Addams Family cast on Letterman right now!- Page 2

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 4:24am

That was a great opening number.

[choitoy]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 5:37am

I just hope that the whole cast Purelled themselves after performing on Letterman. Poor Dave sounds like he's got a pretty nasty cold and starting to come down with laryngitis. We don't want any of the cast to get sick this close to Opening Night!

Besides that, I was fine with the opening number. From what I've been reading on here and in other boards, I was expecting a train wreck, but the opening was entertaining enough, and everyone seemed both fairly true to their characters, yet allowing just enough of their own personalities to shine through.

And I'm on the Bebe playing a character bandwagon. I think that if she did any more emoting or dancing than what she did here, it wouldn't really be true to the character. Then again, I'm really fond of Anjelica Huston's interpretation of the character. Cool, collected, and wry. I couldn't imagine her version of Morticia singing and dancing any more than the tango that she does, so why really should we be all down on Bebe being a little icy?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 7:11am

I had the same feelings as choitoy. It didn't seem as bad as everyone is saying it is. And it sounded like the studio audience had a good time with it... which is what every show usually should/does do. I liked it! :)

[chewy5000]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 7:56am

As The Man In The Chair would say "I know it's not a perfect show ... but it does what a musical is supposed to do. It takes you to another world, and it gives you a little tune to carry with you in your head, for when you're feeling a little blue..."


"And that's just what this show is - fun!"

[Parks]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 8:11am

This was my first exposure to the show and it was very cute--definitely encourages me to see the show. :)

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 8:21am

But having seen the show again myself this past weekend, I'm pretty confident that it hasn't changed substantially enough in the intervening weeks

Good to know.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 8:27am

I love how everyone is bending over backwards to defend the mediocrity and half-assedness. I don't have an issue with Bebe playing Morticia as comatose, that's basically the character -- I have an issue with how virtually everyone (save maybe Jackie Hoffman) looks like they'd rather be somewhere else.

And excuse me if I don't buy the "low-energy" thing as an intentional, character-definition thing. I'm not expecting them to all be loud and smiley and belting like they're Ethel Merman. But I do expect them to be acting like they give a s**t.

It's a fast-paced, supposed-to-be-high-energy, opening number to a broad, big Broadway musical that's entirely about (1) gimmickry, (2) giving the audience familiar characters, and (3) supposed crowd-pleasing. It's not goddamn "Grey Gardens" or "Caroline, or Change." Them being this slack and low-energy is CLEARLY not how the material was conceived, nor a thoughtful, method-acting decision.
Updated On: 4/7/10 at 08:27 AM

[musicalman2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 8:39am

MiracleElixir, I have to disagree about playing style. Now, I was not crazy about much of the number but that grim faced style on characters other than Lane is probably suited to the show. they even do that in the TV show. I thought Bebe was better than I expected (although I hated that silly laugh towards the front). I also thought it worked better on TV than stage because the editing gave it a certain surprise and faster paced quality than it has now.

[dg22894]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 8:53am

I am seeing this Saturday and i am pumped now. I loved it. Bebe was playing the character. They were all great!

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 9:02am

Ok... so I saw the show live a few weeks ago and I sat up in the balcony. I have a feeling that the majority of people on this site who see the show sit up there as well. I'm starting to think that the Lunt-Fontanne (sp?), while a beautiful theatre, is actually a poor choice for this particular musical. I missed a lot of detail in the costumes, expressions, etc. The sound was also not too great either. I actually liked the performance on Letterman. Even Bebe, who looked bored from where I was sitting, actually just looks like she is in character here. Morticia is supposed to be very reserved. I don't know how I feel about it. I didn't love it when I saw it, but maybe I'll try going back and sitting a little closer.

[wicked91]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:36am

you also have to remember that they threw in a bunch of dialogue from other parts of the show to get some laughs for their performance.

but i still can't tell if i like this or clandango better.

i also don't know how i feel about the new ancestor costumes. i think they should have stuck with the original ones, just with ghostlier colors.

[pli1018]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:51am

I thought Clandango was a better song and the choreography was leaps ahead of this, but it didn't work as well as an opening number as this does.

