The Addams Family

Despite some technical problems causing a delay which stretched the interval to 40 minutes on opening night, some nicely measured performances and an excellent band under the musical direction of Rainer Pollard made for a pleasant night’s entertainment. In truth, The Addams Family is not a great musical. It has a poor script and a very average score, and has failed to make its mark in the professional world of Musical Theatre, but the cast attacked it with great energy and enthusiasm and there were more positives than negatives in the production.

David Wynen’s direction was limited by the floor space, but he managed to instill great vitality, and some excellent characterisation from his young cast.

Terrific performances, with all the laughs realised, came from Liam Dodds, a young man with oodles of stage presence and comic timing, who made a convincing Uncle Fester even though 40 years too young; Sophie Smyth as a confident and endearing Grandma who totally owned the stage, Georgia Moore as Wednesday, whose belting voice and confidence were those of a seasoned performer, and Paige Easter as Alice Beineke, with Shaune Davis as her husband, were thoroughly convincing as the parents of Wednesday’s love interest. Emily Roberts was terrific as Pugsley, again showing a flare for the comedy schtick.

Syd Zygier gave us a slightly raunchier Morticia than usual, but she’s clearly talented and very attractive and should have a great future ahead of her. Only Andrew Thomas, as a rather stiff Gomez, and Jack Saunders as Lucas, seemed not completely at ease, and consequently their performances were quite wooden in places.

That could have been due, at least in part, to first night nerves, and no doubt they felt more comfortable as they settled into the run.

The ensemble devoured David Wynen’s witty choreography and were on point throughout, impressing with both their dancing and vocal skills.

Highlight of the show was the delightful Dodds’ interpretation of “The Moon and Me”, where Uncle Fester appeared to float skywards with splayed legs. It was hilariously funny and he worked it beautifully.

The biggest disappointment was the set. It lacked imagination and was poorly painted. That’s a pity because it did bring down the overall quality of the production.

Coral Drouyn

Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson