I really didn't understand the change from Clandango (which I saw in Chicago and was the best number in the show) to When You're an Addams, which only tells you the one thing everyone already knows about the source material. The sense of wit is completely squashed by the pedestrian and sophomoric lyrics explaining to the audience step by step the concept behind The Addams Family. Were they really afraid there were too many people buying tickets to the show who had NO IDEA who they were or what they were about? As much as people talk about the "dumbing down" of material on Broadway, this was the best example of it I've ever witnessed. The story was a contrived rip-off of You Can't Take it With You and the score was as sophomoric and forgettable as I've found Lippa's previous scores. The sets, costumes and cast were the only reasons I found to spend any money seeing the show.
A show doesn't have to be "sophisticated" to be critically acclaimed. It just needs to be brilliant at what it does. THE ADDAMS FAMILY just isn't. Precisely. Xanadu, Mamma Mia and Rock of Ages received better reviews because critics judged them for what they saw, not what they wanted the shows to be. The funny thing is, Addams Family could have been sophisticated, witty and entertaining. With a different book writer and composer, it could have been all those things. But either the team they had couldn't make it happen, or the director and producers wanted the end result. These things happen.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian