Cassandra Angerosa, Grant Thackray, Amanda Webb, Lawrence Ingalls, Madeline Schultz, and Sander Acheron. (Photo by Michael Hardy)
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Long Beach Playhouse
Through August 4
RECOMMENDED
Bringing a new beau to meet the family is hard enough. When that family is the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addams family, comedic chaos is bound to ensue. Under the direction of Gregory Cohen, Long Beach Playhouse’s production of The Addams Family: The Musical is polished and playful, bolstered by well-acted renditions of iconic characters.
In this musical adaptation, Wednesday Addams (Isabel Van Wye) is all grown up and ready to infuriate her parents with the most shocking choice possible getting hitched to her sweet, normie boyfriend, Lucas Beineke (Quinn Vann). Afraid of her mother Morticia’s (Amanda Webb) judgment, she swears her father Gomez (Lawrence Ingalls) to secrecy after telling him about her engagement. But when Lucas brings his straight-laced parents Mal (JD Rinde) and Alice (Serena Bottiani-Henderson) to the Addams’ home for dinner, both families are forced to get in touch with their dark sides.
Notwithstanding a few standout songs, the musical itself suffers from a meandering plot that gets stuck in seemingly arbitrary character motivations. But despite any issues with the libretto, this Long Beach Playhouse production takes the opportunity to hit every joke and let the characters shine. In particular, Webb as Morticia and Van Wye as Wednesday are able to strike a perfect balance between campy and authentic. A star is born in young performer Josie Bella Magaña, who plays Pugsley with charm, sweetness, and a wicked sense of humor. The chorus of Addams ancestors also bring their A-game in making each one of their ensemble characters unique.
While the set design (David Scaglione) might have benefitted from a few more furniture pieces to fully immerse the audience in the Addams family home, the pitch-perfect gray-scale costumes (Christina Bayer) and makeup design pay homage to the aesthetics of the original comics and TV show. This musical is more likely to incite laughter than terror, but spending time with the Addams family is still delightfully freaky.
Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri. – Sat. 8 pm, Sun. 2 pm; through Aug. 4. https://lbplayhouse.org/tickets/box-office/ Running time: two hours and 25 minutes including one 15-minute intermission.
