Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa
Director: Matthew White
Concert adaptations of cult-favourite musicals have become a bit of a habit in London recently. The most recent offering, a musical adaptation of The Addams Family at the London Palladium, makes its mark as one of the greatest – in scale and quality.
The beloved family is brought to life by a star-studded cast, with Ramin Karimloo and Michelle Visage leading as Gomez and Morticia respectively. Like any adaptation of this legendary clan, this production relies on strong comedy performances – which each actor has in the bag. The audience is invested from the outset, clicking along to the instantly recognisable theme tune, and Andrew Lippa’s highly appealing score takes the reins from there on in.
The heart of The Addams Family musical is an unexpected romance narrative surrounding Wednesday Addams. The famously sullen daughter finds her dark demeanour peeling away as love enters her life in the form of Lucas, from the frightfully normal and conservative Beineke family. When Wednesday invites her future in-laws over to dinner at the Addams mansion, delightfully silly chaos ensues.
Beneath the Rolodex of witty humour, parts of Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book can occasionally drag in less capable hands. Sam Buttery as Fester is an engaging host, however, and bears the silliest sub-plot with endearing naïveté.
Karimloo is the evening’s biggest hit as Gomez, bringing his renowned vocals to the characterful role and soaring through the melodies with ease. Comedy isn’t the first skill one might attribute to Karimloo, who has made a career as a serious leading man, yet he proves to have a natural funny bone. He delights in every way as the charismatic and lovable father trying to keep his family together.
Visage is no stranger to the West End and commands the stage with a pleasingly camp performance, appropriate for this quirky production. Some may protest the animation of her Morticia, as she offers a notably more expressive presentation of the character than the iconic Anjelica Huston. This does not detract from the production, however, and Visage lands all of her jokes with ease.
Putting her own spin on Wednesday Addams, who is not only a fan favourite of but also now a Netflix hit, Chumisa Dornford-May shines bright. She makes a quick impression with her impressively powerful vocals, as does Nicholas McLean as her younger brother Pugsley. Yet her acting performance impresses equally as she conjures up a cool, confident, badass interpretation of the role which feels new.
Simple set design and detailed costumes, both by Diego Pitarch, support the production which feels more like a slightly modest attempt at a full-on production than a simple concert presentation. For one thing, choreographer Alistair David has gone above and beyond with dance routines which threaten to steal the whole show. Aside from some early technical errors, the evening runs impressively smoothly for such an ambitious ‘concert’ presentation.
The Addams Family has remained a pop culture staple through its delightfully entertaining take on the macabre; putting family first within the weirdest of settings. The musical adaptation builds on this sweetly and the current Palladium presentation, in particular, makes for a highly crowd-pleasing experience.
Runs until 13 February 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Highly appealing
