rOcKS @ 'The Addams Family'

Towards the tail end of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Gomez asks Pugsley if he can grasp the full extent of "what has happened tonight." The real people who should be asked that question are the audience members. Because I just can't even begin wrap my head around this mess of a show.

It was the show I was most looking forward to this year and I could NOT have been more let down. Where to begin...?

The score is almost totally forgettable. I liked the opening number, Crazier Than You, and Happy/Sad (which is really quite lovely) but everything else is either completely unoriginal or a throwaway song. Nothing stops the show, nothing is really worth humming as you leave, and, most importantly, none of the songs are a real JOY to watch being performed. Just because the show is based on a darkly comedic fictional storyline doesn't mean the songs have to all be dreary or lumbering bores. And when they're not, they're usually really odd attempts at pop. I liked Crazier Than You but it feels totally out of place in the show. As does Pulled. It just feels like they were tossed in because they're upbeat and peppy.

Even worse is the book. Isn't this supposed to be a COMEDY?! There's hardly any joy here again! The jokes are all recycled, feel beyond stale, and can't even be brought to life by the more than ably-skilled cast. No character development, an ultimately uninvolving plot, and ridiculously unfunny humor. The idea is actually good; I like the basic storyline and the ultimate message but the technicalities and structure and writing in the book are just totally off the mark.

Okay, now for the cast. Look, this is a very skilled, very talented cast. But they totally underwhelmed me. Bebe is already walking through the show and Nathan tries valiantly to squeeze laughs out of the cringe-worthy jokes but almost comes off as a rip-off of himself because he tries so hard. Krysta Rodriguez has a nice voice but irritated me...she's playing Wednesday WAY too perkily. Kevin Chamberlin is fine in the thankless role of Uncle Fester. Carolee Carmello belts like no other but she and Terrence Mann are both given NOTHING to work with...besides an awkward number about sex with an octopus. My two favorite cast members were Wesley Taylor, who is really adorable and has a lovely voice, and Jackie Hoffman.

Hoffman all but stole the show for me in the ten-fifteen minutes she actually DOES anything. She had me belly-laughing during the Full Disclosure scene, the second time (out of three) in the show when I genuinely laughed out loud. She's just beyond hysterical. Reminded me of Mary Testa in last season's GUYS AND DOLLS. Another drearily unjoyful production with a ridiculously hysterical "cameo" performance.

The purpose of the ensemble in this show is beyond stupid, in plain English. They're all Addams ancestors who Fester calls out from the grave to help Wednesday fall in love. But they serve no point in the show besides to cause distraction, move the scenery around, and dance on cue when the show, almost mechanically, calls for a BIG DANCE BREAK.

The direction is clumsy and heavy-handed, the sets didn't even impress me (too big, bulky, and awkward), and the choreography felt a little a rehash of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. But not as good. The orchestra sounded very, very nice and full. And the lighting was well-done.

I keep hearing comparisons to YOUNG FRANK being drawn and I guess I can see why. But I laughed a hell of a lot more at YOUNG FRANK than I did at ADDAMS. I just, quite frankly, didn't have a good, fun time at ADDAMS. Which was all I was looking for. If you can't offer (or don't want to offer) structural and technical excellence in terms of material, then at least give me something fun! ADDAMS offers neither, in my opinion.

All that said, the theater was packed and the tourists ate it up. Roaring applause at the opening, at the end, and lots of laughter. I bet this show will be around for a long time. I wish it the best, I really do. But it was just NOT my cup of tea. And the critics are going to have a field day with this one. If Brantley hated 9 TO 5 as much as he did (which at least was FUN if nothing brilliant) then I can only imagine what he's gonna say about ADDAMS.

For a show with so much genius attached to it, onstage and off, it's really sad to see it never take flight. It just lays there.

Ba da da dum womp womp....

* out of ****
(I'm tempted to give it 1/2 a star. But...you get the point. I'd be happy to answer any questions!)

Updated On: 3/17/10 at 01:35 AM

Can I ask why you make rOcKs @ threads for everything you see when often times there are threads withing a stones throw away from the one you made on the same subject? I don't mean to be cruel, but do you have credentials that warrant creating a new thread rather than writing in the existing one? It stinks of ego (intentional or not), and, quite frankly, while I think your opinions are well thought out, I don't understand why you must label everything rOcKS @.

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Would you consider seeing it ever again? Possibly after opening night? I have read a lot of reviews and some say that they feel similar to how you did and are considering seeing it again to get another feel for it.

rOcKS does this because it is what he does. If you don't wnat to read what he has to say...now it's easier not to do so: don't open HIS thread. Who cares WHY he does it...he's entitled as are you....as are the dozens of people who do the same thing for EVERY post they make.

