Living or dead, family is family. And when you’re an Addams, you do what Addams’ do or… die! And you’ll want to be an Addams and be a part of their creepy-kooky-mysterious-ookey-all-together-spooky good time up at Tidewater Players this spring. Bringing the dark comedy, which is filled with surprising heart and a deep sense of familial ties to their stage, Tidewater Players is delivering The Addams Family musical with their own special spin. Directed by Allan Herlinger (with AD Cathy Herlinger) with Musical Direction by Mia Bray and Choreography by Katie Gordon, you can move toward their darkness with confidence and smile at all they’ve accomplished with this production.
Sometimes less is more when it comes to a show’s aesthetic. And while one wouldn’t think this would be the case for The Addams Family, as a certain visual appeal comes expected with its narrative, Allan Herlinger and his team find a way to strike a balance between minimalism and expectations and surprisingly they come out ahead of the game. While Stanton Zacker’s set is more on the slender side of existing— think rotating upright flats that are either the night sky or the interior of the Addams’ family home, and a couch and a crypt (that’s so decrepit and ancient the leading ‘A’ in Addams has fallen off and only the shadowed imprint remains)— the show’s Lighting Design (Brad Paulsen) and the show’s costumes (Eva Grove and her assistant Lucia Beanblossom) are 100% on-brand for The Addams Family. Zacker’s minimalist approach to the set lets Grove’s sartorial selection and Paulsen’s illuminating techniques shine. The ‘normies’ look normal, the Addams’ look spooky, and the Ancestors look dead. Paulsen’s lighting is particularly effective at highlighting some of the more ghoulish makeup choices, especially on the ancestors, and his overall shock-effects for “Pulled” when Pugsley is getting himself torn apart on the rack are simply thrilling.
Community theatre often brings with it the challenge of casting because you get what turns up to auditions— and if that means across your core of eight ancestors you have seven ladies and only one gent, you have to make some clever musical and choreographic decisions to make the show a success. Both Musical Director Mia Bray and Choreographer Katie Gordon more than hit their mark (you know, pierce the apple not the liver!) in the ‘clever choices’ department. Bray gets fully balanced harmonies and blends during group numbers like “One Normal Night” and “Full Disclosure” while Gordon is keeping it clean and focused for the various and sundry dance routines. Her nod to Chicago during “Just Around the Corner” with that highly stylized Fosse-motion is priceless (do your Addams Family research… Bebe Neuwirth originated the role of Morticia on Broadway…where she also, years prior, played Velma Kelly in Chicago) and the tango that Morticia and Gomez get up to during “Tango De Amor” is very sultry and seductive.
Director Allan Herlinger has put a bunch of special little nods into this production that give it a distinct feel and flavor, keeping it from being just a run-of-the-mill-community-Addams. Thing (as played by itself) has a much more prominent role in the show, aside from just opening the curtain at the top of the show. It— not to be confused with the full-on Cousin It (who appears briefly at the end of the show during the curtain call to take photos of the Addams’ enjoying their best life) has featured moments all throughout the dinner game of “Full Disclosure” going so far as to high-five Morticia when it makes the sacred chalice appear, and comfort-scratching Alice Beineke’s head once she collapses on the table at the end of “Waiting.” This a cute nod to any true Addams Family fan; see if you can catch Thing popping up any place else in the production. Herlinger also gives the Ancestors just a little bit more to do in the background. Gomez even smacks one of them, getting them to shoo-away, and it’s hilarious. More raditionally it’s only Wednesday and Fester who can see and interact with them, but Herlinger has them popping up with other members of the Addams’ throughout the performance.
Speaking of those creepy, ghostly ghouls, The Ancestor Squad— Amanda Beanblossom, Lucia Beanblossom, Allie Beerman, Sofia Chardon-Munses, Maristel King, Michael Maestros, Brittney Stronski, Cecelia Tramatona— look the part with their perfectly plotted ghost-makeup paint. Their all-white costumes lend that thrillifying air of mysterious otherworldliness to their characters and watching them interact with the various Addams characters— like Amanda Beanblossom as ‘Ballet Mistress Ancestor’ who is holding the yellow bird in the window at the top of “Pulled” desperately trying to keep Wednesday away from it— is just delightful and full of laugh-worthy instances. Ancestor Squad— loaded with dance moves and strong voices— fill out critical moments like ‘the arrow’ during “Crazier Than You” with some gymnastic movements, and they add great backing sounds to bigger group numbers like “Secrets.”
