The cleaning staff at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton must be seriously slacking as tonight the stage is festooned with cobwebs but there ain’t no dusty cobwebs holding up the pace in this frighteningly good amateur production of The Addams Family musical.
It’s a fabulous fun fest of a show and Uncle Fester (Rob Charles) practically steals it with his charmingly kooky character every time he energetically steps foot on the boards and runs off mischievously giggling.
Adam Guest and Beth Yearsley are perfectly cast as a commanding yet likeable Gomez and a sultry (don’t mess with me) Morticia Addams. Each bringing to the fore oodles of wit and ghoulish flare with a dazzling blend of tempestuous tango moves, dark and pithy – perfectly timed humour, and plenty of vocal gusto for the song routines. Of which there are plenty.
As wickedly bad daughter Wednesday Addams, (who has fallen in love with a human boy called Lucas) Evie May Evans is a knockout demonstrating character confliction and vocal control like a devilish diva. Her interactions with Lucas Beineke (Robert Stott – Marshall ) are perfectly pitched. Evan’s love-hate relationship with her younger brother Pugsley (Arden Caspar Jennison) is very witty and well actualized.
Equally perfectly chosen are a lumbering Lurch (William Howarth demonstrating plenty of stage presence and very few words) and Grandma Addams (Mina Holtom) who gives us a delightfully batty potion-brewing Granny.
As the straighter-than-straight Beineke parents Mal and Alice, Craig Arme and Charlotte Drewett- Holden do a terrific job of portraying the nervous Mom and Pop popping in to see the oddball Addams Family in a ‘Meet The Frightening Fockers’ scenario.
Choreographer Lu Anthony has done a superb job of choreographing the show especially the many scenes involving a large cast of ghoulish principal dancers and ensemble members all of whom bring energy and individual character commitment to entertain us mere humans sat out in the dark tonight.
The Addams Family lighting and sound are courtesy of Dave Martin and Dave Dallard and the set design is by Emily Owen and Kenneth Howarth.
This smooth running Addams Family musical by BMTG is finely directed by Emily Owen and beautifully brought to musical life by Jake Gelernter and his superb twelve piece band tucked away in the crypt. Mina Holton is responsible for the wonderful costumes. The book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Slice and the lyrics and music is by Andrew Lippa.
I can hardly wait to see what they do with their next production which is the popular musical Chess to be presented 27th – 31st May 2025.
