The Addams Family is one of the most loved musicals around the world, with a great storyline and an Andrew Lippa score that has filled the halls of many a school auditorium over the years. While the musical was famously panned by professional critics, there are many hits in this score and it is surprising that it has not returned to Australia for a professional production in a very long time. Under the watchful eye of Joshua Robson Productions, who have produced some great work lately, the musical has arrived at the Hayes Theatre to delight and dazzle audiences with one or two ‘full disclosures’.

The musical follows Wednesday Addams, who has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, with the two families being about as opposite as you could get. After some back and forth with her family, the Beinekes are eventually invited to dinner at the eccentric Addams home, leading to a whole bunch of mischief, madness and excitement.

The musical requires kookiness, and this production absolutely delivers it. While featuring a small cast, it feels larger than life, creating an energetic production that demands strong execution. Led by Marcus Rivera as Gomez and Erika Heynatz as Morticia, the cast does an excellent job bringing together what is a particularly challenging musical score, with some very tricky moments to execute (especially given how iconic the characters are). Rivera, in particular, is phenomenal as the suave, tango-loving Gomez, combining excellent vocals, dancing and a sheepish charisma that perfectly befits the character to impress the audience.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the cast is Georgia Oom as Pugsley, who takes what is often a relatively thankless role and delivers such an incredible vocal performance of “What If” that she earns arguably the biggest ovation of the night, with her voice having a power and passion that almost feels befitting of the lead role of Wednesday. There is no doubt that Oom is destined for big things on Australian stages, and it is a shame that we only get to see her for a relatively confined part of the show in the lead but she makes every moment count.

Evan Lever also shines as Uncle Fester, bringing a great deal of comedy, vocal prowess and quirkiness to the classic character. With the show’s biggest subplot revolving around Uncle Fester being in love with the moon, director Julia Robertson and set designer Dann Barber do a great job revitalising the role with a hilarious twist during “The Moon and Me”, which really needs to be seen to be believed (I won’t spoil it here).

The slightly weaker moments come when some of the performers struggle with the demanding vocals in Andrew Lippa’s score. Jenny Guigayoma does a great job portraying Wednesday from a character perspective but struggles slightly with the challenging high notes at the end of “Pulled” while the cracking “Waiting”, which is usually a show-stealer, suffers from some vocal strain at times with Teagan Wouters in the role of Alice, leaving the excellent character acting a little more work than would otherwise be required to execute this pivotal scene at the end of the first act. The ensemble was also superb, with sharp choreography and great vocals, with “One Normal Night” a particular highlight while Elliot Aiken doing a fantastic job at the end of the show in particular as Lurch. The show does drag slightly at times, particularly in the second act, but it is still executed extremely well and the energy is maintained throughout, with Barber’s impressive set of the Addams house adding significantly to the lovable but unsettling atmosphere. Even with a few vocal flaws on the challenging score, the cast delivers consistently strong acting performances bringing out both the humour and the heart of the story.

Overall, this is a strong production that showcases both the skills of its performers and the kookiness that makes The Addams Family such an enduring musical in a classic ‘Hayes-style’ production. While some of the challenging vocals do not always land, this is still an immensely fun and entertaining production that will delight and entertain audiences. With many of Sydney’s theatres going dark for the rest of the year, and a Beetlejuice-sized hole in arguably Sydney’s biggest theatre, its kooky cousin seems like the obvious choice for a relatively low budget, excellently executed musical to fill its place. One can only hope producers take note because this is a show that could definitely resonate with Sydney audiences at this time and has something that will appeal to everyone. 

Rating: ★★★★

The Addams Family plays at the Hayes Theatre until 9 August. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: James Reiser