The Addams Family

How many amateur music theatre companies are there in Melbourne? In the past week I have encountered two more I didn’t realise existed. They wanted Stage Whispers to review their work, and they were both excellent.

The Addams Family – The Broadway Musical opened in Sydney in March 2013 and fans of the TV show were devastated when it folded prematurely. However, Old Carey Performing Arts Club have now come to the rescue and what a job they did. 

This group is relatively new on the scene, but have obviously established the sort of reputation which encourages professionals to want to work with them. So it was we had Nelson Gardner and Lucy Ross playing Gomez and Morticia Addams. Both young seasoned professionals, they had excellent voices, could dance up a storm, and were very funny together.

As Wednesday Addams, the recalcitrant daughter who wants to marry a normal person, Monique Dawes, a professional dancer, was making her music theatre debut. She sang magnificently and worked well with Zac Alaimo as her love interest, Lucas, in what was a stormy relationship.

Dom Hennequin and Sarah Cuthbert were his parents, invited to dinner at the Addams’ home very unsure of what they’d let themselves in for. Mario Mohorkok was Uncle Fester who also acted as narrator. He was very funny. There were also a myriad of ancestors who Uncle Fester refused to let return to their graves until the young lovers were reconciled.

The ghostly set remained for the evening with various pieces of furniture being brought on for different scenes. The changeover between scenes worked very well. Whilst a performer progressed the story line with a monologue downstage, set changes were happening behind them, either in an unlit stage or behind the curtain. 

The large cast could all dance and the choreography was tight. The exception being Colin Morley playing a very comical Lurch, with no dance steps required. The lighting was spectacular. The only gripe I had was the sound, always difficult to get right. The band were often too loud for the audience to catch the words, which is a major problem for a work which is unfamiliar. Lucy’s microphone appeared to give out towards the end of the show and a few times microphones were turned on late, so dialogue was missed. 

The costumes were excellent, but it’s not a good look being able to see into the wings. There were some great songs which could well become standards in years to come. It is a very funny show, but strangely my favourite scene was when Gomez was having a serious heart-to-heart with his daughter. A nice touch of pathos in a sea of comedy.

This is a night at the theatre you will not want to miss!

Graham Ford