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Creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky... or altogether ooky? Here's how opening night of the Addams Family at Jersey Arts Centre went...
The JADC’s production of the Addams Family is a charming, funny and enjoyable night at the theatre. It’s got some outrageous performances, impressive set-pieces and is thick with the atmosphere of macabre irreverence that is so characteristic of the Addams family.
The Addams Family is the musical take on the iconic Addams Family characters so well known to both the big and small screens. The story unfolds as Wednesday Addams (Molly Jehan) confides in her father, Gomez Addams (Allan Gardener) that she wishes to marry the seemingly straight lace Lucas (Joseph Barette).
If this wasn’t shocking enough, Wednesday forbids her father from telling his wife, Morticia (Heidi Whitehead) and announces that Lucas and his parents are coming to dinner at the Addams' residence. What follows is an unlikely clashing of worlds as Lucas and his all-American family unwittingly commit themselves to a “night-from hell” with the infamous Addams Family.
Pictured: Heidi Whitehead as Morticia (left) and Allan Gardener as Gomez (right).
The family is lovingly brought to life by the cast, and all hold their own.
Glyn Reynolds performance as Uncle Fester does an impressive job of bringing the characters’ particularly bizarre idiosyncrasies to the Arts Centre stage and his frequent audience-asides (including a smuggled-in-joke about the perpetually closed Opera House) are always a welcome laugh. Lurch’s (Andy Harris) lofty presence is ever felt on stage and Karen Syvret’s Grandma is magnetically unhinged.
The Addams children are equally well portrayed with Molly Jehan and Hugo Jones both putting in a commendable performance as Wednesday Addams and Pugsley respectively, both of which are complimented by Barrette’s very likeable performance as Lucas who perfectly delivered one of my personal favourite lines of the show; “I can be impulsive, I just need to think about it first.”
Morticia is as seductive as she is temperamental and Mal and Alice (played by Stefan Gough and Michelle Parker respectively) are hugely endearing as the fish-out-of-water couple who learn reconnect over dinner with the Addams Family. Furthermore, the ensemble cast do an excellent job of bringing the whole show to life, drifting in and out of the stage with ease and greatly elevating all of the various numbers in the show.
It would be a glaring omission were I not to single out Allan Gardener for his devastatingly charming performance as Gomez Addams. He deftly portrays a Gomez who is wildly eccentric with a wicked sense-of-humour, all balanced against a warm heart and a keen sense of family. No line goes amiss and Gomez’ song Happy Sad is a poignant, genuinely tender break in an otherwise mad-cap musical. Gardener’s performance is truly a highlight. He also delivers another of the show's memorable, laugh-out-loud funny lines: “What I lack in depth, I make up for in shallowness.”
Pictured: Molly Jehan as Wednesday Addams (right) and Joseph Barette as Lucas (right).
Further commendation must go to the set and costumes.
The use of projected backdrops is fantastic; they are wonderfully creative and portray scenes from the Addams’ decaying mansion to a mist-filled, moss-blanketed graveyard. Extravagant set-pieces adorn the stage and the attention to detail is fantastic, with a giant guillotine, a golden torture throne equipped with a nasty spike aimed straight for the derrière and gravestones each accompanied with their own pun ("Here lies Dai Young…he did").
The costumes are detailed and look extremely professional, from Gomez pinstripe suit and Morticia’s classic black dress to Uncle Fender’s strange almost monk-like get up.
All round, the production value of the show is very high.
Admittedly there are a few issues with the show that hold it back from its huge potential. For instance, the sheer number of props and set pieces that have to be shifted about, whilst visually very impressive, leads to fairly long bouts of rummaging backstage in prolonged blackouts which can occasionally interrupt the flow of the action. The blocking can be a little bit clumsy from time to time, leaving moments with potential to be poignant or laugh-out-loud funny unfortunately lost in a muddle of moving bodies and furniture.
All of this should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, as I saw the production on its opening night, so teething problems are inevitable and I fully expect the show will continue to improve over its run. These are small areas for improvement - none really taking away from the core of the show.
Pictured: Glyn Reynolds as Uncle Fester (centre) surrounded by members of the ensemble as ancestors from the past.
Overall, the spirit of the show is absolutely there. It is visually impressive, earnestly performed and clearly a lot of love has been put into the production by everyone involved. The Addams family is a bit of good honest (or morbid) fun, and it is always exciting to see a production of its scale grace the Jersey stage.
The production is taking place at the Jersey Arts Centre and is running from the 12th-22nd October. To book tickets, click HERE
To find out more about the JADC and even get involved in future productions, you can visit their website HERE
