Review: THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL at St. James Center for the Arts

Full of macabre charm and whip-smart wordplay, the Lighthouse Repertory Theatre’s fall production of “The Addams Family: The Musical” at the newly renovated St. James Center for the Arts is a story about how the beating heart of love, even if buried underneath a floorboard, can bring everyone together.

With familiar and beloved characters from childhood, “The Addams Family,” can speak to every iteration of America’s kooky cousins.

Co-directors Jacklyn Lisi and Tony Chiofalo (who also plays Gomez for part of the show’s run) emphasized the comedy of the show as well as the very technical talent needed to serve those punchlines.

Carmela Newman’s costumes, particularly the ancestor characters in different gradations of post-mortem steel combined with Kirby Mason’s light direction was an artistic triumph for the production creating the graveyard backdrop of the story.

Choreographer Tyler Patrick Matos and assistant choreographer Mackenzie Waite kept the eyes moving in the big ensemble dance numbers, but also had a poetic touch to the pairings with a unique rhythm for Morticia and Gomez (Spaniard passion), Mal and Alice (a nervous cotillion), and Wednesday and Lucas (a fresh new romance looking for footing).

Joseph Kassner as Gomez showed the paternal side of his character that is often not focused on enough whilst maintaining the feral attraction to Morticia. Kassner’s affectations, especially while holding a rapier, gave the patrician patina of Gomez as well as an adorable buffoonery. In singing three numbers in a row (“Two Things,” “Wednesday’s Growing Up,” and “Trapped.”), Kassner’s capacity as a performer were evident in the increasing strength he delivered each subsequent song.

Stephanie Schrader as Morticia was a total minx with a signature shimmy every time she graced the stage. Shrader managed to maintain Morticia’s sex kitten ways even while being maternally frustrated and at odds with her (almost) grown-up daughter.

Amanda Luong as Wednesday was a firecracker of a homicidal love interest to straight-laced jock, Lucas. The ease and confidence with her crossbow was realistic enough to raise an eyebrow that Luong may have killed (hopefully just birds) before. With a soaring voice that had a beautifully contrasting lightness to it against her character, Luong’s “Crazier Than You” was effervescently celebratory.

Mike Goodwin as Fester was a complete oddball teddy bear and further ingratiated himself with the audience with each zany line he delivered.

Ellie Morrison as Pugsley was a perpetual mischievous younger brother whose screams in the torture scene could have been from an actual crime.

Wes Kreit as Lucas had a nervous energy that added so much to the comedic timing of the show. The highpoint of Kreit’s performance was his chemistry with Luong, particularly the apple scene where his insistence on the William Tell dare goes against his character’s total persona of safety and restraint.

Paul Philips as Mal, Lucas’s tough, no-nonsense father, portrayed his sensible midwestern suspicions about the Addamses and stood in as the both the voice of pragmatism and othering. Philips ex-football player shoulders and walk in scenes with Gomez were set up excellently for the goofiness coming his way. In “Crazier Than You,” Philips’s earnest declaration of change is felt through his voice’s gentle, but decided, sound.

Maggie Robinson as Alice, the rhyming but not callous (see what I did there?) mother of Lucas who speaks in Hallmark couplets was enough of a visible oddball to see the disconnect with the predictable life she led. In her confessional scene during “Waiting,” Robinson’s resilient voice brought the tension for the end of the first act.

Corinne Murphy as Grandma was a flush of pure glee in the production. Played with a generous dash of mad scientist, Murphy’s scene-stealing with her raspy and witch-like voice was an added bonus.

Vinny Negro as Lurch answers the question, “what if we cast Jacob Elordi as a butler?” With almost all lines restricted to beyond-the-grave moaning and Xanax-delayed facial expressions, Negro created one of the most memorable characters in the show. When Lurch breaks character and sings his part in “Move Towards the Darkness,” the deep timbre and angelic nature of Negro’s voice provided a charming, full-circle lovely closing to a spirited show.

The second half of “The Addams Musical: The Musical” will be at the Twin Oakes Performing Arts building in Freeport.

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