The vocal shocker in this production comes from Lurch (Leonard Gilbert), the family… um… Butler? Living, dead, or undecided…we’re not really sure what Lurch is but Gilbert has a glorious voice that is withheld (at least from discernable notice) until the end of the production (again, blame that dang libretto!) where he finally gets a moment to shine in “Move Toward The Darkness.” There is a surprising bari-bass sound resonating from the cast on stage, which slowly makes itself known as Lurch. Gilbert steps forward with the most awkwardly hilarious smile plastered on his face as well (again, libretto) and it gets a well-deserved laugh and cheer from the audience.
When it comes to kooky relations… who may not even be related… this Addams Family has got them in triplicate. There’s zany Grandmama Addams (Madai Chardon-Borrero), whose quirky and queer sense of humor is perfect for the characterization of this zany-in-the-brainy old bat of the family. While Chardon-Borrero’s character doesn’t get a song, she improvises a little musical solo when she saunters in with her cart of “Grandmama’s Herbal Remedies” a little nod and throwback to Spamalot. Then there’s a the strange, bald, and quirky Uncle Fester (Wayne Ivusich) who looks the part so much you’d think you were seeing a hybrid between Kevin Chamberlin (Broadway originator of the role) and Christopher Lloyd (1991 film, from which most of the character inspirations for this particularly stage-mount seem to be springing.) He’s got the comic timing right and plays well with the ancestors. Ivusich even launches himself into that busting-down-the-fourth-wall shenanigans bit that Fester is known for and does so quite well. He’s clearly mooning over that moon and you’ll grin to see him do so. (This is another quirky and clever trick of Allan Herlinger’s— having various character wandering around out into the house…Gomez when he’s singing does this for at least one of his numbers…just draws everyone a little bit further into the narrative.)
The Normies, as they’re known, are quite… well… normal. You’ve got the lovely Alice Beineke (Joanna Marinovich) who is textbook Alice Beineke. What does that mean, you ask? As The Beineke Family is a complete musical construct from when the show debuted on Broadway— well Marinovich is serving up the epitome of what an Alice Beineke is supposed to be (and anyone who has seen the show before or heard the cast-recording will understand exactly what that means.) And her flip-switch during “Waiting” is a true ‘lid-off-the-id’ moment. You get bubbly chipper, rhyming saccharine slushing out of Marinovich right up until that moment and then it’s a deep intensity that really makes you chuckle. Brava to Miss Marinovich for her success in the role. And her belt at the end of “Waiting” is truly impressive.
On the opposite side of The Beineke Family, patriarch Malcom Beineke (Emil Brandau) is stoic and bity and not-at-all fun. Until he is. Brandau does an equally good job of flipping the character over, and one of the most impressive features of this particular Mal Beineke is the constant heart-attack-shock that is displayed in an over-the-top fashion every time something crazy happens. Rounding out the Beinekes is ‘the son’ Lucas (Zack Dodson) who is a vocal gem, though the libretto wastes this lovely sound by giving the Lucas character nearly nothing to sing. You get to hear his lovely voice during “Crazier Than You” and it’s really a wonderful blend with Wednesday. The most impressive moment that happens with Dodson’s Lucas is the interaction between him, Gomez, and Wednesday, where Gomez is grilling him about what he wants to be. And Herlinger re-interprets this moment, having Wednesday coach him, with throat clears and head shakes, through answering the questions… including reading from his hand the written note about why he wants to be a medical examiner. (Which comes back clever and clear when Gomez comments later he should be a writer.)
