Americana brings alive dancing, singing Addams Family

By Rich Fahey

PLYMOUTH – It has always seemed perfectly logical that the members of the Addams Family first found life in cartoons by Charles Addams in The New Yorker magazine.

When they arrived – in glorious black and white – on TV in 1964, the cast, led by John Astin and Carolyn Jones, seemed just right.

Now those same characters are onstage singing and dancing, and the results – hilarious, uproarious, and, yes, surprisingly sweet – are up there for all to enjoy in the Americana Theatre Company’s production of “The Addams Family,” subtitled “A New Musical,” now at The Spire Center for the Performing Arts through July 26.

The score by Andrew Lippa (“The Wild Party”) is in perfect sync with the ultra-witty book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice that finds the core of each of the iconic characters from the TV show.

At the center of the musical is the issue of family dynamics, and that makes it something everyone in the audience can identify with. Daughter Wednesday Addams (Finley Ryan Gould) has confided to father Gomez Addams (Derek Grant Martin) that she plans to marry boyfriend Lucas Beineke (Caleb Gould), asking Gomez not to tell her mother Morticia (Payton Gobeille).

The couple pride themselves on not keeping secrets, so Gomez is in a tight spot. When the secret gets spilled…

Both Goulds are pitch-perfect, their characters so different and with an awkward at times but ultimately endearing chemistry, and both boast fine singing voices.

Gomez Addams is one of many roles Martin seems born to play, and his Latin Lothario, who cuts a mean tango with lovely wife Morticia (Payton Gobeille), is a charming combination of wit and passion. He tosses off bon mots and one-liners with equal abandon and, happily, Gobeille is right there with him, proving his equal –and then some – when push comes to shove.

But this is a true ensemble piece, and each of the characters will find a place in the sun. There’s the deranged Uncle Fester (Nick Hancock), in love with the moon (“The Moon and Me”). Lurch (Jesse M. Sullivan), the towering butler, merely grunts until the chips are down and he shows what’s within. Grandmama (Brian W. Kenerson) may or may not be related to anyone else in the family but is supportive of her grandson Pugsley (Austin Dann). He is scared that if Wednesday leaves, there will be no one to administer the torture he thrives on.

The 1-2 comic punch of Erin Friday and David Friday as Alice and Mal Beineke, Lucas’s parents, are in for the dinner party for the ages at the Addams mansion as they meet their prospective in-laws.

Wednesday says it best. “We’re the Addams. They’re from Ohio.”

The Ancestors — Karly Friday, Samuel Rosen, Abrielle Chapin, Mirand Sullivan, and Jude Sullivan — are spirits who inhabit the Addams home in Central Park and gladly join in on the fun, especially the many production numbers.

And they are great fun, thanks to Martin’s choreography and the Lippa score. There’s the introductory number “When You’re an Addams” and a parlor game gone wrong in the numbers “Full Disclosure Part I” and Full Disclosure Part II.”

In Act II, highlights include Morticia and The Ancestors in “Just Around the Corner,” the lovely “Happy Sad” with Gomez and Wednesday, and the Beinecke family and Wednesday in “Crazier Than You.” And what would an Addams musical be without Gomez and Morticia’s “Tango de Amore?”

Director Marianne Savell has successfully overseen the production, parlaying adroit casting and the impeccable comic timing of the performers, many of whom have long associations with Americana during its annual summer and winter residencies in downtown Plymouth. With so many over-the-top characters, the production remains grounded well enough to make sure the show’s messages – tolerance of individuality, the importance of family — ring true.

As a small professional troupe, Americana has punched above its weight when it comes to production values, largely because of the ability of some members to wear more than one hat. In addition to performing and choreographing, Martin, recently named Director of Theatre and Dance at Liberty University, created a lovely Gothic set that allows the action to move from a family graveyard to Central Park, to the rooms of the mansion. Kenerson and Gobeille also designed costumes.

Music direction is by Sarah Troxler, Jenny DaSilva is the stage manager, lighting is by Heather Crocker and sound design by Emily Payson and Pat Dzierzak.

There’s no disguising it when the cast and crew are having a ball putting on a show for you. Just sit back and enjoy.

The Americana Theatre Company production of “The Addams Family, a New Musical.” Performed from July 9-26 at The Spire Center for the Performing Arts, Plymouth. For tickets, go to Americanatheatre.org.