Review: THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL at Capital One Hall

Mysterious, creepy, and kooky are words which popularly describe one of the most beloved fictional families in America: the Addams Family, created by Charles Addams, a comic artist. While the Addams Family has been around since the comic’s release in 1938, the family’s popularity has only surged due to the popular Netflix show, Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega. Way before Wednesday and after the numerous Addams Family movies, The Addams Family, the book written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, debuted as a musical on Broadway in 2010. The Addams Family is now on a national tour and it made a stop at the Capital One Hall in McLean, Virginia. The Addams Family musical isn’t as campy and charming as the movies, nor does it have the eccentric vibes of Tim Burton’s Wednesday. The musical makes you cringe (and not in the way a member of the Addams family would want you to). 

In The Addams Family, Wednesday (Melody Munitz) is in love with Lucas Beineke (David Elridge), a “normal” guy. Being in love makes Wednesday act strange and eventually her father, Gomez (Rodrigo Aragón), finds out that she is engaged. However, Wednesday does not want anyone else in her family (even her mother, Morticia, played by Renee Kathleen Koher) to know about the engagement until after a big formal dinner with Lucas’ parents, Alice Beineke (Sarah Mackenzie Baron) and Mal Beineke (Tucker Boyes). The dinner must go smoothly, and everything must be normal.

It’s scary (not in a good way) how much is going on in this musical. Uncle Fester (Andrew Metzger) tries to act as a narrator; however, he only narrates occasionally throughout the show. Let’s just say that there isn’t enough Uncle Fester in the show! There are a bunch of Addams family ancestors hanging around, which is an interesting concept, but they don’t really do anything to help the plot along. There’s a side plot with Pugsley (Logan Clinger), who is afraid that Wednesday will stop torturing him, some shenanigans with Grandma (Shereen Hickman), Morticia and Gomez’s relationship issues, and oh, Mal and Alice have their own troubles. making it impossible for the audience to fully immerse themselves in a credible Addams Family story. 

The musical numbers are average, and even though this is a musical, there are actually too many songs. Aragón’s singing voice is lovely and he channels Gomez a la John Astin well. One of the biggest issues is that Gomez has a lot of songs, especially in Act One, that are back to back. The best musical numbers are the ones which give the audience glimpses into the Addams family members’ personalities. Thing’s big musical number is nowhere to be seen. “Just Around the Corner” is one of those numbers as it focuses on Morticia and her love of Death. It even features her and the Addams ancestors dancing and singing along with the Grim Reaper, which is fun to watch, even though the whole song’s premise is pretty morbid. Then there is Uncle Fester singing “The Moon and Me,” a power ballad about his love of the moon. It’s a visually stunning and hilarious number, featuring a lot of dirty jokes, as Fester is transported into outer space in a wild fantasy sequence. 

The Addams Family mansion is quite the set. The musical sets the mansion right in the middle of Central Park in New York City, which is an interesting choice for a location. From the pictures on the mansion's walls to the provocative chandelier, there are fun little details (some of which make you do a double-take).

Fans of The Addams Family franchise should be warned that this musical isn’t what you think it might be, especially if you are into the creepy and kooky. So, proceed with caution if you decide to attend.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Big League Productions