Ah, the intoxicating smell of the graveyard.
Forever the champion of local productions, I am always delighted when I see one where you can’t tell the difference between amateur societies who pay for the pleasure, and the professionals, who get paid for it. And this was the case with Bournville Musical Theatre Company (BMTC) and their offering of The Addams Family.
I have an admission. The Addams Family is not high on my list of favourite musicals. I find Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s story basic at best with sub plots that don’t go anywhere. And in the past, I have been underwhelmed by some of Andrew Lippa’s songs which come across as fillers and don’t move the plot along. However, the fact I still enjoyed The Addams Family shows BMTC did their job. Amateur or professional? If you didn’t already know, an audience would have believed this production was part of a major tour due to the quality being of the highest standard. Everything 100% throughout with no negatives from cast and crew.
Let’s start by meeting the family. John Morrison starred as Gomez and was instantly at home in the role, bringing us a character so recognisable and more of a Gomez than Luis Guzman whose portrayal in the hit TV series, Wednesday, I didn’t warm to. Joining Morrison at the top of their game was Lily Moore who played the vampish Morticia, also capturing her character. It says it all when you have witnessed these actors perform before, but don’t see them now, only the personalities they are creating. That was also the case with Lewis Doley who truly was Fester. All the mannerisms and persona were there. One of the best characterisations I have seen in a long time.
Now, I had never seen Meg Donovan in a full show before, but it was obvious as to the huge amount of work and skill that went in to being Wednesday Addams. So more difficult bearing in mind how much the character has been on TV in the past year. This was an excellent performance. Then, as Lurch, we had Randy Johnson who had the unenviable task of having to keep still and straight faced for much of the time, but the fact that the audience loved and reacted to this character showed just how well the job was done. Rounding off the family were a couple more Morrison’s in Viv (Grandma) and Andrew (Pugsley). Again, excellent in all areas.
The plot of this show is that Wednesday is in love and wants to introduce her boyfriend to the family. And that’s it. But to do this you need to have a boyfriend, therefore, meet the parents. Stuart McDiarmid slotted into being Lucas Beineke with ease, giving a polished performance. Likewise, Phil Snowe was great as the father, Mal, displaying the horrified realisations of what are we getting ourselves into? Finally, in the principals, Lisa Colvin-Grieve was outstanding as Alice Beineke, a character who goes through a huge transformation and loses the plot. So entertaining.
A major plus of this show is that the scope for ensemble is endless. With the inclusion of ancestors, who get a good deal of stage time, each individual production can create their own ancestors and all cast are accommodated. Here, each played their parts well, and were creepy indeed, decked out in white with likewise faces.
Stand out numbers in the show include When You’re an Addams, Pulled, Let’s Live Before We Die, The Moon and Me and a special shout out to Pugsley’s What If? Then the Full Discloser scene rounds off Act One perfectly. My favourite moment in the show is when Gomez and Morticia both realise they thought Grandma was each other’s mother, and that she may not be related to them after all.
In production, this was Chloe Turner’s first time as director after years being in a leading role or choreography, and what an excellent job she made of it. Always something going on with movement and delivery spot on. It was also a family affair with Chloe’s sister, Sadie Lovelady once again taking the helm in choreography and keeping the highest standards that BMTC audiences have come to expect over the years. Finally, Chris Corcoran was there as musical director, as always producing incredible sounds with the cast and 12-piece band.
There are only a handful of tickets available for the remaining performances. Therefore, don’t delay and grab them now, while you can.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt
* Photos taken from social media.
Antony N Britt - Author 