8:00pm performance
I enjoyed The Addams Family.
There, I’ve said it. Amongst the New York theatre cognoscenti, that’s equivalent to admitting to a $1,000 a day cocaine habit. And like a secret drug habit, I’m not proud of it, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’m not saying the show is the next West Side Story or Sweeney Todd, but it’s an entertaining, funny, sometimes clever and often visually stunning production.
Whatever they’re paying Nathan Lane (and I’m sure it’s a lot), he’s worth every penny. I’m not sure the show would play even half as well without him. Like Stritchie in Night Music, Lane can make just about any line funny. Bebe Neuwirth looks amazing as Morticia and has the body of a 25 year old porn star. Unfortunately, her role is severely under-written. Her few dance breaks seem shoe-horned in and don’t really illuminate her character or add anything particularly interesting to the production except that you get to see Bebe dance. Which I guess for some, is enough.
The rest of the cast is uniformly strong and everyone seems to be having a great time on stage. The vaudeville-like approach to the musical staging is a perfect fit for this particular group of Broadway vets. Of course, my straight crush, Carolee Carmello, sounds eff-ing amazing. Someone needs to write her a starring role right now.
The book is entertaining enough, an enjoyable homage to La Cage with monsters in place of gay parents (an apt substitution if you are to believe our red state “friends”). Unfortunately, the score is just a mess. Other than the familiar TV theme and opening number, the rest of the score is bland and forgettable.
The set and lighting design are gorgeous and inventive. Uncle Fester’s song to the moon is the kind of original and imaginative staging and design that is sorely missing from the current glut of spectacle-driven clap trap.
It’s a valiant attempt with uneven results.
The original:
TV:
Broadway:
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