The Addams Family

The Show owes its origin to the cartoons of the late freelance artist Charles Samuel Addams (1912-1988) from whose imagination and drawings “The Addams Family” emerged.    The ghoulish settings and ghostly cast inhabiting the Addams residence in New York are taken to even greater heights of make-belief by those who have more recently written the libretto, music and lyrics of the musical comedy entitled “The Addams Family” which is now presented to our audiences.

Ron Swanson played the large and demanding part of Gomez Addams and was persuasive as the reluctant and downtrodden husband of Morticia (Sharon McDonald), who was suitably clad in funereal black and presented an attractive if somewhat creepy spouse.   Mairi McCrindle as their daughter Wednesday Addams was entrusted with portraying one half of the romantic duo opposite Allan Ward as the love-smitten Lucas Beineke, one of the three mortals who happened to stray into the Addams ghostly mansion accompanied by his parents.    That unfortunate couple of ordinary mortals were nicely played by Graeme Strawhorn as Mal Beineke and Lorna McColm as Alice Beineke, contrasting neatly with their opposite numbers among the spirits.   Adam Dawson took the part of Fester Addams, a most eccentric uncle of the family and destined to fly to the moon!   Olive Lindsay as Grandma Addams presented a gentle and slightly comical figure with a marvellous mane of long grey hair and a most appropriate croaky voice.   Thomas Connor and Joshua Good were double-cast in the role of young Pugsley Addams which they played on alternate nights with one memorable scene involving a musical solo and quite a chunk of dialogue.   And who could forget Robin Kendall as Lurch, the mono-syllabic manservant in semi-automaton mode – although his grunts later matured into some dialogue and some rich, deep and sustained bass notes!

The cast was completed by a sizeable ensemble of ghostly Ancestors clad in wispy white costumes with matching face and hand make-up.    The Saturday evening performance which I attended played to a full and appreciative house and showed APOS returned to its best and the Director and cast of principals and chorus together with the stage-crew are to be congratulated on a most successful outcome.

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