The Addams Family

~~The Memorial Court Theatre is a new venue for KMTC and an excellent one it is too. All too often a new venue can bring technical difficulties but none of these were evident as the show flowed with pace through the various scenes. It was also good to see that the orchestra pit had been included in the setting with its own spooky lighting, cobwebs and candelabra.
The show is based on the cartoons drawn by Chas Addams and not the TV show but the characters where lifted off the page by the principles to give us the creepy and kooky family we know.
Gomez (Dave Mallen) and Morticia (Krysy Hood) looked good together with a believable relationship. Dave gave a credible performance but needed to pay more attention to retaining his accent and the delivery of his one liners as these were sometimes lost. Morticia was played with just the right mix of severe, macabre, sweetness and vulnerability. She showed off her fine singing voice and I especially enjoyed ‘death is just around the corner’, a great performance.  I would have liked to have seen the ‘Tango de Amor’ with more of an Argentinian Tango feel to the Choreography.

Wednesday (Vicki Harrison) sang extremely well giving engaging performances in all of her songs and especially ’Pulled’ which calls for clear, crisp diction while torturing her brother.
Pugsley is a great part for a junior member of any society and Toby Abbott at 13 sang and acted the part well with a lovely solo performance of ‘What if’. I loved the fact that it was brought up to date with Puglesy riding on a balance board for one scene.

Both Lurch (Sean Duvall) and Grandma (Maria Quin) added to the overall performance with two very good cameo roles getting great laughs from the audience.

John Hilliard gave a great characterisation of the loveable yet bungling Uncle Fester. This role needs to combine excellent comic timing with the ability to react and interact with both the cast on stage and the audience and John did this to a tee. The setting of the ‘Moon and Me’ came across very well with great use of UV to create the floating moon that was passed around the stage.
The Beineke Family of Lucas (Oliver Hale), Mal (Stuart Dutton) and Alice (Emma Johnson) all came across well as a balance for the quirky characters they visit. Both Lucas and Alice had good voices but I wanted Alice to let go more in ‘Waiting’ becoming more over the top and off the wall.
The Chorus of Ancestors were used extremely well by Director (Ben Ireson). Each member had their own deathly personality and an ability to freeze to form visual backgrounds to scenes and focus points for the audience. They were also used to move scenery and props and done in character this was effective. I would say that it was a shame that the amazing harmony in the Chorus work was lost due to a lack of balance between their mics and those of the principles but visually and costume wise they were stunning.

Thank you for your hospitality and making me feel so welcome as this was my first engagement as District 8 Representative. I enjoyed this well-produced show which flowed with some great characters, chorus work and choreography, a truly entertaining evening. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
 

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