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REVIEW | The Addams Family - The Musical - UK tour, The Lowry - Salford
- Harry Brogan
- Aug 13
- 3 min read
AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review
The Addams Family follows Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, who is all grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows. She’s fallen in love with a sweet, young man from a respectable family. With his cherished Morticia in the dark will Gomez manage to keep his daughter’s secret until the two families meet for a fateful dinner with hilarious consequences? Join them, plus Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley, Grandma and more for a heart-warming story of love, family and friendship… with a twist!
One of the many highlights with this production was the talented cast, whether this was the principals or the ensemble. For this show, we had Maria Garrett covering Lauren Jones as Wednesday, Garrett had amazing vocals through her solo’s, brilliant comedic timing, and good chemistry throughout with Jacob Fowler, who played Garrett’s on stage partner, Lucas.
In addition to Fowler and Garrett, Lesley Joseph and Clive Rowe had amazing comedic value as Grandma and Uncle Fester, with Rowe’s solo in Act 2 being one of my favourite songs in the show; I thoroughly enjoyed their presence alongside Alexandra Burke as Morticia, and Ricardo Afonso as Gomez. I’d also like to highlight the brilliant ensemble of this show- Abigail Brodie, Jak Allen-Anderson, J.R. Ballantyne, Eamonn Cox, Siobhan Diffin, Chloe Gentles and Sario Solomon, all of whom were fantastic in their respective ensemble roles, and cover at least one principal role. Everyone within the cast worked brilliantly together to give the show the family friendly atmosphere required, and kept the audience engaged throughout.
In addition to the brilliance of the cast, the overall plot and music was something that made the show as enjoyable as it was. The book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, manages to create a family friendly story which had a very good pace, and was full of laughs from beginning to end. For a family show The Addams Family plot was full of substance that was entertaining, whilst being able to hold its own in a highly competitive touring environment within the country. Andrew Lippa wrote the music and lyrics for the show, and each song helped portray the mood of each scene fantastically, and was highly entertaining, which was perfect for a family friendly audience, and theatre goers alike.
The creative team helped portray the mood of the show throughout, whether this was through choreography, or the sound and lighting.
Alistair David choreographed the show, and there was a diverse range of styles throughout, with my personal highlight being the Argentine Tango that Burke and Afonso led at the end of Act 2.
On top of this, the lighting and sound, designed by Ben Cracknell (Lighting) and Richard Brooker (Sound), complemented each other to a high standard, which helped create the intended atmosphere that Brickman and Elice wanted when writing the show.
Other design aspects by Diego Pitarch, such as costumes, were also brilliant, and each character had their distinct style, based on the original characters of Charles Addams’ work.
Overall, The Addams Family is the perfect family show for the summer holidays, bringing a light hearted 2 ½ hour show to the stage, with a unique story that brings audiences together to see the iconic characters from the films. A strong cast and creative team have come together, and are touring the UK for the rest of the month.
★★★★.5
The Addams Family play at the Lowry until Saturday 16th of August, before continuing touring to Canterbury and Blackpool.
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