There is so much to love about the Addams Family Musical comedy presented by the Metropolitan Theatre Company of SA Inc., which was originally formed in 1958 as the ‘Metropolitan Light Opera Company’. Performances first took place at the Unley and Norwood Town Halls before moving to the Arts Theatre in 1964, where the Company has remained.
I love that it was performed three streets from my house in a gorgeous little old theatre in Adelaide, The Arts Theatre.
I love that we left home a little bit too late to race there in my high heels, so hubby and I jumped on our scooter and it took us three minutes to scoot there, longer in fact to chain the scooter up outside.
I love that I could pull this old dress out of the wardrobe and nobody batted and eyelid. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been complimented on my outfit so much that I might wear it again!?!
I love that everybody was chatting in the foyer before entry, like a bunch of old friends.
I love that you could stand outside the stage door after the show to chat to the artists, if you could recognise them that is, as they left to celebrate their opening night.
Even my husband who gets dragged along to these things, and he loved it, which is a really really big compliment coming from him.
But now to the important thing, the performance
Fans of the Addams Family you will discover and love these actors and their characters immediately.
The show is brilliantly cast :
Ben Todd (Young Frankenstein, Spamalot,Guys & Dolls) playing Gomez Adams.
Selena Britz (One Touch of Venus, All That Jazz, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs) Morticia Adams.
Vanessa Crouch (The King & I, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hello Dolly!) Wednesday.
John McKay (Jack The Ripper, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pirates of Penzance) Uncle Fester.
Elizabeth Lee (characters such as The Beggar Woman, Hedy La Rue, Mrs Higgins) Grandma.
Tom Sheldon (Winnie The Pooh, The Sound of Music, Hairspray) Lucas Beineke.
Krystal Dally (Annie, Nice Work If You Can Get It) Alice Beineke.
Andrew Mayer (The Boyfriend, Fiddler on the Roof, Pirates of Penzance) Mel Beineke.
Jason Clark (Le Mis, Grease) is Lurch.
Pugsley shared between 14-year-old Phoebe Clark and 11-year-old Elijah Proctor.
And also a cast of 15 ancestors who were absolutely perfect support to the story.
Each main cast member had their time to shine with their song. As each cast member sang, I thought, this is the show stealer, until the next one, and I thought, this is the show stealer, and the next one, and I thought, this is the show stealer!!
If I really had to choose, I would say Vanessa. Wednesday was mesmerising, and you couldn’t take your eyes off her. Vanessa appeared in her first show at age five, and her state experience is evident.
The storyline is fabulous, giving each of the actors their moment in the sun.
It has a great message about the importance of family, mother-daughter struggles, long-term husband-and-wife dynamics, and the trials and tribulations of bringing new members into families.
Which coincidentally coincided with the first time that our eldest daughter brought her partner home to our house to meet us and her four siblings for a movie night tonight, so that aspect of the story was particularly relevant to my husband and I.
It was a long show, but it was so much fun that you didn’t feel it was too long.
A bonus was that during the break, we could order some lattes on an app, and my husband walked down to the On The Run on the corner, arriving back just in time for act two with some nice hot coffees.
The production team consisted of Caroline Adams, Director, Jane Feast, Musical Director, and Jacinta Vistolli, Choreographer. They should all be very proud of what they have created.
The only disappointment of the night was that I would’ve loved to have seen more guests in the house.
If you can get out and see this show, support our local talent, support our local venues, remember that these guys do this for the love of it and do a spectacular job, so let’s get behind them.
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