[Trish2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 10:52am

Having not seen the show it seems that this number was the perfect selection to showcase on National television. It introduces the family, yet you know right away that it will be different from any previous incarnation. Bringing on the ancestors to do a mock "thriller " routine would certainly have an appeal for the younger crowd. There's also no question that Lane rules the show. For some reason though, I feel it did benefit greatly from editing, camera angles and close-ups. After seeing this spot and hearing both positive and negatives posts regarding the show, I'm not as prone to run to see it.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:07am

I think the number is a little too peppy. Clandango had more of a solemness about it (with a knowing Addams wink) that was more suited to the show (and definitely didn't have the HUGE about-face from the tone of the overture we now have). However, perhaps it has evolved and is more of a traditional musical comedy now, in which case the new number may be more fitting - which seems to be a big argument around these parts right now.

Regardless, Bebe's laugh business is priceless and the highlight of that video. IMHO, she's the one most in tune with the piece and actually giving a performance. Maybe add Krysta to that as well. The rest of the clan are basically themselves, which is fine since it happens to work for these characters.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 11:41am

Personally, I preferred Clandango. To me, that was a great opening number. This wasn't terrible, but I preferred Clandango. I only saw the show in Chicago so I don't know if they performed the whole number last night, but I assume it's probably a 5-7 minute number? I absolutely LOVED the show in Chicago and want nothing but success for this show, but I will also join the bandwagon that it looked low-energy, just from the start, it picked up energy as it went on. But I feel like this may have just been because it was late, I don't know, but I think they probably knock this out of the park on the Lunt-Fontanne stage.

[Brick]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 12:11pm

I was ready to hate it, but I have to say that was pretty damn cute. If the book is genuinely witty and the rest of the score as serviceable as that, it could be pretty good.

I must say the design is truly gorgeous.

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 12:17pm

See, my problem is the opposite of most in terms of Bebe's characterization. Her Morticia just doesn't seem appropriately stoic or deadpan. It as if there is too much personality. And it seems like they've given all the good lines to Nathan Lane.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 12:23pm

"you also have to remember that they threw in a bunch of dialogue from other parts of the show to get some laughs for their performance."

...Example? I didn't notice any.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 12:26pm

And it seems like they've given all the good lines to Nathan Lane.

This.

[wicked91]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 12:53pm

its growing on me now that i watched it again... but as far as i remember, the whole death of a salesman/anthrax bit was used later in the show. idk if they moved it to the opening number or just switched it around for TV purposes....

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 1:26pm

It's definitely in the opening number as of the beginning of Broadway previews. Maybe it was used somewhere else originally...

[amoni2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 1:36pm

'And excuse me if I don't buy the "low-energy" thing as an intentional, character-definition thing. I'm not expecting them to all be loud and smiley and belting like they're Ethel Merman. But I do expect them to be acting like they give a s**t.


So you think a cast of a big new Broadway musical gets a shot on national Televison to promote and sell tickets to keep themselves gainfully employed would just walk through it not caring? That's what you think. How about you have absolutely no idea who The Addams Family is. They are playing characters outside the mainstream, why would they perform that way? The family has no use for the world outside theirs. They talk about death and dark things, bouncy they're not. Some of you may want Bebe to Tapdance and and blow feathers out of her ass while doing cartwheels, that ain't Morticia. Most of you people are complaining about the creators of this show getting it right and being true to the source.

[raggballad2]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 2:11pm

the first date joke/birthday lines were originally part of a number between Nathan and Bebe called "Passionate and True."

I thought it was a more energetic song (not performance) and a better opening than Clandango (whose tone I liked better), I thought they did a poor job of taking all of Nathan’s lines from Clandango and sticking them into the new song...it just seemed like really bad exposition, and I think there could’ve been a much better, more efficient/clever way of getting all that information about who these people were, who the Addams are...

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 2:28pm

For someone who really disliked the show as a whole, I enjoyed this number both in context as well as this performance specifically. It'll definitely sell tickets.

And I don't think Lane got the "good jokes." He could just find a joke in Anne Frank's diary. He makes the jokes a hell of a lot funnier than they should be.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 4/7/10 at 2:46pm

I've sent the YouTube clip to a few friends who've asked about the show without saying anything to them, and they've all been put off by it. This may just be a minority, but I can't imagine THAT number/performance selling tickets to someone who wasn't already planning on seeing the show.

The real question is if the sure-to-be-terrible reviews have the capacity to kill the show, or if it'll be the rare musical that bucks the trend. It's obviously selling amazingly so far, but then again, so was YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at this point. I'm very curious to see how this one turns out.