ADDAMS FAMILY problem

ABB2357 Profile Photo
ABB2357
#1ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 4:30am

I have one big issue with this show (along with several others). It seems many people here are charmed by the one-liners, but allow me to state my case: the aura and appeal of the Addams Family as characters is that they are removed from our world. They live in an old Gothic mansion, dress and act in bizarre, abnormal ways, and scare the hell out of everyone on the outside. They're creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, etc. as the theme song goes.

So... (MILD SPOILERS)... how does it make any sense for Grandma to tell Pugsley to "stop the texting" and later refer to herself as a "cougar"? When Gomez refers to Ohio as a "swing state" and Morticia claims that something everybody needs but few have is "health care!" The authors are clearly including these references as faux-clever up-with-people gags that may make audiences chortle but completely debase these characters.

Part of what makes the Addamses compelling is that they respond to things in a 180-degree reverse from other people. What's strange to us is conventional to them. How are they so technologically/socially/politically in tune with our world? Would Grandma know what a cougar is? Would Pugsley have a cell phone?

I don't think it's reading too much into it to say that these lame attempts at humor took me completely out of the show. It's demeaning to the audience to assume they can't take a straight musical comedy without a few cheap jabs at the latest fashions. I also felt the same way about the score. Wednesday's "Pulled" is a pat "I want" number that screams Broadway; it feels like an Elle Woods knockoff. Likewise, "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love" has a DROWSY CHAPERONE-like bounce that is completely inappropriate for Uncle Fester, a very off-kilter and eccentric dude.

I just wish this show had more edge, more natural energy. Whatever charisma is displayed comes from the actors' natural personas, not the roles they play. Their talent is certainly onstage, but the material is thin.

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darquegk
#2re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 8:40am

Not true. The Addamses are strange, but they know exactly what world they live in. Let us not forget a fact that both movies made very clear- when Gomez is depressed, his self-medication is daytime television, which the rest of the family joins him almost dutifully for.

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Eris0303
#2re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:10pm

I think Grandma referring to herself as a "couger" is totally in line with her character. She's a sassy one.


"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".

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BobbyBubby
#3re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:16pm

And those could be Hoffman adlibs too...

Phyllis Rogers Stone
#4re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:18pm

It's not a problem.

They do what they wanna do, say what they wanna say
Live how they wanna live, play how they wanna play
Dance how they wanna dance, kick and they slap a friend
The Addams family

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BobbyBubby
#5re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:19pm

LMAO Phyllis. I adore you!

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ABB2357
#6re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:34pm

Phyllis, if only that song were in the show!

whatever2
#7re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 12:59pm

i dunno ... the TV series portrayed a certain obliviousness to the real world within the Addams household. that element got watered down somewhat in the movie versions (though lines like, "are your girl scout cookies made with real girl scouts?" certainly ring true); and it sounds like possibly it's gotten watered down a bit more on stage.

one could argue that the original obliviousness was meant to come across as somewhat practiced, and/or that it requires a different tack some 40 years later, but i do think the OP could be onto something.


"You, sir, are a moron." (PlayItAgain)

#8re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 1:23pm

To discuss this subject by citing "what they did on the TV show" or "In the movie..." is irrelevant. This is the MUSICAL as based on the CARTOONS.
The Cartoon Addams talked on the phone, they watched TV, they commented on current events. I don't know why the Broadway Musical Addamses wouldn't.

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Kad
#9re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 2:07pm

"It's demeaning to the audience to assume they can't take a straight musical comedy without a few cheap jabs at the latest fashions."

Yeah! Cole Porter would never have done that.


"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

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ABB2357
#10re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 2:12pm

Good point, Kad, but when Porter poked fun at contemporary society he did so with wit and class. I highly doubt horny grandma jokes would have been his cup of tea.

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darquegk
#11re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 2:24pm

Wit and class was the genre and the style back then. Not so much now.

And as far as them being based on the original drawings... despite that, one can't ignore the entire franchise in the public mind. It's not out of place for the Addamses of most incarnations of the franchise, nor in the cartoons. Besides, New Yorker intentionally made many of those cartoons hard for "the average person" to see, feeling that only the upper-class subscribers should be exposed to the "high culture" aspect the magazine intended to cultivate back then.

whatever2
#12re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 2:39pm

> To discuss this subject by citing "what they did on the TV show" or "In the movie..." is irrelevant.

It is valid (insightful, even) to draw this conversation all the way back to the cartoons. It is excessive to dismiss the movie and TV series as "irrelevant".


"You, sir, are a moron." (PlayItAgain)

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ColorTheHours048
#13re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 3:35pm

It may be an easy joke to make flippant comments about current societal issues, but to say that it is a disservice to the story and the characters is kind of silly. They may be against the norm and in their own world, but they're far from ignorant or uneducated. They live in this society and they interact with other people. Why can't they have modern technology? Why can't they make inappropriate jokes? Why can't they care about politics?

