"The Addams Family" performance review

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium held a performance of “The Addams Family” on April 1 and 2 at 7 p.m.

“The Addams Family” is based on characters created by Charles Addams originally for a single-panel comic series. Since then, they have appeared on television, film and in this instance on the stage.

The musical originated on Broadway in April 2010 with music from Andrew Lippa. This production was part of a US tour that began on Feb. 25.

The musical follows the Addams family, a ghoulish family who are delighted by all things miserable.

The family is comprised of Gomez, the father of the house, and his wife, Morticia. They have two children, Wednesday and Pugsley. Other family members include Uncle Fester and the grandmother. They also have a tall, mumbling butler named Lurch.

The musical opens with the song “When You’re an Addams,” where the entire family explains what being an Addams exactly means with lyrics like “you have to put some poison in your day.”

The plot kicks off when Wednesday tells her father that she is in love with a boy named Lucas and wants to marry him.

Wednesday asks her father to keep it a secret, putting him in a difficult situation with his wife Morticia, whom he has never kept anything from.

Lucas, as well as his parents, end up being invited to the Addams' house for dinner. Lucas’s father, Mal, is a no-nonsense businessman, while his mother, Alice, is a bubbly poet.

Both Lucas and Wednesday beg their families to act “normal” during the dinner in the song “One Normal Night.”

When Lucas and his family arrive at the Addams residence, the family does their best to act normal in front of the guests.

This led to a highlight of the show where Uncle Fester ran onstage with a football and proceeded to do a “We Are” chant with the audience.

Wednesday’s brother, Pugsley does not become a fan of Lucas and worries that Wednesday will not have time for him anymore in the song “What If,” where he sings, “What if she never tortures me anymore.”

In an attempt to break the two up, Pugsley steals a truth serum from his grandmother, hoping Wednesday will drink it.

Act 1 ends with everyone playing a game called “Full Disclosure,” where everyone drinks from a chalice and tells a secret of theirs. Here, Uncle Fester reveals to everyone who the love of his life is: the moon.

Pugsley then pours the truth serum in the chalice, but instead of Wednesday drinking it, it is accidentally drunk by Alice.

It leads to her going completely wild and singing the song “Waiting,” in which she exclaims how the husband she once knew is not there anymore.

This greatly angers Mal and leads to him wanting to take off, but before he can, Wednesday and Lucas reveal to everyone that they are getting married.

It is also revealed to Morticia that Gomez was keeping that a secret from her, a fact that infuriates her.

The act ends with everyone arguing, and to make sure no one can leave just yet, the Addams ancestors conjure up a giant storm.

Act 2 of the show looked to resolve all the conflicts established in Act 1.

The act starts with Lucas and Wednesday fighting when Lucas says he is not crazy enough to run away. This leads to Wednesday doubting their relationship.

This is resolved later on during the song “Crazier Than You,” when he proves to Wednesday that he is crazy and that he would die for her when he puts an apple on his head and allows Wednesday to shoot an arrow at it while she is blindfolded.

Also, during this song, Mal looks to make things right with his wife Alice. He does this by finally letting go and bringing back the version of himself that Alice fell in love with.

Finally, Gomez apologizes to Morticia and surprises her with a vacation. The two reconcile, and Morticia gives Wednesday her blessing to marry Lucas.

Pugsley confesses his wrongdoing but is celebrated by all for inadvertently bringing everyone together.

The show concludes with the marriage of Lucas and Wednesday and the song “Move Toward the Darkness” with a solo from Lurch, who had only spoken in grunts throughout the rest of the show.

A notable aspect of this production was that Wednesday was played by Melody Munitz, a PSU alum who graduated from the university in 2022 as valedictorian with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology.

She, as well as the rest of the cast, does a wonderful job at depicting these iconic characters. It is obvious they know exactly who their characters are and play them well.

Special shout-outs to Chris Carsten and Sarah Mackenzie Baron, whose depictions of Uncle Fester and Alice, respectively, both steal every scene they are in with both their acting and singing ability.

The production aspect was also quite impressive, with elaborate set pieces littered with detail. The orchestra also sounded fantastic throughout.

Nikolai Wagner is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To email him, contact njw5648@psu.edu.