I know you've been anxiously awaiting my review of The Addams Family. I wanted to remind you that I love the theater. I did an earlier post about seeing Motherhood The Musical and mentioned that I was an avid fan of seeing shows on Broadway when I lived in NYC. So I was delighted to hear The Addams Family was coming to town this week at Tampa's very own Straz Center and I would have a chance to see the show and review it, as it's been on Broadway for quite some time and the show's run ends at the end of December (and I don't anticipate getting up to chilly NYC in the next two months). I am at times skeptical when seeing the traveling tours of shows because I'm never quite sure what to expect--will the show be just like Broadway? In this case, the answer is no..and that's an exciting thing! And here's why....
It's a new story! Per a recent St. Petersburg Times article, "All the changes stem from a rewrite of the relationship between Gomez and Morticia and their daughter, Wednesday. We found a story beat that we hadn't found before," Oken says. "Gomez gets caught between his kid and his wife, and ultimately he has to ask Morticia for forgiveness. It opened the door to a much stronger central narrative, which, I believe, makes the show work in a way it didn't before." They also cut four songs, added three songs and substantially changed two other songs.
The show's theme is around love, believe it or not (Fester loooooves the moon, for instance). As dark as The Addams Family is on the outside and seemingly is on the inside too, they all have a soft spot for someone in their lives. Much of the story revolves around Wednesday's "secret" engagement to Lucas and through lots of twists and turns every family member seems to connect, disconnect and then connect once again with the people they love. The story is something most of us can relate to--our love for our parents, significant others, children, friends--it is constantly tested by our actions/inactions. Like Gomez's situation in which he's trapped keeping a secret for Wednesday from his wife Morticia, we can get caught in the middle between two people we love and risk losing one or both of those people (this is when forgiveness also comes into play). As the songs in the show go, sometimes we discover that a "move toward the darkness" can be a good thing in our relationships, embracing being "crazier than you" can make living a little more fun and feeling "happy/sad" at the same time is a the bittersweet emotion we have likely all experienced at one time or another (AML jr turns the big one next week--that's a perfect example of me feeling happy/sad).
The Addams Family is funny, sad, dramatic, sweet, cute and provocative at various times throughout the show. Although I didn't see the Broadway production, I think the show flowed really well, the songs were catchy and enjoyable (plenty of finger snapping, don't worry!) and the characters were pretty perfect. Wednesday's voice is phenomenal! Oh and did I mention the Carol Morsani Hall is beautiful and large--no complaining about not enough leg room in this theater!
I highly recommend going to see this show. It's one-of-a-kind, just like The Addams Family! It's in Tampa at Straz through Sunday October 23 and tickets are still available. Stop snapping and go get your tickets!
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