I am sure we all remember the scariest moment in any relationship… meeting the inlaws for the first time! Well, ‘normal’ boy Lucas Beineke (played by Fred Valvona) is in for a shock when he visits the parents of his new fiance, Wednesday Addams (played by Ava Cowan). It’s time for the Beineke’s to meet… The Addams Family. (click, click)
Theatre Train and TED Theatre Educational presented The Addams Family, the hilarious musical based on the classic cartoons, TV series and films. There was a strong lead cast of performers taking on the roles of both families alongside the haunting presence of the Ancestors ensemble.
Olly Fry brought his comic skills to the role of Gomez, leading the cast with his great sense of timing, quirky facial expressions and his absurd accent. Mark Simmons and Meg Cooper also brought much of the laughter as the buttoned-up parents of Lucas.
Swapping her Elsa robes for the iconic black dress and long wig, Natalie De Gruchy delivered a superb performance as Morticia Addams. With the subtlest turn of the hand or slight raise of the eyebrow, De Gruchy conveys the morbid matriarch’s frustration with her madcap family. Although no stranger to performing, Natalie is relatively new to musical theatre on the Island and what a great debut to the stage!
One of the standout performances of the night was Callum Davies as the bald oddball Uncle Fester. For reasons I still haven’t quite worked out, Fester falls in love with the moon. It is an opportunity for Davies to showcase his incredible dancing in a lovely duet with the moon on stick. Davies brings such warmth to the role and had the audience in stitches whilst moving a chair into position on stage.
An enormous set along with the iconic costumes transformed the Medina stage into Cemetery Lane. Despite some technical issues with the backing tracks and the quality of the microphones, this tight cast delivered a fun evening of macabre mayhem. I’m looking forward to Theatre Train and TED Theatre Educational’s next production, Bring It On, in the Autumn.
Reviewed by Joe Plumb
IWtheatre 