Review: OFF BROADWAY: THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL IN CONCERT at Analog

Are you looking for something creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky? Look no further than the Analog Lounge at the Hutton Hotel! As part of the Off-Broadway at the Hutton Hotel cabaret series, the iconic Rachel Potter reprises her Broadway role of Wednesday Addams as she hosts The Addams Family Musical In Concert October 30-31. Her fellow cast members include local talent, cast members from the musical’s US tour, and the musical’s own composer and lyricist. Anyone lucky enough to get a Pre-Show VIP ticket has the opportunity to enter a secret lounge and meet the cast. You can take home a couple of treats from the show, even without a VIP ticket. With spooky tunes and treats around every corner, Off Broadway: The Addams Family Musical In Concert is to die for. 

Unlike the other times I’ve reviewed the Off Broadway series, I got to have a little VIP experience before the show. After parking my car and getting lost in the lobby, I made my way out front to the gates underneath the glowing marque. While the majority of the guests for the night wore black or Addams-styled clothing, I dressed as Samara from The Ring, complete with a TV playing the ring of light to wear on my head as a helmet and a VHS tape to hand out to would-be victims. I clutched ‌my cardboard TV as I climbed the stairs decorated with leaves in red lighting. The lovely folks at the front desk handed me my key and wristband for the VIP lounge, which is where I was greeted by a polite lady at a desk. She handed me a pocketbook and instructed me to find clues hidden throughout the two floors of the lounge to solve a puzzle. Every station was heavily detailed, and the pocketbook even had a hint page. All in all, the puzzle was well-developed with fun little details to discover at each station. I had too much fun checking everything, and the Morticia actress they had in one room was a delight to talk to. There’s even a room to do a tarot card reading, and I thought that the lady running the table was very helpful and kind. By the time the cast arrived for the meet and greet, I had solved the puzzle and won a prize bottle of Grandma’s antidote. Antidote for what? Watch the musical and find out! 

The food and drinks for the event were a real treat. The VIP Lounge had a nice table full of chocolates, a charcuterie board, scallops, and other delicious snacks. My ticket also came with two free drink tickets at the VIP bar, which I spent on a pineapple and blueberry garnished drink called One Normal Night and a skull-shaped jello shot. Yum! Even if you don’t have a VIP ticket for the event, you can still get this drink and shot from the bar inside of the Analog. The Wednesday bartenders serve up plenty of other drinks, including one that they light up! And just across the room from the bar is a candy bar with sweets ranging from chocolates to gummies. At one point, Thing will appear from behind a curtain to hand you a full-sized candy bar. I felt like such a little kid as I filled up my candy bags while in my Halloween costume. I found no shortage of treats that night. 

I will admit that this was my first time seeing this musical. Yes, I know that there was a recent production at Studio Tenn, but I was unable to see it. What made this first-time experience even better was that the musical’s own composer and lyricist was one of the cast members that Rachel rounded up. I got to meet Andrew Lippa and his husband prior to the show, and he was nice to talk to. Before Act II began, he kicked things off by singing a song he wrote for Morticia that didn’t make it into the current version of the musical. The audience adored the song and his performance. Presenting Lippa’s earworm of a score is a talented band that consists of Music Director Chris Brent Davis on keys, Brad Williamson on drums, Zak Kuhn on guitar, David Weinstein on bass. The music either had the audience smiling or bopping or both, and yes, we either snapped our fingers or clapped our hands to the Addams Family theme song. Accompanying the cast was a chorus of ancestors consisting of Douglas Waterbury Tieman, Alex Harkins, Brian Best, Abigail May Watson, Mina McEuen, Janeal Stevens, and Emily Ann Weller. I interacted with some of them in the VIP immersive experience, and they were a lot of fun. Even though they are mostly off the side of the stage, they still bring a lot to the show with their vocals. Also, shoutout to Stage Manager Angie Klein for her little cameo as Cousin Itt. It was a cute way to kick off the concert. 

Rachel Potter also knows exactly who to include in the Off Broadway series. The cast consists of performers reprising their roles from previous productions of The Addams Family Musical, as well as performers who’ve never done the show before. Jeremy Parrish is funny and lovable as Lurch. I heard someone say that they couldn’t stop noticing Parrish’s facial expressions in the background. Carrie Brewer is a cauldron of fun as Grandma. Possible witch or not, she’s a blast to be around. Andrew Tinkler is an inextinguishable fuse of talent as Pugsley. He’s only 13, but he is truly going places with that voice. Megan Murphy Chambers is hysterical-yet-angelic as Alice. Anyone who regularly attends shows by Nashville Rep and Studio Tenn already knows how talented she is, and adding her to the cast was a no-brainer. Adding Geoff Davin to the cast as Mal was also a no-brainer. I was already familiar with his vocal and comedic talent before I even became a theatre journalist, and he had me laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Andrew Metzger is practically a professional Fester, having played the role a couple of times since 2019. The audience adored him, as did I. It’s impossible not to love him as he chats with the crowd and sings his heart out. 

Despite having never played the role before, Brian Charles Rooney is dashing and entertaining as Gomez. He had amazing chemistry with his cast members, especially Sarah Gettelfinger as Morticia. As someone who grew up viewing Gomez and Morticia as relationship goals, Rooney and Gettelfinger make a great and loving pairing. Speaking of which, Sarah Gettelfinger is magnetic as Morticia. She first played the role in the original US tour of the show, and she hasn’t lost a bit of her morbid spark. One audience member and I couldn’t help but compare her to Cher in terms of her vocals and mannerisms. Joining her is fellow former tour cast member Brian Justin Crum reprising his role as Lucas. Crum is a vocal powerhouse with plenty of incredible credits to his name, such as Jesus Christ Superstar at Hollywood Bowl. Getting to hear his outstanding vocals and see him bond with everyone onstage was a real treat.  And last but certainly not least, we have the iconic Rachel Potter reprising her role as Wednesday Addams. Even though she’s obviously past the age limit for the role, Potter hasn’t lost her youthful charm that she brought to Broadway all those years ago. If you’ve never heard her vocals live, then please either see the next Off Broadway show next year or go and see her as Elsa in Nashville Rep’s upcoming production of Frozen the Musical. As a director, she was clearly a fearless leader as she put together the first concert for a whole musical as part of the Off Broadway series. You can tell that the rest of the cast appreciated her, and she made sure that everyone had a spooky good time as one big family.