I Finally Saw "The Addams Family" and...

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 3:19am

I must say I agree with most. It was terrible, the opening number was cute, but it all went downhill after that.
Anyways, the show has been a financial success and Nathan Lane and the rest of the cast are truly great and do their best, but the material is just not good.

[raulmark]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 4:47am

...I've been avoiding this show, because I know that I will feel exactly the same way.
...and although I have a few shows I want to see before,,I kinda have a morbid curiosity lol

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 5:08am

So did I, well, now they offer student tix that can be picked up when the box office opens.
36.50 with student ID and cash only.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 5:22am

Has the show recouped yet? I don't remember hearing that it has.

I had little interest in this from the begining, and then the cast sparked my interest. But the reviews both here and my personal friends have all kept me from venturing anywhere near this show.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 6:19am

Drama, go see it. Is it the best show ever, of course not. Could it have been better, of course.

But is it the hot mess most people on this site make it out to be, no. It was a fun afternoon of theatre and I payed for price.

Go see it, the cast are having fun.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 6:51am

No, thank you. I just have no desire. And with so many shows I DO want to spend money on, this one will just stay on the back burner. (Although Roger Rees is more enticing)

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 8:11am

I thought the show had some fun moments, but some of the characters seemed wasted, particularly Morticia. I enjoyed most of the score and liked the cast. Not the greatest show I've ever seen, but I wasn't disappointed.

[romgitsean]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 9:27am

drama, you're making the right choice.

I think the biggest disappointment with how little they featured Jackie Hoffman...I was really looking forward to more of her. Plus the use of the ensemble as dead ancestors was so dumb...it made me roll my eyes every time they came on.

Everyone cast really delivers top-notch performances, but I think this production should've pushed and just done The Addams Family Values as a musical. Or maybe a combinant of The Addams Family (the first film) and Values? I know they couldn't secure the film rights...but that's where the gold was.

I think the biggest problem also is Wednesday's character. She simply doesn't work.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 10:15am

I watched the show online. While it is far from a musical masterpiece, it seems like an okay show. The sets are definitely the star of the show. The plot is very thin and a lot of the songs are out of place.

[newintown]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 10:28am

And that's what everyone really wants, deep down - to spend $120 for an "OK" evening.

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:14am

How about $36.50?

[newintown]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:25am

I'll go with free... but even then, some things can't be tolerated (like Lennon or Ring of Fire).

[JRybka]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:25am

If I had the money I would still see it. But then again. If I had money I would see it all. I am like that.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 1:16pm

I a word, the show is BORING. The cast is wasted by poor material. Save your money, it's a snoozefest.

[lsnj8]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 2:07pm

you can download Addams Family audios without sharing anything at thesingingstage.com

[philly03]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 3:37pm

I don't get why everyone is always so upset about Jackie Hoffman's part being small. Yes, it is small, but at the same time Grandmama has never played that big of a part in any incarnation I'm familiar with.

The score is so bad, the lyrics, the music,.. everything. The book can be funny if you force yourself to forget it's The Addams Family. Lots of one liners, of course.

Definitely my guilty pleasure currently on B'way though!

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 8:24pm

See, I'm in the minority (on this board at least) who actually enjoyed the show. Would I see it multiple times? No. Was it perfect? Not at all. Was it a fun way to spend an evening? Yes, it was. I didn't find it near as bad as some people were making it out to be.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 9:38pm

To me it just falls into the same trap as a lot of modern musicals. It's just boring and uninventive. I mean, does EVERY character need a song? Did the dad character really need his own solo? I think the idea of the story is great, it just wasn't executed as well. I mean, would Wednesay really sing a big pop power ballad? Nope.

[philly03]

Posted: 11/4/10 at 2:11am

Terrance Mann (the "Dad character" Mal) doesn't even have a song - he has a duet with Carolee Carmello (Alice, his wife) about "re-finding himself" I guess you could say. It was a big plot point in the show that they got in their "fight," not sure if you missed that?

The story is soooo thin. They could have gone in so many original directions, it baffles me they set out so much on "moving towards the darkness" (Of course the sign of a bad musical - throw the "message" of the piece as the finale and no where else) and being "Passionate," which is fine but I'm baffled how un-Addams-y it is. Without the some of the actors, who atleast act like the Addams everyone knows (despite "basing them off cartoons") and wants to see.

Wednesday's the only character that obviously had to be changed -- While I don't particularly enjoy the over induldging of rhyming Lippa did with the song, it's atleast musically listenable, and actually a great "Addams" concept ("Pulled"). Songs like "Crazier Than You"... get your point!

