The Addams Family: National Tour

The Addams Family was great & I wish it had stayed in town longer so I could have seen it again. This is the third attempt at making The Addams Family a musical & they finally nailed it. The production was a charming, unique, cohesive, smart satire. It was grounded in reasonable, applicable themes with a stunning & ethereal artistic execution. The new storyline centered around Wednesday’s plans to marry someone quite different from the Addams & the ripple effects of this decision on the family. The musical jumped right into the new storyline & I appreciated the tight narrative focus.

To be completely honest, I was biased against Morticia because I expected her to be un-able to compete with Bebe Neuwirth. But Sara Gettelfinger had the same dynamic in a fresher, re-imagined portrayal; this lady was strong, elegant, funny, & had a huge voice that reminded me of Glenn Close. She exhibited a natural matriarch with a strong maternal factor while still introspectively examining growing older.

I was excited to see that Douglas Sills was cast as GOMEZ. I saw him as the title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel on Broadway. He is a smart, seasoned actor who can play silly without compromising the integrity of the character. He provided comical punctuation as well as the kalaidescope of emotions that come along with being the best husband & father he could be.

As WEDNESDAY, Cortney Wolfson’s acting quality was outshone by her strong voice. Her acting expressed her adolescent strife, but bordered on overly-simplified at times. Patrick D. Kennedy played PUGSLEY & was the perfect smarmy little brother. His voice was amazing & his number “What If” provided the most poignant moment of Act I.