The Addams Family

YCT chose the very popular “The Addams Family” for their 40th anniversary musical production and it proved to be an absolute hit with their audience. Since its creation as a comic strip in The New Yorker in 1938, The Addams Family have been reborn several times; the 60s television show, the 90s movie versions and then into a musical in 2009. The characters are iconic and still extremely popular as the “Wednesday” Netflix series proved last year. As the house lights dimmed and audience members joined in with the iconic clicks within the first thirty seconds of the overture it was a sign that they were familiar with “the family”. The story focuses on Wednesday Addams, who has fallen in love with a man from a “respectable” family and with secrets being kept the two families meet for a dinner together and chaos ensues.

The two level set worked well, the scene changes were slick and supported the flow of the story. The bespoke costumes by Ann Chadwick looked good and I liked the touches of purple on the ancestor costumes to tie in with the principal costumes. The lighting plot complimented the production mood, the different performance areas and the musical numbers well and sound quality was good throughout.

Jake Marshal as Gomez had the audience in the palm of his hand, his accent never faltered and his voice was perfectly suited to the numbers. He gave light and shade to his character and good comedic delivery but also played the quieter, more nuanced moments like “Happy, Sad” with poignancy. Melanie Hill as Morticia gave us a very straight, not to be messed with matriarch of the family, she had good on stage relationships with the other family members and gave a confident portrayal of her character. Rachel Gardiner took on the iconic role of Wednesday the young pessimist, she delivered the melancholy characteristics really well and her vocal performances were excellent especially in “Pulled”. As Uncle Fester, the show’s narrator, Stephen Shield effortlessly switched between silly and sincere, his singing was perfect for the role and “The Moon and Me” was a highlight.  Completing the family we had Michaela Crawley showing her performance versatility as the crazy wise-cracking grandma, Georgos Marnellos as a sweet singing young Pugsley who just wanted to be tortured by his sister and Paul Watkins who shone in the silent-but-deadly role of Lurch surprising the audience with his melodic singing at the end of the show. The “respectable” Beineke family were led by Chris Barrass as Mal who personified the straight laced, uptight businessman and Charlotte Guest played his stereotypical suburban wife whose supressed desires were revealed in the “Waiting” number with a powerful vocal performance. Their son Lucas was played by Gary Hoyle who captured well the geeky character who is intrigued by Wednesday and gave a good vocal performance especially in “Crazier Than You”.  The Addams ancestors were all really well portrayed, it was noticeable that cast members who usually take principal roles were leading this very strong ensemble, the singing as dancing was very good throughout.

The choreography was interesting, very enjoyable to watch and slick, the Tango was particularly well put together. The nine piece band were excellent and the sound balance between vocals and band perfect, every note and word was heard. Overall this was well put together production which was enjoyed by an audience of mixed ages. Having activities front of house for the younger audience members and a fancy dress competition added to the overall fun of the afternoon. Congratulations to Linda, David, Rachel and the entire team, here’s to the next 40 years of YCT productions!

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