Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University presents ‘The Addams Family’. Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Nick Vargas (Director), David Freeman Coleman (Music Director), Larry Sousa (Choreographer), Jimmy Rotondo (Scenic Designer), Frank Meissner, Jr. (Lighting Designer), Zoë Sundra (Costume Designer), Jenn Butler (Props Designer), Jon King (Sound Designer), Akeem Celestine (Makeup Designer). At WFT@BU, 180 Riverway, Boston, through November 19, 2023.
by Linda Chin
After a warm pre-curtain welcome by Jeri Hammond (Director of Education) and Nick Vargas (Interim Artistic Director) the house lights dim, and the audience is abuzz with anticipation. Yet before the red velvet curtain opens to reveal the world of the show (and its sensational set by Jimmy Rotondo and lighting by Frank Meissner, Jr.) is another surprise. A disembodied hand emerges through the split in the curtain, eliciting some gasps from the crowd (from the younger, middle-aged, or senior patrons – or all three?). But the hand seems more shy, lost, and friendly than scary, lecherous, and frightening and happily finds its place in the spotlight center stage. When the first strains of music from the theme song, the “Buh-buh-buh-bump,” rise from the pit, the hand – right on cue – snaps its fingers twice, then the phrase repeats. The hand is noticeably happier when more of its new friends in the audience join in. Which many of us baby boomers (who grew up with the television show and this opening number on our black-and-white sets) do while giggling and singing along with kooky, ooky, childish glee.
Based on the classic characters by cartoonist Charles (Chas) Addams in The New Yorker, the beloved television series from the 60s, and contemporary film franchises that span three generations, theatre artists Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice, and Andrew Lippa have created the musical version of The Addams Family. It is a perfect season opener for the Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University, whose strongest productions in its proud 40-year history have been diverse and inclusive of multi-generational, multi-cultural artists and audience members.
And it is entirely fitting that the Addams Family matriarch – Grandma – is played by veteran actor and the theatre’s co-founder Jane Staab, who returns to the Wheelock stage for the first time in over five years (after directing and performing in hundreds of shows). In this production, Grandma is a supporting character as written (who I wish was on-stage more) but delivers her lines masterfully, with wisdom and wit. A few examples: regarding one of the show’s big questions of what is normal, anyway, “What’s normal for the spider is a calamity for the fly.” And on aging, “When I break wind, it can start the windmills on an old Dutch painting,” or “Call me a cougar, but I betcha there’s a couple of ninety-year-old hotties out there waiting to take their teeth out and chow down on a Grandma sandwich!” (which in the multi-generational audience might be a possibility).
As one of the mothers of Wheelock Family Theatre (along with co-founders Andi Genser, Susan Kosoff, and the late Anthony Hancock), the wealth of wisdom Staab has lovingly dispensed over the years, e.g., “There are no small roles, only small actors” strongly contribute to this show’s success. This famous quote by the father of modern acting, Konstantin Stanislavski, refers to his requirement that actors who performed in his theater productions engage their roles with equal commitment, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Combined with this reviewer’s belief that musical theatre is the most collaborative of art forms – and at its best seamlessly blends music, drama, dance, and design to advance the storytelling, the creative collaboration of cast, musicians, and production team is what makes this production pop. There are some moments that could trigger or offend (dark themes, death/torture, self-harm, drugs, sexual innuendo, children smoking) – that have created controversy in some school districts in the U.S., the theatre could use a wealthy donor for the sound system, and the 2+ hour run time may be a touch long. But with music direction of David Freeman Coleman (who also conducts the excellent seven-piece orchestra), choreography by Larry Sousa, and direction by Nick Vargas (fun fact: Vargas’ first Wheelock credit was assistant director to Jane Staab for Annie in 2010), this production is in very good hands (snap, snap if you agree).
Besides Grandma, the supporting actors include Pugsley (an adorable and lovable Jack Baumrind, who made his WFT@BU debut in James & the Giant Peach (2019) at age 8, a young person but not a small actor). His number ‘What If’ sparkles, and scenes with Staab depict a special grandchild-grandparent bond that many audience members would yearn for/relate to. Alice and Mal Beineke (aka Mr. and Mrs. Normal), a Hallmark couple who hail from Ohio), perfectly played by the Boston leading lady Leigh Barrett and Joshua Wolf Coleman, in his WFT@BU debut. In contrast to the Addams’ lusty displays of affection, the Beinekes keep a “normal” distance between them. In the scene when they’re walking through Central Park, they remind me of the tourists in Hair who view the hippies with wide-eyed wonder. Lurch, warm, effervescent, and luminous, is played by Sam David Cohen, also making his WFT@BU debut in a big way. The audacious ensemble of the Ancestors, the ghosts of Addams’ past, act, sing, dance up a thunderstorm, show off the choreography by Sousa, costumes by Zoë Sundra, and makeup by Akeem Celestine, and support the leads brilliantly.
Gomez Addams, husband of Morticia and pappa of Wednesday and Pugsley, is perfectly portrayed by Luis Negrón. In his performance, he channels his Kevin Rosario from In the Heights (Wheelock, 2017), who is sometimes conflicted in his love for his daughter and his wife and caught in the middle of their relationship with each other. Last seen on the Wheelock stage as the self-absorbed, husband and child-loathing Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda (2022), the divine Aimee Doherty plays Mrs. Addams – a less macabre and severe, and more maternal mom, more supportive spouse, more vulnerable version of Morticia. And yes, Doherty looks fabulous in the long, black gown that Wednesday describes as the DRESS [low] cut down to Venezuela!
As the young couple who met in Central Park (she was carrying a cross-bow) and are hoping to get their parents’ blessing to get married at a dinner/first meeting between two “very different” families – a scene I can definitely relate to (minus the cross-bow part) – Emilia Tagliani and Timothy Bevens play Wednesday Addams and Lucas Beineke. Tagliani made her Wheelock debut in Little Women, the Broadway Musical (2020), and since then, grew some to play the gruesome 18-year-old princess of the dark. Bevens makes his WFT@BU debut as Lucas but is the recipient of the MA Educational Theatre Guild Award for Best Male Actor and a high school senior with a promising future. Tagliani and Bevens are engaging in their musical numbers, ‘Pulled’ and ‘Crazier Than You.’
Anthony Pires, Jr., who played Doherty’s husband Mr. Wormwood in Matilda (2022), plays Uncle Fester, who underscores American songwriter-singer Fred Small’s message (from ‘Everything Possible’) that “you can be anybody you want to be you can love whomever you will.” Fester’s declaration “You’re probably thinking: what could a fat, bald person of no specific sexuality know about love? But I, too, am in love.” The number ‘The Moon and Me’ early in Act 2, performed by Fester and the Ancestors, was exquisite. And Fester’s pursuit of his long-distance love in the full company finale (with a Fester puppet and Moon designed by Jenn Butler that glowed, thanks to Frank Meissner, Jr.) was heartwarming, affirming, and sent me over the moon.
For tickets and information, go to: https://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/performances/2023-season/the-addams-family/
