Review: The Addams Family at New Wimbledon Theatre

Love is in the air at the Addams Family mansion in Central Park. Murderous little Wednesday Addams (hobby: attempting to kill her brother Pugsley) has grown up and fallen in love with a normal boy. Now she wants his parents to come round for dinner so she can share the news that they are engaged and show off the engagement ring… If you are gripping your cheeks and silently screaming “SOOO WRONG!!!!!!” at this travesty of the Addams family then you are not alone. The book may have been penned by Broadway and Hollywood script pros Marshall Brickman (Annie, Manhattan) and Rick Elice, the team behind smash hit musical Jersey Boys, but they seem to have inexplicably misunderstood the brand. Despite last minute rewrites, the show was savaged when it first opened in the US in 2009. But then a few months later a strange thing happened. A new production of the show became a massive hit and ran for 20 months.

So stifle your doubts, and give the latest UK touring production and its talented, likeable cast a chance, as there is loads to enjoy in the show at New Wimbledon Theatre this week. The plot is flimsy as a puff of Morticia’s fag smoke, but you can savour Cameron Blakely’s virtuoso turn as rapier-wielding, philosophising Gomez, while Scott Paige brings inspired lunacy to the well-loved character of Uncle Fester. Kingsley Morton makes her professional debut as Wednesday, and with a powerful voice and confident stage presence like that she should enjoy a long career.

Naturally, the “normal’ people turn out to be as altogether ooky as the Addamses. It’s a pleasure to watch Kara Lane burst out of her shell under the influence of a dose of Grandma’s Acrimonium potion, yelling: “If you are going to be a tool then you can sleep in the shed,” at buttoned-up husband Sean Kingsley. With dance champion Joanne Clifton playing a sparky and animated Morticia it’s no surprise that the show climaxes with a big dance number, an Argentine Tango and Paso Doble mash up – the only surprise is that there is not more dancing. Director Matthew White injects a few comedy treats to enjoy along the way – keep an eye on opera singer Dickon Gough, as the looming butler Lurch. Composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa delivers razor-sharp lyrics and catchy tunes aplenty. Swathes of the audience were so won over they gave the show a rapturous standing ovation even before the final number, and would clearly give it five stars without blinking.

The Addams Family runs at New Wimbledon Theatre from 15 to 19 February.

Image credit: Pamela Raith