The Addams Family

What a great evening of entertainment at Maltby Minors latest production, The Addams Family. This musical has now become a firm classic with amateur groups, due to the  great songs, fabulous characters and plenty of work for the ensemble. 

I would like to say that my visit to Maltby Minors this year, made me rather emotional. The reason for this, is the visible growth and confidence in the cast, which was an absolute pleasure to witness, and the society should be very proud of the time and dedication it puts in to the development of their members. Joanne Farthing, Director, must be congratulated in nurturing this cast of young performers, to be the very best versions of themselves that they can be, and for believing in their capabilities. 

Joanne Farthing, Director, Martin Farthing, Musical Director, Emma Emerson, Choreographer, Charlotte Kenny- Martin, Vocal Coach and Chris Badger, Acting Coach provided the audience with a first class performance, with some great characterisations of this well known family, excellent dancing, and harmonies which were a joy to listen too. 

Bailey-Jake Corker and Patience Armitage-Griffiths were a great pair as the head of the family, Gomez and Morticia. Bailey had real charisma  and a great Spanish accent, which he managed to keep up throughout the production, whilst Patience glided across the stage as we have come to expect from this very famous mother. Olivia Wright as Wednesday, gave a great performance as the princess of darkness, Wednesday and worked very well with Alex Ward as her love interest Lucas. Their Crazier Than You, where they were joined by Casey Walker as Mal and Olivia Gillion as Alice, was a highlight. Alexis Berry, Pugsley, has great stage presence with a great future ahead of her. Uncle Fester was played superbly by Millie McCaffery. Fester is a difficult part to play, as the role has to talk directly to the audience as a narrator. This task can be daunting but one which Millie did with ease. 

The ensemble worked very hard in this show. The singing was a delight to listen too, and they kept their individual characters up throughout the performance. However, the night belonged to Maisie Ward, as Grandma Addams. Maisie was a whirlwind and had the audience crying with laughter throughout. It must have been difficult for Maisie to portray a character that is 90+ years  her senior, but she took on this challenge, and conquered. Exceptional performance .

With great costumes, excellent projection, and fabulous lighting, this is one trip to graveyard I would visit again and again

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