The Addams Family

A fabulous visit to The Addams family home in Central Park with Lamproom Musical Theatre Company.  The set was perfect for the venue and had been designed and built in-house.  It really was a fantastic backdrop which offered interactive opportunities for the cast with opening doors and windows which the characters used to great effect.  The design allowed the stage space to be used creatively and the ensemble of ancestors did just that.  The huge production numbers had been choreographed by Dani Sampson who introduced a range of challenging moves and routines which the ensemble lapped up.  Featured dancers excelled with lifts and tumbles and the wider ensemble were confident and characterful in their movement and song.  The ancestors never let you forget that they were ‘dead’ and their movement and physicality added to the overall presentation of the production.

The talented lead characters had been well cast.  Martijn Den Burger Green was an imposing Lurch – taking his name very seriously as he lurched around the stage.  Nicola Duval was hilarious as Grandma Addams – hunched, tottering, stroking her rat and throwing in the comic one-liners.  It was easy to imagine her “Deceived. Deluded.  Smoking weed in the attic”. 

The wonderful Beineke Family were an absolute hit.  With their strong vocals and acting this talented threesome really made the most of the roles.  Dan Wilkinson as Mal Beineke was fabulous, confident and imposing – his transition to ‘fun’ dad was very well delivered.  Amy Vickers as Alice Beineke used her powerhouse voice, particularly in the numbers at the end of Act 1.  Vickers showed her impressive acting ability as her character displayed a range of emotions and bemoaned her youth lost in a middle age of rhyming narrative and broken promises.  An excellent leading debut with The Lamproom MTC for Adam Henson-Baines as Lucas Beineke.  Henson-Baines gave a brilliant performance as the son of Mal and Alice who has fallen head over heels in love with the shows Princess of Darkness, Wednesday Addams.  This was a wonderful pairing and even through the difficult persona of Wednesday, so well presented by Isabelle Sahara Yates, you could definitely feel the electricity.

Yates absolutely became Wednesday – her poise and presence shining through.  This fabulous young actor owned the role – with great characterisation, strong singing and great dancing – it is a pleasure to watch her in different roles as she eats them up with ease.  Harry Thomas as the younger brother Pugsley Addams was a delight – his cheeky actions and strong delivery allowed him to endear himself to the audience despite his characters role in causing huge problems as the dinner to welcome the Beinekes.

The score gave Richard Longbottom the chance to really showcase his excellent vocals as Gomez Addams.  Telling the story with his ‘Latino’ flavoured accent gave him a suave and distinctive persona.  Ellen Holliday looked every inch the perfect Morticia Addams.  With her dower expression and folded arms she was just what the audience expected of this iconic character showing wonderful movement and dance in Tango de Amor.  Joe Boswell was amazing as the ukelele strumming Fester Addams.  Funny and still sentimental, Boswell absolutely captured the character of Fester – he looked and acted perfectly as the odd uncle of the household.  He was bizarre and macabre, yet showed the gentle and caring personality with a wonderful physical appearance and costume.

The lights added to the atmosphere and were creatively used in the stage and auditorium space.  Costumes were spot on for the characters and enhanced the presentation.  It was great to see everyone in shoes and footwear perfect for their roles which still allowed them to dance and move in character. 

The whole production was hilarious and credit for the musical direction goes to Ian Abbott.  The Director behind this innovative and entertaining show was Ashley Booker – another triumph at The Lamproom.

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