The Addams Family Musical
As a Christmas present for the family, I bought tickets for last night’s performance of the musical, “The Addams Family,” starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. It’s a new production that is having its pre-Broadway tryout run here in Chicago. The reviews have been fairly good, with the exception of a more dour response from the Chicago Tribune, and the NY Times now reports that a show doctor has been brought in to spruce the piece up before its New York opening in March.
Our verdict? The show is fine, especially the second half, which consists of a series of very strong set pieces that allow the cast members to display their considerable talents: Uncle Fester’s charming romance with celestial bodies in “The Moon and Me,” the father of Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend (played by Terrence Mann) discovering his inner truth “In the Arms” (of a squid), and Gomez and Morticia dueling in a comic tango. Grandma (Jackie Hoffman) and Lurch (Zachary James) each have strong, albeit brief, comic turns in the closing sequences, as well. And Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor are very appealing as the young lovers, especially in their “Crazier than You” number.
The first act is not quite as strong. That is where I would apply my scalpel if I were doctoring this production. Even there, though, it is a matter of fine-tuning, methinks. The sets and costumes are terrific, there are several strong tunes (“Let’s Not Talk About Anything Else But Love” being clearly the strongest), and the hooks from the television series are all alluded to cleverly (Thing, Cousin It, the snapping fingers) without being overused.
The show received a standing ovation last night — albeit one of those semi-reluctant ones that starts slowly and only gradually spreads across the house. I think the play will do fine in New York. The last time I saw a musical in its pre-Broadway run was “Evita” in San Francisco back in 1979, and that one turned out pretty well, too.