I'm still baffled why they even have an ensemble - is it to, ... well have an ensemble? They do little besides do backup and the fun dances in the beginning, and then awkwardly do the big dance scene at the end.

[kchenofan]

Posted: 11/4/10 at 9:56am

The highlight of this show for me was Krysta Rodriguez's performance. The whole cast did a great job with the material they were given, but Krysta really stood out. I think the worst part is "The Moon and Me". Good concept, but it got real boring, real fast.

[newintown]

Posted: 11/4/10 at 10:00am

Odd - I have the exact opposite point of view - I thought "The Moon and Me" was the best part of the show (good charm song, good staging, good performance), and Krysta Rodriguez (role and performance) the absolute worst. Her loud, nasal voice just made me cringe...
Updated On: 11/4/10 at 10:00 AM

[philly03]

Posted: 11/4/10 at 12:17pm

"The Moon & Me" / the whole Fester love situation is an unneeded subplot. Many of the "elites" on this board seem to praise that as the "only theatrical moment," but I don't see it. It's overdone and by the finale people are over it. Any non-theatre fanatics I've taken to the show hate the song and the scene. The song itself has a pretty melody, but the entire thing just repeats itself. Lyrics, naturally are atrocious.

I don't think it's Krysta as much as the way her role is written. Her dialogues... Eeekkk. Bad. I cringe every time I hear her say stuff like "Let's make out in the graveyard!" or "And you're cool with that?" Singing voices, of course, are to one's own opinion.

I still say the most at fault for this one is Andrew Lippa. Perhaps had he only done the lyrics, or just the music or himself had another collaborator (Since the Book & original Direction was done by duos) it could've been better. I believe he was commissioned for this project... I'm just baffled at what the cast whose been around for the bulk since the beginning saw in the music/lyrics.

[Cosmic Explorer]

Posted: 11/8/10 at 6:45pm

Saw it this past weekend. I enjoyed myself and actually really enjoyed the music (though the lyrics were mediocre). Thought the cast was excellent and full of energy, but given either not enough or the wrong material to work with.

A more detailed breakdown of my opinions:

I agree that Wednesday's character is all wrong, and since the show's plot revolves around her there is a fundamental problem with the conceptualization of this material.

I like Lippa's music in general, although his lyrics are very weak. Some of them made no sense and I was aware that he was throwing in words for the sake of completing a rhyme. Sloppy.
However, ther were some very clever couplets also. I thought Gomez's song to Wednesday at the end was quite touching.
I don't know if this will make sense, but I was always aware that they were lyrics. To explain by contrast, I'm never thinking of Lynn Ahrens when I hear her lyrics. They come from the characters and it isn't until future listens that I can appreciate the detail and precision she employs. Here, the lyrics were in no way organically realted to the characters or the plot. That might be what Lippa was going for, it's an old fashioned style of songcraft. Go for the cheap joke kind of thing, regardless of thematic integrity.


Nathan did a great job. I ususally find him to be a bit grating, but I enjoyed him here. Bebe was wasted. I can't even begin to understand why she took this role (or more to the point, why the authors gave her the character arc that they did).
Once I accepted the fact that Wednesday was written nothing like the true character I was able to appreciate her performance. She played what they gave her well, they just gave her all the wrong stuff.

Jackie was also great. I didn't really expect much of her since Grandma always had little to do in the original cartoons and television show.

Carolee, Terrance and the young actor who plays the son were good. But again, why are such great talents in such wasted roles?

People (including me) have commented that Women On The Verge has so much wasted talent, but I think that this show has more.

The sets were fantastic.

The absolute best part of the show was Kevin Chamberlain. Fester stole the whole night. The moon subplot may not have been strictly necessary, but I thought it was well executed and complimented the show's thematic focus on the beauty of love no matter how ones defines it.

So that was kind of long winded. Ultimately I liked it more than Women On The Verge, but less than BBAJ. And since I overheard a lot of people in the audience comparing it to both Shrek and Young Frankenstein, let me say that I enjoyed this far more than either of those shows, flaws and all.

The house was full, btw.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 3:47am

I see no offers for this on Playbill, at the moment, but I am aware it is for sale on TKT's.

I s there any offers around on the web?

Thanks.

[jv92]

Posted: 11/9/10 at 9:47am

I saw Addams Family a while back in July after putting if off after reading the reviews and hearing the buzz and I wouldn't recommend seeing it without Nathan Lane. The man is a theatre superstar. The rest of the show, despite being very well designed, was banal and annoying. It could have been a lot better. But the cast was good- especially the two leads.

So I suppose I am seconding most everything said here already.