Addams Family Review 1/05/10 -Slight Spoilers-

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 1/6/10 at 11:35pm

So first off Bebe was back in after being out for a show or two. While I went in expecting great things from the cast I really didnt know what to expect from the material and I have to say I loved the show. I understand some things still need to be fixed but I really enjoyed the show immensly and if I had the money right now i'd go see it again before it leaves chicago.
Firstly the cast all around was great. I was afraid that Nathan Lane was just going to be playing himself much like he did in The Producers and that I might get tired of him. Not at all! I thought that he was fantastic and while of course there was some usual Lane shtick I felt for the most part he was Gomez. I really liked the scene he had with Krysta when he sang Happy/Sad. Though he did crack one joke during the song I felt it was the only part in the entire show that wasnt looking for laughs and Nathan and Krysta really worked well off each other and there were some nice serious moments from Lane there. His scene with Terrence Mann right before Gomez sings At Seven was a favorite of mine and I was roaring with laughter.
Krysta Rodriguez was amazing. I really hope the tony nominating committee shows her some love this spring. The song Pulled which is her big I want song in act 1 was sang with great power and the song has been stuck in my head all day. It was a very memorable song from a score that while I really enjoyed only left humming a song or two. Thats not to say of course that the score isnt good but just certain songs stuck with me more than others. Krysta was used alot in the show and the material really features her well. I also really liked her duet with Lucas, Crazier than You. She really is a great up and coming star and I was just a huge fan of her performance.
Bebe's acting was wonderful and I really loved her as Morticia. The Tango Swordfight between her and Lane stopped the show and got the biggest applause of the evening. I have never really cared for Bebe as a singer but I felt overall for the most part she sounded pretty good.
I love the character of Uncle Fester but im still not sure how I like the role. He works as a narrator but most of his songs seem out of place. I liked Lets Not Talk About Anything Else But Love 2 alot due to the choreo but the vaudevillianness (yes I just made a word) of it doesnt quite fit with the rest of the show. Also while Fester has a very funny song about his love for the moon, the flying and everything is funny and the audience ate it up but it does bring the show to a halt and while it might be sad for Kevin Chamberlin because its his best moment in the show it is something that is easily cuttable and since its a long song that should get looked at.
Jackie Hoffman was hilarious but is underused in the show but since her role doesnt really affect the plot to a large degree the role is about the size it should be. Jackie's one liners and ad lib during her Full Disclosure line was great but Im not sure if they really could use her anymore. Ok so that probably made no sense at all but I hope you all get what I mean.
Carolee is a favorite actress of mine and she didnt disapoint. I dont want to ruin any of her moments because she added alot of great humor to the show. Her big song durring Full Disclosure stopped the show and she also could be looked at for some tony nomination consideration.
The sets and lighting were stupendous. The staircases were utilized so much that they really came up with so many various locations in the addams house using only a few set pieces. The design was ingenius and really never ever halted the flow of the show. The only thing as I said before that shouldbe looked at is that moon song. Though Fester flying and bouncing the moon off his feet was very cool and if you go into the show looking for some spectacle you do get it.
Overall I had an amazing time at the show. I do think they need to look at that one song but the score was solid. I felt the comic timing was pretty damn good and Im thinking that may have been due to some work by Jerry Zaks. The book is very funny but at some moments might need a little tightening. I know people have been questioning the use of current events or pop culture references but I didnt feel they were greatly out of place. The Addams after all are people, yes not nessacarily normal ones but they are people and I dont see why they wouldnt be aware of such things. It didnt bother me. The show seems like its in pretty good shape and Im sure it will only get better once it gets to New York. I hope it gets some tony love (especially for the 2 actors I mentioned and for design) but not having seen or heard much about the other new shows this season I'll have to reacess all that when it comes to Tony time.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 1/6/10 at 11:57pm

I want to see this. I really want to here this "Pulled" song...Thank you for the review.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:06am

I REALLY hope they don't do away with "Pulled." It's such a great song. And the only one that I came out of the theatre humming, and the only song I can remember from the show.

[CrazierThanYou]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:09am

Updated On: 1/7/10 at 12:09 AM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:14am

First, shilling crap on the Off Topic board (twice) THEN linking to bootlegs. BWW is SO much better because of StupiderThanYou, isn't it?

::barf::

P

[raggballad2]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:17am

While I enjoy the show a lot, I would NOT want to be posting links to that kind of stuff on here, CrazierThanYou...

[BwayTday]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:29am

I am glad I heard Crazier, but I would take it down, you don't want to put links up on here. Still thanks for letting me hear it.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 12:44am

while it was nice to hear the song again as its been in my head all day for the future I would advise not posting things such as this on BWW. Its generally frowned upon and i do believe against certain rules.

Posted: 1/7/10 at 4:40am

PGenre if you don't approve of illegal recordings how did YOU hear this awful awful score? I don't believe the cast recording is available yet.

[JP2]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 4:50am

^Win.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 5:41am

There's a difference in listening to what is available and posting it where it isn't allowed.

POSTING about those things will get it removed both from here AND from YouTube. The production can have it taken down....and it happens a lot. (Yes, of course, there is always more....but they do what they can.)

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/7/10 at 8:59am

Well, the link is down. Am really eager to see this show in NYC. I saw an early preview in Chicago and it definitely made me want to see it again after it opens.