#14re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 6:20pm

Cole Porter made jokes about "grandmama (who's age is 80) indulging in nudist parties". IF that's not a horny Grandmother joke, I don't know what is.

#15re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 6:29pm

"New Yorker intentionally made many of those cartoons hard for "the average person" to see, feeling that only the upper-class subscribers should be exposed to the "high culture" aspect the magazine intended to cultivate back then. "

Poppyccok. Anyone could subscribe to the New Yorker-or pick it up on the newsstand. They certainly never made any attempt to restrict readership. And Addam's cartoons weren't exclusive to the Magazine. Not only did he frequently publish anthologies of his work, his cartoons also ran in magazines like TV Guide or Look. And then there is the fact that his cartoons were sold to the basis of a prime time TV show- truly the hallmark of "high culture" restricted to the "Upperclass."

#16re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 7:15pm

ANd sorry- Grandmama was getting mate-y with gigolos. It was the set that's smart indulging in nudist parties.

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Craig
#17re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/20/09 at 8:56pm

The Addams Family as illustrated and written by Charles Addams was often political and commented on societal norms or abnorms. I haven't seen the show, but I don't share the OPs problem if the references are there.


"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka

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darquegk
#18re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 1:18am

Interestingly enough, Nathan Lane has adopted Raul Julia's pan-European accent, a feature he is only attributed in the movies. This is unusual since they claimed to be only based on the comics.

It's a wise decision though- Gomez never seemed complete without that untraceable accent.

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fashionguru_23
#19re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 2:03am

It 's not a problem to begin with. The Addams Family was a social commentary on the current world issues going on when the cartoons were drawn.

To restate, not a problem, and just enjoy the show


"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone

Phyllis Rogers Stone
#20re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 2:13am

I would think the outrage would be that it's pretty much You Can't Take it With You.

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Schmerg_The_Impaler
#21re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 7:41am

PRS-- I wondered why I hadn't seen anyone bring that up yet! I was a bit surprised they'd go with that plotline, but I'm stilll excuited to see the show.


In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy

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StephanietheStar
#22re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 1:52pm

The Cole Porter "Class" thing cracked me up, Cole Porter was one dirty mofo, have you ever heard some of the original lines for his classic songs? they are super dirty, and even the stuff that's still there is pretty raunchy for the time.

Addams Family is hilarious and as they have said it's NOT based on the tv show, or movie, and to be honest it's theatre-you take liberties to make it more enjoyable to the audience. And it is VERY enjoyable.


ALSO, about Wednesday's song and Uncle Fester's. The composer (Lippa) is OBVIOUSLY giving each character a style of music that suites their personality. Wednesday's is a pop/rock style that fits her age and personality. There is some edge to it, but she's a young woman in love so it has that pop sound that fits her perfectly. Uncle Fester is like an old vaudeville performer, hence his songs are in the style of vaudeville.

Would you want to see a show where all the songs were in minor and downers because that's how some people think of the Addams?


and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...

ABB2357 Profile Photo
ABB2357
#23re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 5:37pm

I didn't mean to imply that Porter WASN'T risque or topical. But these days films, television shows, and even Broadway musicals have a tendency to painfully overstate everything. A trenchant Porter observation, which generally contained either some insight or a bit of cleverness in the telling, is a more delicate creature than Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice making an empty crack about swing states. There's no content, no context; just a quick nod so the audience knows the authors are "hip."

There's a universality to Porter's language and also that of a more modern piece like AVENUE Q. Both, I think, will stand the test of time, and Porter already has. But a few years from now the ADDAMS FAMILY gags about health care and cougars will (hopefully) seem dated. If this were 1998, they'd probably be making Monica Lewinsky jokes.

For the record, I also felt some of the period references in 9 TO 5 (like the Nike "just do it" line) were unnecessary. Just nothing innately clever or interesting about them. And I don't have a problem with raunch either. If you want to see sophisticated sex jokes with real verbal bounce and wit, rent SOME LIKE IT HOT.
Updated On: 11/21/09 at 05:37 PM

#24re: ADDAMS FAMILY problem
Posted: 11/21/09 at 7:32pm

I love when people are not only incorrect, but absolutely totally off-base. Porter was infamous for being "in the moment" commenting not only on the latest news but gossip and scandals. Here is an entry from Wikipedia:

""Anything Goes" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes (1934). Some of the Depression-era lyrics have become quite dated. For example, one couplet refers to Sam Goldwyn's notorious box-office failure Nana, which featured a star, Anna Sten, whose English was incomprehensible except to Goldwyn, who came from the same part of Europe. Another couplet refers to then-notorious socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. Most modern versions omit these lyrics""

If Addams Family is lucky enough to be performed in 30 years, they will simply omit the topical references that no longer resonate, like they do with Cole Porter songs.