The Addams Family - [03.09.10]

On Tuesday, March 9, Grace and I saw The Addams Family in its second day of previews.

Our train was a little late, but we still got into Penn at the right time so we walked right to the subway and our train was coming in right then, so we hopped on and went on our way to the York Theatre. We got out at the right exit this time, so we were literally right next to the theatre and didn't have to search for it like last time.

So, we go downstairs and go up to the box office to get tickets to see Yank at the end of the month (my second time!). And I’ll just say, without going into too many details, that I almost had the most awkward moment of my life. Twice. But I got front row seats, so it’s all good.

After that little excursion, Grace and I stopped by the St. James and got tickets for American Idiot. April 8! We're excited.

Then we went to Juniors and had a ninja waiter!!! He was really good because he was constantly refilling my water glass, so that was pretty awesome. But at one point, we were eating our cake and he reaches over the little wall and steals our ketchup (we were at a booth on the end parallel between the bar and the big window overlooking Shubert Alley). So we were like whoa sneaky. Then he puts it back with the same ninja-like move. It was funny.

So then we went over to our theatre for the show.

Our seats were way up in the very back row and I was sitting next to an old woman who thought it was okay to make comments to her husband during the show. No, that's not acceptable.

THE SHOW



It was not the train wreck I was expecting, but it wasn't a quality piece of theatre either. It was fun and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't great. I think it would have made a better play instead of a musical. You know, since it was apparently necessary to adapt this for the stage.

The score was forgettable. I didn't like the opening number. There were like three (maybe four, tops) songs that I liked. I liked Wednesday's first song, called "Pulled" and the Wednesday/Lucas duet in act two called "Crazier Than You." The "One Normal Night" song was okay. That was about it. But yeah, the score was nothing special.

The plot wasn’t too great either. It felt more like a bunch of interconnected scenes that didn't really have much to do with the main plot. Like, Uncle Fester had this song called "The Moon and Me" which was basically a scene/song about how he's in love with the moon. It was hilarious and really cool to watch, but it fit nowhere in the plot, really. But it was probably one of the best parts of the show.

Even though it was disappointing plot-wise, the book was hilarious. I was laughing so much. So that sort of made up for the bad score.

Costumes, set, make up = A+

The cast was incredible and full of talent.

Jackie Hoffman stole every scene she was in. So amazing. She was just hilarious and had some great lines.

Uncle Fester and Lurch were really funny as well.

Everyone makes a big deal about Nathan Lane. He was good. It was cool to see him live. He was very funny, but sort of the same that Nathan Lane always does.

It was really awesome to see Bebe Neuwirth as well. I thought she did a great job.

I've accidentally stalked Krysta Rodriguez to every Broadway show she's done. Grace has seen everything except Spring Awakening. But I like her a lot. Her voice sounded not as awesome as I thought she was, but she was good. And I think she had a wig in the beginning, but then she did the rest of the show with her real hair. But she was good.

Wesley Taylor! He's adorable. He also has a really great voice that I enjoyed hearing not in a German accent. He had good chemistry with Krysta.

I love Carolee Carmello! She was great, as was the guy who played her husband.

And Pugsley was too cute. I think that's everything.

So, in short: The cast is amazing, the book is hilarious but the plot is eh, the score wasn't that great, and the costumes and set etc were awesome. I recommend it anyway. It was a fun show, worth seeing just for the talent in it. If the ticket price doesn't skyrocket, I would consider going back maybe at the end of the summer to see what has changed. It was only the second preview, so for all I know, the score might completely change.

Then we headed out to the stagedoor and met almost everyone. Carolee Carmello came out, but she didn’t sign. At least not for us. Nathan Lane was the only person who didn’t come out at all, but it was still cool to see him live.

Krysta Rodriguez:




Adam Riegler:



Wesley Taylor:




John Astin (original Gomez from the tv show):



Bebe Neuwirth:




Playbill:





That's it for The Addams Family! Our next 12 Months 12 Musical show is American Idiot on April 8. However, I've seen a handful of shows between this and Billy Elliot and will be doing a review post or two about those, so check back this weekend if you're interested. Shows include: Fanny, Memphis (with Bryan Fenkart as Huey), Yank!, and In the Heights (with Corbin Bleu and other cast changes).