Pugsley (Ethan Buttman) is the stuff of child-like nightmares. That kid could serious be straight out of any one of those creepy horror films where the possessed toys come to life and eat your brains. Buttman delivers terrifying facials all throughout the production, which are rivaled only by Wednesday’s “I will kill you with my glare-stare” facials. Buttman has a sweet voice for “What If?” (possibly one of the most lyrically dissonant songs in the musical theatre canon) and hits an insane falsetto sustain at the end of it. Keep an eye on his full body and facial expressions during “Pulled”; they are way off the charts and will creep you right the heck out.
Speaking of Wednesday (Mo Tacka), that charming little irrepressible ball of malice, is a force to be reckoned with. Channeling a good deal of the movie-character deadpan with their own mingling terror, expressed through shizah-eating grins and terrifying death-glares, Tacka creates a Wednesday Addams that is both hilarious and a little scary. Cue nervous laughter. The looks that Tacka fixes various and sundry characters (as well as audience members with) are enough to make you check twice when leaving the theatre, but at the same time Tacka’s voice is really impressive. Full, clear, and with a well-balanced tone, Tacka tackles “Pulled” with a bubbling vigor that really sets the mode for the rest of the Wednesday Addams’ journey. “One Normal Night” and “Crazier Than You” give Tacka more chances to vocally shine and ultimately you can’t help but enjoy the interpretation presented with this Wednesday Addams.
When you’ve got one Muppet on Meth and one Cool Classy Cucumber playing dueling roles, who are also besotted conjugal companions, you know you’re in for a wild ride when it comes to Gomez and Morticia Addams. (We’ll let you decide who’s the Muppet on Meth and who’s the classy cool cucumber, though it should be blindingly obvious as to which is which.) Greg and Michele Guyton, reprising the roles of Gomez and Morticia Addams (previously seen together at Hereford Community Theatre’s The Addams Family in the summer of 2019) take to the stage once more and they do not disappoint in these principal performances. Both have exceptional voices, both deliver strongly-grounded caricature-based performances, and both find little nuanced ways to make the characters a simultaneous nod to Raul Julia & Angelica Houston and their own unique creation.
Greg Guyton, with over-the-top facial expressions, animated body gestures that take up more stage than the Havre de Grace Opera House has to offer, and an indefatigable energy that the rest of us would like to extrapolate, bottle, and sell for profit, makes for a delirious and delightful Gomez Addams. His strong, smooth voice is perfect for the bouncier, rhythmic, almost-patter of “Trapped” and yet mellows on a dime for “Happy/Sad.” There’s an undeniable vigor that bursts through “Not Today” as well, making Guyton a well-rounded emotional carousel that never stops turning. Comedy and chaos are Guyton’s strong suit, which makes this role a perfect fit, so much so one might say it’s almost method-acting. And his interactions with Morticia are both romantically charming and sincere.
Michele Guyton is a fine fit for the role of Morticia. Reserved, both physically and emotionally, Guyton delivers Morticia-realness the likes of which come highly anticipated with any production of The Addams Family. But she has her charming and smirk-worthy moments too. (Seriously, watch for that high-five with Thing during “Full Disclosure” it’s really funny.) Guyton’s keen sense of how to effectively deliver deadpan humor is razor sharp and highly effective. And her voice is smokey, sultry, and smoldering, much like the role’s originator, Bebe Neuwirth. “Secrets” becomes a flashy exercise in how well Guyton can laud the praises of the ‘perfect marriage’ Morticia and Gomez share, while “Just Around the Corner” is her true showcase moment where she gets to really put her dancing capabilities and vocal prowess to the test. She passes— in true Morticia fashion— with tumultuous clouds of doom, gloom, and delightful despair. It’s a wondrous treat to witness Guyton & Guyton together again for the first time (since the pandemic.)
So what are you waiting for? Death the show is just around the corner! With only eight performances in total, you won’t want to miss your chance to jump into the creepy crypt with these crazy kooks. Catch The Addams Family with Tidewater Players before it closes on May 21st!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
The Addams Family plays through May 21st 2023 in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
To read the interview with Pugsley Addams and Wednesday Addams, click here.
To read the interview with Gomez & Morticia Addams, click here.
