For those of you who don’t know much about The Addams Family (and there can’t be many of you), think about your own family set up and then add weird, creepy, and to quote the song, a lot of kooky.
If you thought you’ve been living with a dysfunctional family during lockdown, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This truly spectacular musical comedy really is one for the entire family, whether you are new to the Addams world, or grew up with them way back when.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY – THE MUSICAL COMEDY is at the New Theatre in Cardiff all week, and it really is everything you’d want in a show, and so much more.
Before our opening night review here’s our interview with DICKON GOUGH who plays Lurch so magnificently. We put a Zoom call into him as he arrived into Cardiff. We talked out the show, the new Morticia, Joanne Clifton, and how it feels to be back after lockdown. The song is the original cast performing at the London Palladium.
First of all the story, which in fact is pretty much like any situation in a house of parents and kids. Dad (Gomez) is caught between his wife (Morticia) and his lovely, if not sadistic teenage daughter (Wednesday). It’s all about family secrets and trust being broken, so yes, an everyday tale in everyone’s home.
But of course this is a musical and a comedy, and we can tell you it delivers on all those counts by the bucket load.
The show has some truly memorable numbers, the sort of songs you think you know before you’ve heard them, and will be guaranteed to be singing for the rest of the night.
Most noteably is When You’re An Addams. It’s the stand-out song which has been performed on TV both here and in America. It also has the best opening line, kind of rapped by Gomez.
Ah, the intoxicating smell of the graveyard. Once a year, we gather beneath our family tree to honour the great cycle of life and death. Come, every member of our clan – living, dead, and undecided – and let us celebrate what is to be an Addams. Come to me, my luscious wife. Oh, she of skin so pale, eyes so black, and dress cut down to Venezuela, and tell us what it is that every Addams hopes for.
And talking about the Daddy of the family, CAMERON BLAKELY is Gomez – no, we mean he really is Gomez. We’ve seen him in the show twice now and really can’t imagine The Addams Family without him in it. He commanded the New Theatre stage and the audience were with him every step of the way.
Cameron has so much experience having previously played the role of Thenardier in Les Misérables. He was also part of the 25th Anniversary at the O2, where he played Bamatabois. He’s done everything from Peter Pan to Rock Of Ages, but as Gomez he is something very special.
Of course in a show which also stars JOANNE CLIFTON from Strictly, you want a bit of dancing, and there is plenty of that too. Joanne has slipped into the role of Morticia, brilliantly and brought a little extra dynamic to the piece.
We all know her from the Saturday night dancing show, but what you may not realise, but soon will, is that she is one awesome all round performer, with a mighty fine voice.
We must give a special mention to KINGSLEY MORTON who, any day of the week, is a great Wednesday. The story is all about her falling in love with a ‘normal’ respectable young guy, which in turn leads to Gomez having to keep the secret from Morticia.
What it does however, is give Wednesday some really great songs, especially ‘One Normal Night’ and ‘Pulled’. Kingsley delivers them perfectly, and a bit of highlight if were being honest.
The rest of the cast are suitably spookily creepy and awesome, as is the set and costumes. If the show had arrived a few weeks ago you’d have sworn you’d entered a spooky Halloween castle. It is a visual feast, the costumes are stunning and the dancing flawless, thanks to the Designer DIEGO PITARCH and Choreographer ALISTAIR DAVID.
Every cast member plays their part with superb vocals from everyone. Of course having a live band up front is always a great thing and really adds to the atmosphere and sound.
The scene with Uncle Fester and the rocket, which comes towards the end of the show, will have you laughing out loud, and I can tell you the kids will rave about it too, it’s so funny.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY – THE MUSICAL COMEDY is funny and heartwarming, ‘dead’ entertaining and a real treat for all ages, whether you know the family history or not. We absolutely loved it and would recommend you go see it while you can, it’ll be a real musical theatre surprise for you.
In a world where we’ve all learned to live a ‘new normal’, perhaps creep and kooky is the way to go. As Morticia says – “Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is a calamity for the fly.â€
The show is at the New Theatre in Cardiff from the rest of the week with 7:30pm performances. There are also 2:30pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets range from £31 to £51 with a box for 6 between £141 to £185. There’s also a variety of concessions with £20 tickets for over 60s at the Thursday Matinee. For more details, go here ADDAMS
And if you take a look at our original feature you can find out more about the show, the stars, and take a little trip down ADDAMS memory lane – HERE.