Get over it.

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rOcKS gives good reviews, and even more importantly they seem to lead to good discussion afterward. I have no problem with "rOcKS @" becoming the standard "what did you think of a new show" thread, since it seems to do so more constructively than most other attempts.

Thanks for the review Rock, I am going next week and do not have high expectations.

May I ask did the show start on time and have they cut anything to make it shorter? I like to plan what transportation to take home. What time did the show lets out? Thanks.

PS Seeing your namesake show today, Wicked! : )

Do you think if the house had been half-empty and the response tepid at best you would have liked it more?

I appreciate the "rOcKS @" threads because, quite frankly, his reviews are more coherently written and, in a word, better than almost all of the other reviews written on here. He actually takes the time to sort his thoughts and get to the point.

Now, to the ACTUAL topic at hand: the show. It gives me some serous sads to hear all the bad word of mouth towards this show. And not just on here. I have a couple family members who were in the city last weekend and saw the show and they were absolutely baffled as to how this was opening on Broadway. (And these are people who go apesh*t for MAMMA MIA! and PHANTOM.) They said exactly what rOcKS said: completely joyless. They laughed a few times, but ultimately walked away feeling like they had just thrown their money away.

Really sad to hear all this talent is going to waste.

rocks- You were absolutely spot on in your review. This show has no joy and no fun, but I guess the tourists who paid way too much for tickets are convincing themselves to laugh and walk out amused.

On a side note, I have never minded that you start your own threads, and I always am interested to read your thoughts.

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I won't try to unconvince rOcKS of the opinions expressed in the review -- a) having actually seen the show puts rOcKS several steps above many of those who have been consistently piling on the bandwagon and b) I've long since resigned myself to being in the minority on this show in my fondness for it.

That said, I was surprised by one critique and one omission. The omission was already mentioned by Matt above -- "The Moon and Me". A very simple song but so beautiful in its staging and execution. I guess I'm just surprised that it didn't find favor even with those who seem to think so little of the show.

The critique that surprised me was:

the sets didn't even impress me (too big, bulky, and awkward)

If the critique is that the set should perhaps have been more automated so that it didn't need to be moved manually by actors, that I could certainly understand. But as Broadway sets go (and certainly from someone who is such a fan of "Wicked") this is hardly a big set at all. I actually found it quite ingenious in its execution since 80% of the story takes place indoors in what is supposed to be a big, imposing mansion of a house. Also, you can clearly see that Crouch & McDermott were taking their design cures directly from the drawings as well as from other appropriate artists (Escher comes to mind in a few places).

Obviously, a set does not a show make so I still wouldn't have expected a positive review. But even among those I know who have seen the show and not liked it as much as I, they all commented that they found the physical production (sets and lights in particular) to be quite strikingly beautiful. Maybe not engineered in the best possible way, but beautiful nonetheless.

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Good grief. I saw the show last night, and what a mess it is.

They are trying hard to fix it. But honestly, last night, I saw a show that made absolutely no sense. It's half the Chicago production, which was apparently misguided. And it's half a new production, which they're trying to fix. But the show I saw last night was inane. It was half a plot of one thing, and half a plot of another.

I don't think they can fix the whole thing. They've fixed the opening number (which is terrific), but the whole show falls apart shortly thereafter.

It was this crazy patch job, where NOTHING made sense at all. I understand where they're going (Wednesday is the plot device, and THAT makes sense). But it's half a script from here, half a script from there, and Bebe still has nothing to do with anything. I'm guessing she's on the phone with her agent.

I wish the show the best. But honestly, it's in serious trouble.

And I doubt, on Broadway, in front of a Preview audience, you can fix it. It totally needs to be out of town, so they can make sense of the whole thing. Charging peeps over a hundred bucks to see nonsense is not going to do them any favors.

Updated On: 3/17/10 at 01:38 PM

Do you think if the house had been half-empty and the response tepid at best you would have liked it more?

I feel like this was meant sarcastically, but this is actually a good point. I feel like my reactions to shows are polarized by an enthusiastic crowd. If I like a show, an enthusiastic crowd will make the experience more magical and make me like the show even more. If a bad show is getting a lot of support, though, the enthusiasm tends to become grating and I even find myself feeling snobby ("how can these tourists like this drivel?") and can cause me to dislike a show more.

"If a bad show is getting a lot of support, though, the enthusiasm tends to become grating and I even find myself feeling snobby ("how can these tourists like this drivel?") and can cause me to dislike a show more."

I am glad to hear someone admit it.