The Addams Family at The Fabulous Fox is a Gothic Brigadoon…an evening of Fun and one of the best shows I’ve seen in some time

by Daniel Hines
Publisher
TodaysSeniorsNetwork

One might wonder –perhaps even worry—about how the family adapts to the world of Broadway musicals.  Don’t worry!

As in previous reincarnations, the newest transition has provided another aspect to the Addams.  Admittedly they are not the almost scary, but oddly loveable, dark side characters that first appeared in the pages of The New Yorker, but that’s because those original cartoons demanded something bizarre to make its point in a small space and a short time.  Then, when the family came to TV, the challenge was to make the Addams still spooky, weird, but friendly enough to either make us think of a family member or a neighbor we suspected of being weird. 

The movies continued this trend, and the musical makes us feel almost like it’s just seeing old friends again.

The visuals and stage settings are fantastic and the opening number in the Family Graveyard  of ‘When You’re an Addams’ is an introduction to the ancestors that shaped the current family members.

Douglas Sills, as Gomez, the patriarch of the family, kicks the show off with his prideful introduction to the family ghosts, immediately establishing him as the pivotal character, of the evening, even though the ‘plot’ is a romance between daughter Wednesday, played by Cortney Wolfson, who has met a ‘normal’ boy, Lucas, played by Brian Justin Crum.  (Yes, Wednesday has ‘grown up’ and at least looks older and prettier than the Wednesday one might remember from the TV show and Movie while everyone else seems to still be the same age—but remember, this is the Addams family and anything is possible.)

The point:  this is not a show that is meant to do anything more than entertain the audience, and it does so admirably.

Sills probably has the most physically demanding of the performance and he carries it off effortlessly.  His singing is strong, but even more importantly is his ability to establish a rapport with the Fox audience.

Sara Gettelfinger portrays Morticia as a sleek, sexy, obviously smarter-than-Gomez wife, a perfect offset to the Frantic energy of Gomez.

The rest of the cast includes the traditional members of the family, all of whom have the ability to steal a scene at the first opportunity. 

One of the funniest examples of that came when Lurch, played by Tom Corbeil, meets the Father and Mother of Lucas when they come to dinner to meet the Addams.  Lurch tells a ‘story’ through a series of guttural growls and slurred bass-like tones.  He then makes a pregnant pause, ‘laughs’ as only Lurch could.

Blake Hammond is a lovable Fester, simple-minded enough to have a love crush with the moon, but savvy enough to understand the family dynamics and why it is important for Wednesday’s love to succeed.

Pippa Pearthree is Grandma, and she is an appropriately tough old broad (No comments, pls. about sexist language).  Patrick D. Kennedy is the younger brother who fears that the loss of sister Wednesday will deprive him of his torturer, so he seeks to derail the romance at the dinner at which all will have to play ‘The Game’, drinking a potion that makes them reveal all.  But, he steals a ‘dark side’ potion from Grandma, which is mistakenly drunk by Lucas’ mother, played by Crista Moore.

The twist is that Mom is a bad poetry spouting 1950s sit-com Mother (think ‘Leave it to Beaver’) for whom the properly modest dress, stupid poems, and beliefs are really nothing more than a ‘cover’ for her unhappy marriage to Lucas’ father, played appropriately stiff by Martin Vidnovic.  After drinking the potion, she performs a song-dance number that lets us know that she has been high a life that can only shock her husband. 

A special note: One of the pleasing aspects of the evening is the quality of the voices each performer brought to their roles.  Good projection, great audience connection. (Of course, Lurch's voice has to be judged differently, but his growls and sighs had great comedy timing.)

It’s a great number and typifies what this show is all about: FUN!  I always watch the audience reaction and everyone was smiling and laughing, even before the curtain opened as the announcer reminds people that torture, whips, etc. are not allowed during the show, they were encouraged at intermission.

This is musical comedy at its best.  Strongly recommended.  Snap, Snap.