The Addams Family

Burtonwood Amateur Music and Drama Society were back on stage with their production of the kooky musical, ‘The Addams Family’. Making her directorial debut was Leigh Nash. The general direction from Leigh was good. There was good characterisation from the entire company, with good blocking. On the whole, pace was good throughout. There were some moments where the pace slowed, mainly during some of the scene changes. Scene changes were handled well, and generally done quietly. The set design and staging was very well thought through, with flats that could spin to create different locations. The set artistry from Helen McNicholas was impressive. The amount of detail gone into the artwork was fantastic! Costume design was equally as good, with characters in their familiar costumes – Wednesday and Morticia in their black dresses, Pugsley in his black and white striped t-shirt, Fester in his robe.

The musical directors were Isabelle Nash and Jayne Harnick. The cast performed to backing tracks, which they did extremely well with. There were some fantastic vocal performances, and the sound coming from the entire cast was impressive. There were some lovely harmonies in the ensemble numbers.

Choreography came from Bianca Tranter, with Marie Gleave choreographing the tap number. There were a variety of different styles, from the tap in ‘Just Around the Corner’ to the tango in ‘Tango de Amor’ to the balletic sequence in ‘The Moon and Me’. These were all confidently performed by the cast.

Technical elements were well integrated into the production. Lighting, on the whole, was good. There were a few moments where the performers weren’t lit fully, especially some of the scenes stage left and right. The projections used were good, helping to aid scene locations. Sound was good throughout, with a good sound balance between the backing tracks and cast.

Zack Smith took on the role of the patriarch, Gomez Addams. Zack did well in the role, good accent and good singing voice. Zack delivered some the comedic lines well. If anything, just relax more into the role. You appeared unsure at times, but you did deliver a solid performance.

Bianca Tranter embodied the role of Morticia. She was suitably sultry in the role, and looked every inch the part. Bianca created good relationships with the other performers. She delivered her songs well and choreography well.

Isabelle Nash played the loved up Wednesday very well. There was a good father-daughter bond created between Isabelle and Zack, the relationship with Arran as Lucas was believable. Isabelle’s vocals were very strong, with a great rendition of ‘Pulled’.

Oliver Matthews did well as Pugsley. It was a confident performance and it was clear Oliver was enjoying the role. He performed his song, ‘What If’, very well.

Ali Owen played the eccentric Grandma Addams. The styling of the character didn’t really fit with the rest of the Addams clan. Ali worked well, delivering lots of comedic moments.

Amy Gladwin played the loveable narrator, Fester Addams. Amy was fully committed to the character. There was good interaction with the audience and the rest of the cast. Amy delivered a pleasing vocal, and was able to display great comedic moments throughout, especially in ‘The Moon and Me’.

Lurch was played by John Hickey. John cut an imposing figure as Lurch, and provided suitable grunts throughout. We seemed to miss John’s big moment in ‘Move Toward the Darkness’ as his microphone didn’t seem to be turned on.

Rob MInjoot gave us a very uptight Mal Beineke, which was a good contrast to the central characters and the rest of the Beineke family. With a good voice, Rob created believable relationships with Annabel and Arran.

Annabel Fox gave us a good characterisation as Alice Beineke. She delivered the rhymes very well. This was a good comedic performance from Annabel. She had a good voice, which she was able to display in her numbers. All credit to Annabel for performing with a fractured ankle!

Arran Abbey gave a sincere performance as Lucas. It was clear that Lucas was madly in love with Wednesday from Arran’s performance, and he worked well with Isabelle.

The ensemble of Ancestors did very well throughout. It was nice to see a mix of youngsters with the adults. Each had an individual character, and they all kept up their characterisation throughout. A great example of this was Jessica Ratcliffe. ‘The Moon and Me’ was a particular highlight, so well done to the Ancestors who performed this number, and Rebekah Denton who appeared as The Moon.

Overall, this was a very good production. There were some excellent principal performances, very good ensemble vocals and a great set design.

A big thank you to everyone at BAMADS for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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