What’s wrong with The Addams Family!?

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 9:55am

Everyone seems to hate The Addams Family musical but I thought it was a nice, fun show...so what are the issues with it??

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 10:20am

I was excited when it was first announced almost a decade ago due to it being THE ADDAMS FAMILY.  Once the cast itself was announced: Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, etc -- how could it possibly not be fantastic?  Then the show started its Chicago out-of-town tryout and the buzz coming in wasn't good.  Things were changing almost daily during its run in Chicago.  Regardless, I saw the show on Broadway in June 2010 at the Lunt-Fontanne.  Though Act 1 started off deliciously, it slowly became torture to sit thru.  I remember contemplating leaving during intermission but chose to ride it out.  Thankfully, everything established in Act 1 came full circle and redeemed itself in Act 2 so I was happy the show ended great.  I have to say, this was indeed the first show of hundreds that I've seen where I actually considered leaving during intermission.  

I can't really pinpoint what exactly was it that failed for me in Act 1, but somewhere in there my mind started wandering elsewhere and I lost interest on what was happening on stage.   

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 10:41am

The very first photo of the cast that was released by Vanity Fair perfectly captured the essence, tone, and spirit of the characters that the score and script did not, in my opinion. Besides having a La Cage-esque plot, we never saw anything remotely - to put it simply in their words - creepy, mysterious, or spooky about this family. They were just bewildering, confused, and misguided both within the plot itself, but as a whole. Lippa wrote some great songs (I hear "Pulled" often at auditions and recitals, though), but Shaimain's score from the films was hard to top, but that's comparing apples to oranges and different mediums. I think the musical is fun, but not what I had hoped for it to be, but not everyone can be pleased. "Clandango", the original Chicago opening number, and "Tango De Amor" were the closest to what I had imagined the show would sound like, however it was visually appealing and a treat for the eyes. This is one of the few adapted musicals in recent years that I felt had the most potential and was ultimately not given its justice, but again, not everyone can be pleased. Would love to see a total reinvention, or parody, or something with a different plot and score, but the same characters. At least we got Jackie Hoffman's vlogs out of the whole thing. The revised tour was a huge improvement, but still ultimately did not satisfy what could have been.

Updated On: 9/10/18 at 10:41 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 11:02am

The basic nature of the Addams characters has always been episodic and illogical - that's what made them famous and what made them entertaining.The musical's book writers, fresh from the crowd-satisfying, pedestrian, by the numbers Jersey Boys, tried to apply a trite, logical linear story where it couldn't work, which guaranteed failure (and, as pointed out, it was just plagiarized from previous narratives like You Can't Take It With You and La Cage aux Folles).

In addition, Lippa's lyrics, which have never been better than "capable," added nothing to either the story or the characters, except a quotidian mediocrity.

That the show ran for almost two years is a testament to Broadway audiences' acceptance - no - embracing of mediocrity.

[bdn223]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 11:14am

One of the biggest problems the creative team faced, which they have mentioned subsequently,  was that they had a set production timeline, and weren't able to deviate from it. After Chicago many involved wanted to go back to the drawing board, do some rewrites, workshop it some more, and do another out of town tryout, before bringing it to Broadway. The problem was that the producing team already had a theater, and didn't want to wait on bringing the show to Broadway. Add to that a there were several millions of dollars spent on building the sets for Chicago, so Lippa, Elice, and Brickman we told that any changes made script and score couldn't deviate from the limitations of the current physical production, and had to figure out how to include any moments of spectacle currently used in the production. All of these changes had to be done in less then 2 months so... the odds were against the team...when Lippa, Elice, and Brickman were actually able to have the time to rework the show for the tour, it received significantly better response. 

It should also be noted all the behind the scenes drama on The Addams Family  caused Nathan Lane to openly state he will never do another musical again...so there's that

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 12:08pm

To me, it was clear from the beginning of the show that the book was an adaptation of You Can't Take It With You using The Addams Family as an overlay for the setting and characters.  By the end of the first act recreating the party game sequence, I was somewhat bored with the predictability of the plot.  While I do think the score is probably Lippa's best musical theatre composition to date, it was still largely generic and forgettable.  

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 12:39pm

I just thought it was creepy, and kooky, mysterious and spooky, and altogether ooky.