[Sally]

Posted: 1/9/10 at 11:26pm

I saw the matinee today, Saturday the 9th and loved it! We laughed a lot, enjoyed the music, and were throughly entertained. If it were going to be in Chicago longer, I would see it again.

I think most of the songs are so specific to the show that there will be few pull-outs.

[Helene2]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 4:45pm

I read all the reviews, including the ravenous praise by Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun Times, and the many positive reviews on this board, including the one that theatreboy started this thread with. I went to the show three days ago, expecting to enjoy some entertainment, and I am livid that we spent more than $200 on tickets for a show that was awful to sit through. THERE IS NO STORY, NO PLOT, NO RHYME OR REASON, the show is like a vaudeville review, a series of disconnected vignettes. I guess this is what they mean when they say the show is based on the Addams Family cartoons. Every day, a different cartoon with a different theme. Here, every scene, a different direction. The reasoning seems to be, we have the Addams Family name, Name Talent, Great Set Design, we don't need a story. The talent is uniformly ill-served. Bebe Neuwirth's Morticia is obsessed with her looks and growing old; a self-centered BORE who is no fun to watch. She has two songs to sing, and if Bebe has any singing voice at all, these songs are completely out of her range. It is torture to listen to her struggle to hit the notes. Terrence Mann, a world-class singer, gets only one song, and not til the end of the show. Carolee Carmello has a silly, slapstick role and manages to be mildly amusing. Here too is a singer/actress capable of so much better. Nathan Lane proves he is a star by making himself entertaining to watch with absolutely no help from the script. Gomez has no character definition, all you get is that he worships Morticia and likes to make jokes. Young Wednesday and her boyfriend do a lot of making out and groping, and have several songs and quite a bit of stage time. Krysta Rodriguez acting consists of having the same angry look on her face the entire show. Her singing is ok but far from world-class, with some flat and/or missed notes. In fairness, she like the others does not have much to work with, but Theatreboy began this thread with the statement that she deserves a Tony Award, and that fantastic statement has no basis in reality. As for the other characters, Grandma wanders on and offstage making racy jokes, Pugsley makes appearances but has no real role either, and Uncle Fester randomly pops up as a narrator talking to the audience and trying to explain what is going on. Uncle Fester periodically has his own well-staged, special-effect musical numbers, which would have been affecting if they had any context and meaning other than random inserts. I am sorry to say it, I am a big fan of theatre and wish the greatest success to all new efforts. But this show is a mess. To have it hyped as it has been, and then have such a disappointing waste of time and money, is just not good for theatre. We are in a recession, and after spending $200 on tickets, $100 for dinner, and $30 parking to see a show as bad as this, who wants to go back and spend big money for the next one? Especially when you can't trust the reviews. The applause when I saw the show was tepid, polite at best. On the way out of the theatre, the crowd was silent, no one said a word. Ditto for the crowded elevator in the parking garage. It was like wet blanket had been thrown over everyone. I hope they can fix this show before it opens on Broadway, but they will have to start over with a STORY that is interesting to follow, CHARACTERS who are real, something more than a random collection of jokes and songs and bits.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 7:55pm

Have you never heard of the enter and tab button to start new paragraphs? Jeez, I can't even sit here and read it.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:03pm

I can read it fine, I just don't get why you'd join simply to trash a show.

Bad day, maybe?

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:06pm

You joined this board yesterday, yet had time to read "the many positive reviews" on this board, and then entered your long rant as the first message you have ever posted here? Who are you, the lead producer for "Million Dollar Quartet?"

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:06pm

You joined this board yesterday, yet had time to read "the many positive reviews" on this board, and then entered your long rant as the first message you have ever posted here? Who are you, the lead producer for "Million Dollar Quartet?"

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:06pm

You joined this board yesterday, yet had time to read "the many positive reviews" on this board, and then entered your long rant as the first message you have ever posted here? Who are you, the lead producer for "Million Dollar Quartet?"

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:06pm

You joined this board yesterday, yet had time to read "the many positive reviews" on this board, and then entered your long rant as the first message you have ever posted here? Who are you, the lead producer for "Million Dollar Quartet?"

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:07pm

Updated On: 1/10/10 at 08:07 PM

[Fanb]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:07pm

Updated On: 1/10/10 at 08:07 PM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:09pm

I love how with TAF the poster ALWAYS fits the show. Kisses.

[ifuweregay93]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 8:15pm

Are you ever going to STFU? WE GET IT! TAF is trash! GET A NEW SCHTICK AND SHUT UP!

[LilMiZBroADwaY23]

Posted: 1/10/10 at 9:55pm

Wow. Pretty sure I saw the exact opposite of a show as Helene. I saw the show the same night, Krysta was perfectly in tune and her acting and facial expressions were wonderful.

Everyone knows Bebe's voice isn't perfect, she's a dancer. You get over it. Would I prefer Rachel De Benedet on the recording? Of course, but i'd rather have Bebe as the character and dancer.

Carolee sells the show and is far more than a silly character.

Yes there are still a few problems, mainly the low amount of family interaction, and the Morticia subplot... but I thought it was absolutely stunning production with an incredibly talented cast. Can't wait to see what they do with show before Broadway.