The Addams Family Musical

A trip to North Ormesby Minstrels is always guaranteed to be a great night out and this time was no different. Well, it was spooky, scary and a bit cooky but hey, that’s what the Addams’ is like!

Their latest offering was the critically acclaimed Andrew Lippa musical, ‘The Addams Family Musical’ and it was an absolute laugh a minute from start to finish. It had everything, even ‘Thing’ (the hand) played by Stanley Allen, had the audience joining in from the Overture with the famous finger clicks.

Audiences were guided into the Theatre through the Church courtyard which doubled as the eerily spooky Addams Family Graveyard. A nice touch I thought!

George Maenami led the company as Gomez Addams with Helen Brooks as his terrifying wife Morticia. They had a great chemistry together on stage and this shone through. Joined on stage by Geogia Lumb as their daughter Wednesday and Tom Milton as their son Pugsley. Both really brought to life their characters. I particularly enjoyed the number ‘Pulled’.

Adding to the crazy mix was Uncle Fester, played hilariously by Mike Dignen and Grandma Addams, perfectly cast to Jill Stephenson who stole the scene every time she was on stage. Well done.

Andrew Buchanon a Lurch was excellent casting. His stature alone makes him the perfect choice. I loved how his facial expressions altered not once. A very hard task to keep such a straight face all the way through.

Garry Dring, Gina Hurwood and Finlay Buchanon complete the lead cast as Mal, Alice and Lucas Beineke. The three worked so well together. Garry had great stage presence, Gina was such a loveable character until her wild side came out in ‘Full Disclosure’. We loved her even more after that haha! Finlay, what an absolute hero you are young man. Battling on every performance with a damaged leg. He did the whole show on crutches but not once did this take away from his performance. His chemistry with Georgia was excellent.

The whole ensemble had their own characters to play throughout the show which I thought was great. Each had their own little quirks and they weren’t afraid to show them to the audiences.

For the first time in quite a while I do believe, the show was accompanied by a full orchestra under the baton of Mr Matthew Allan. Not an easy score to conduct or play by any means but it sounded amazing. So nice to go out and hear a live band! Well done to all in the orchestra pit.

Director Lesley Maenami along with her daughter Alice Maenami as Choreographer should be very proud with what they have achieved with this talented lot. Slick choreography and direction meant there was honestly, not a weak link in the chain anywhere.

Congratulations to you all on yet another fantastic production.

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