpretation of the ever so ‘kooky’ ‘Grandma Addams’ the mother of whom, were really not sure!  ‘Lurch’ was played really well by Guy Tatler… didn’t say a great deal… didn’t have to… great character!  Katie Allen took on a dual role of ‘Itt and Thing’… loved the costume for ‘Itt’…  loved the scene with the flower… well done!   Then we had the amazing chorus members, all of who were assigned an ‘Addams Family Ancestor Character’…each with their own cameo role and collectively called The Dancestors!  As we entered the theatre foyer and beyond, the ‘Dancestors’, these ghostly figures could be found ‘lurking around’ in most dark corners …if you spoke to them, you got no response… let’s face it, they are hundreds of years old!  Dressed in amazing costumes, with amazing make-up, some with spectacular wigs, they were a focal point for most, if not all, the chorus dance routines which were amazingly set and delivered and which enhanced the production throughout (congrats again to Chloe)… they included Kai-Enna Mook (Vaudevillian), Emilie Alty (Suffragette), Serafina Campolucci-Bordi (Victorian Girl), Daisy Capie-Witterick (Jester), Megan Barker (Flower Seller), Dylan Bayliff (Scout Leader), Susie Blake (Flapper), Emily Bloom (Georgian Lady), Sawyer Duncan (Soldier), Lee Hayes (Puritan), Emily Garside (WW1 Nurse), Nathan Power (Founding Father), Tess Wright (Bride), Maddie Stafford (Ballerina), Fleur Wigmore (Bailaora), and Olivia Williams (Saloon Girl) … be ever so proud… you were strong, effective and supported your principals ever so well!

Staging/Tech/Set… an impressive single set was used throughout (Designed and built by Radley Haynes and his Set Building Team). The set afforded the cast every opportunity to do their ‘thing’ and helped make this a great production!  Alex McKillop (Stage Manager) with his crew, which included Katie Allen, Francesca Bate, Elizabete Kozinde, Chris Morris and Abbie Strefford, did a great job, with most scene changes carried out by the cast!  As always, the ‘lighting and sound’, here at the Little Theatre was of a high standard.  Lighting was being overseen by Andrea Shacksmyth-Claire and Rhys O’Hare with Max Jenkinson (Follow Spot).  Sound was in the capable hands David Proffitt and Neil Langridge.  A notable feature of this production was the ‘projected images’ created and used during the opening, for ‘Thing’, for Festers trip to the Moon and many more which were superbly created and produced by the ‘wizard’ that is Paul Shacksmyth-Claire… well done everyone… great team effort!

The Orchestra (or should I say ‘The Haunting Shadows’) … led ever so well by Adam Dutch and included Wendy Tucker (Keys1), Jono Chalker (Keys2), Mike Ciaputa (Guitar), Sarah Dutch (Reed1), Emily Farren (Reed2), Jess Holding (Violin), Mark Bottomley (Drums), Cliff Ray (Trumpet), Daniel Rankin (Bass), and John Connolly (Trombone)… accompanied and supported these young actors ever so well… be proud!

Costumes/Wigs/Makeup … one word … ‘fabulous’ and enhanced the show ever so much! Costumes were under the watchful eye of Eve McNamara and Brendan Gillow with support from Karen Greer with Morticia’s stunning dress!  Wigs were of a professional standard as was the make-up, especially for the ancestors…not sure who was responsible, but whoever he/she/they were... congrats… amazing results!

Props… were apt and of the period which further enhanced the show… looked after by Fi Billington

Chaperones… to stage any Youth Production requires the society/company to have a ‘team of unsung heroes’ ... people who come along to ensure young actors are safe and secure in a pleasant environment… this task falls onto the shoulder of ‘chaperones’… covering this role for SDC was Helen Bennett, Sue Horsley, PJ Green, Carolyn Rodwell, Marilyn Fletcher-Hill, Gill Corcoran, Bernie Howat, Sue Palmer, Zoe Findlay, Paul Wilkinson, Adrienne Ledson, Sian Woolley and Bev Newton… well done folks… great job!

Just before I finish… can I just mention a few amazing ‘one liners that just ‘tickled me’ … there were many more, just didn’t get a chance to write them down!
- Morticia to Gomez… ‘If you wanna act like a tool… go sleep in the shed’!
- Lucas to Wednesday… ‘I can be impulsive, I’ve just gotta think about if first’!
- Gomez to Morticia … ‘You were so beautiful, pale and mysterious… no one even looked at the corpse’!

Thank you so much SDC Youth Theatre for inviting my wife and I, we thoroughly enjoyed the production and can’t wait to see you all again soon!

“Stay Safe… Keep well”
“Stronger Together”

Jim Briscoe
NW Region
District 6 Rep

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