By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
In a season of tricks and treats, “The Addams Family” at Ocean State Theatre Company is definitely the latter.
Although the show ran just over a year on Broadway, with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth heading up the original cast as Gomez and Morticia, it’s a charming musical filled with some side-splitting laughs, plenty of macabre moments and the Addams gang that we’ve all come to know and love.
The musical centers on, perhaps surprisingly, the story of Wednesday falling in love. That’s right, dark, angsty Wednesday has found a mate, and she wants her family to be “normal” enough to impress his family at dinner. If you play along, it’s a fun setup for some pretty obvious punchlines, but sometimes it’s a bit hard to believe that crossbow-wielding, torture-inducing Wednesday could ever be anything but proud of her clan.
Steve Gagliastro is the perfect blend of charming, charismatic and laugh-out-loud funny as the heavily-accented patriarch, Gomez. He gets to show off his tender side (and his terrific tenor) in “Happy/Sad,” in which he talks to Wednesday about the emotional highs and lows of life that sometime hit at the same time. At Gomez’s side, slinking her way through the show in her iconic, black gown (with a neckline “cut down to Venezuela”) is Katie Anne Clark as Morticia. Clark’s Morticia is cold as ice, but also fiercely loving – and she gets to show off her dancing skills in the steamy “Tango de Amor.”
Kayla Thomas is Wednesday, who comes to OSTC by way of Florida. She’s got a lovely voice for the role, and does a nice job navigating her way between two Wednesdays: the girl who only wears black and the girl who suddenly wants to wear bright yellow.
Pugsley is played by 13-year-old Alexander LeBlanc, who shows off an impressive range in “What If?” where he wonders if the Wednesday he remembers (ahem, the one who nails his tongue to the floor) will ever return from her stupor of puppy love.
Fred Frabotta is delightful as Uncle Fester, who gets a silly, if not a bit of a non sequitor of a musical number called “The Moon and Me,” where he literally – as Fester is apt to do – falls in love with the moon. Connie Anderson is the kooky Grandma and Joseph Torello is Lurch, who saves his best moment for last.
Then there’s the Beinekes, the family whose son Wednesday has fallen for. Brody Karn is Lucas Beineke, and it’s easy to see why Wednesday would swoon. His parents, Alice and Mal, are played by Jennifer Mischley and Jason Loete. They’re the oil to the Addams’ water and it’s great fun to see them thrust into the midst of the family’s debauchery. Mischley is a particular hoot in her number “Waiting,” which comes near the end of Act 1.
An ensemble of Addams family “ancestors” rounds out the cast. They’re a collection of singing and dancing ghouls that are meant to see Wednesday through this journey of love, though it’s not always clear exactly how or why they’re doing that.
The production has a delightfully creepy set by Clifton Chadick and some atmospheric lighting cues by Aaron Meadow, which gives the whole show that eerie, Halloween-y feel.
Overall, the production is full of laughs and makes a great night out for the family, especially during the Halloween season. Don’t go expecting to hear the Addams family theme song sung (though you will get to snap along at the top and bottom of the show) and be prepared for a more contemporary sounding score that sets the tone for a decidedly modern twist on the classic Addams family tale.
“The Addams Family” runs now through October 25 at Ocean State Theatre Company, 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick. For tickets and information visit oceanstatetheatre.org.
