Play Review: The Addams Family
The popular Broadway musical “The Addams Family” was brought to the Stone Theatre and reenacted by the talented students of the theatre department. The play goes through the unusual and bizarre life of the Addams family. The artwork displayed on both sides of the play represents the history of the Addams. The actors did an excellent job of giving the audience a better understanding of the characters by exposing their true feelings throughout the play.
The actors really showed how talented they are in this play. The immersion factor created by the perfect imitation of the Addams Family’s was fantastic. They respond in line with how the true Addams would have responded. The actors did a great job of keeping the audience interested in the dysfunctional family. The ancestors were a large reason for getting Lucas and Wednesday together. They will remain in the real world and are not allowed to return back to the dead unless they help the young couple. The ancestors were responsible for the change of weather when Lucas’s family was planning on leaving but ended up staying due to a tornado created by the ancestors. In addition, when the ancestors helped Pugsley take the potion from his grandmother, it actually kind of let everything fall into place, even though the potion was intended for Wednesday.
In this play there were many different props that contributed to make the play comical. One prop that stood out was Wednesdays crossbow. The crossbow showed the audience that Wednesday is not interested in the things that most other girls are. Another prop that stood out was Wednesdays torture device. When she put Pugsley in the device, he apparently enjoys the feeling, which makes the whole scenario unusual and hilarious. All of the properties help prove to the audience that the Addams are not your typical American family. There were multiple songs in the play that were meant to portray the mental state of the characters. In Gomez’s song about his secret, the true emotions and feelings of the character were exposed. By speaking to the audience about his secret, he revealed what was to come next out of his situation. After Alice drinks the potion that was not meant for her, she sings a song explaining her feelings. She revealed her family’s issue and how she was really feeling on the inside.
The costumes chosen for each character was appropriate given the circumstances of his or her personality. The grayscale used for the costumes contributed to the overall mood of the play. The adults in the Addams family wore black deathly like clothing coming off as mysterious and spooky. When Wednesday finds love, she wears a brilliant yellow dress because she finally found what made her feel alive. Her brother wore a black and white striped shirt Lastly the Lucas’s father wore a business suit, her mother a bright yellow dress as well and Lucas blue jeans and a shirt with a sweatshirt; the typical teenage look in America, nowadays. The social status in this production did not appear to mean much when it came to dress, nor did occupation. For these were not matters at hand when each family is trying to act normal and not who they really are.
The Addams family is a great play filled with many exciting and unusual circumstances. Although they are not like the average American family, they are much better. They are comfortable in their skin and very secure. Love seems to be a very big theme amongst their family and they live for happiness. So maybe they’re not fond of smiling or wearing bright colors to show others that they are happy, but it doesn’t matter. They are happier and more loving than most families and it shows, without all the bright colored clothing and excessive smiles that we typically associate happiness with.
