The Addams Family

Arriving at the venue, the audience were greeted with dozens of (safe) candles in the foyer and outside. This, plus the cobwebbed covered photo board, was a clever touch that really enhanced the macabre feel of this production. The hall itself was a reasonable size but once all the production equipment was in there it made the space itself quite small, this meant that the audience seats had to be very close together (so close in fact that we had to stand on our seats to let people pass). This did make the seating arrangements a little uncomfortable and the auditorium rather hot. There was also a wait while more seats were added to cater for extra audience, this was great for Cary Amateur Theatrical Society but it did mean that the show started ten minutes late. However, regardless of these little niggles, all the Front of House Team were incredibly friendly, helpful and attentive to every member of the audience, which was lovely to see.

A problem when putting on a play based on a TV show is that the audience already has an preconceived idea of what the characters should look and sound like (an actors own interpretation is not always welcome here), technically this show was based on the long running comic panels but comparisons to the 60’s TV show and the three films (yes you missed one from your programme) were always going to be made. Luckily, whoever cast the play clearly knew what they were doing as every single member of the principle cast not only played their role exactly as expected but looked and sounded like their TV counterparts, it was also helpful that they were all also a real delight to watch.

The sets were simple but very effective and mostly utilised flats and props to help identify the different scenes. The dining room scene and Central Park were particularly good and clever but the piece-de-resistance had to be The Addams’ Hall, which was used several times and was really impressive. Also impressive were the quick and seamless scene changes, having the cast do many of them in front of the audience, while other actors were speaking and singing made them hardly noticeable and didn’t detract at all from the actual production. Not an easy feat, well done.

Costumes make up and wigs were all excellent and it was great to see that all the ghosts were dressed differently and from different eras. This gave them all individual characters and it was fun to spot the various time periods and the ways that they died.  All the principals looked exactly as you would imagine, Lynn Saffer and her team must have put in some real hard work and the result was there for all to see.

The lighting was good and simple and worked well with the production. However, it did seem that the spot was sometimes having problems finding its target; this was most notable when Lurch was in the spotlight. Perhaps the Follow Spot Operator was finding the obvious size difference in cast a little tricky to adjust to.

The sound under the control of Peter Volk was incredibly good. Apart from a couple of quiet moments the sound was crystal clear. However, the real question of the night was where on earth were the mics?  I’m sure you were using head-mics, but they were completely invisible and yet somehow produced amazing sound quality. I don’t know what system you were using but it is easily the best I have seen since being a Noda Rep. Please don’t keep it a secret.

It was very interesting to see you using the ROCS system for the music. I have to agree with your Chairman John Whitchurch, it is better to be able to have a proper band but when you are dealing with space and budget constraints, ROCS is the next best thing.  The quality of the music was brilliant and I felt that the cast did very well using it and did a sterling job not having the benefit of a live band to help cover any mistakes. Massive congratulations to Mark Tromans who worked the system, so well, as your Musical Director. During a lengthy conversation with Mark he told me that there were a few mistakes with his timing of some songs, although I have to say that I didn’t notice any issues at all! The singing by everyone was very good and there were some lovely harmonies, however it did seem that some of the cast found the finale song a little tricky.

Working with a large chorus can sometimes be difficult, especially when the stage is not very big. If not managed well, chorus members can get in each other’s way or step on each other’s toes and can make the dance moves look cluttered and messy. That’s why it was impressive to watch your chorus work so well together, they showed real teamwork. Every member of the “team” knew what they had to do and did it extremely well. They were also completely engaged with the task at hand and really looked like they were having a great time. I was particularly impressed with young Grace Pamplin, as the 1920’s flapper girl, she was a good dancer and had the biggest smile on her face throughout the entire production, she was clearly thoroughly enjoying herself. All the dancing throughout the production was good and Amanda Thornton did a great job with the choreography, most notably in “When you’re an Addams” and “Disclosure” both of which were great fun to watch.

Normally at this point I like to give special mention to members of the main principals whom I thought really excelled or stood out on the night. However I do not feel that I can do this for The Addams Family because all the principals were absolutely excellent. Every member of the cast was fantastic in their role and it is a joy to see a production where everyone is firing on all cylinders throughout. So a massive well done to Paul; Vikki; Elena; Harrison; Quintin; Caroline; Duncan; Amanda; Lucas; (James Caan look-alike) Theo and The Thing for a fantastic job, you all deserved your standing ovation. 

The production also made great use of the auditorium, for instance having the actors walking through “Central Park”, but what a nice touch having some of The Beloved Addams Family Ancestors selling tickets for The Haunted House game during the interval, whilst still in full macabre costume, they looked creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, in fact you could say they were altogether ooky.

I did think that the first act was a lot stronger than the second, but this was down to the script and not the standard of the performances. I also feel that if Cary Theatrical are going to continue putting on shows of such a high standard, then you may need to start looking at alternative venues as your audiences will easily grow. Please pass on my congratulations to Luke Whitchurch and everyone involved in this production for an amazing job, and I really look forward to visiting you all again.  

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