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The Addams Family
Cary Amateur Theatrical Society
Ansford Academy
Thursday 16th February 2017
Having enjoyed CATS’ shows over the years I know that 1) There is always a very warm welcome from the Front of House Team; 2) The folks delivering the show will always give it their all and 3) The local audience will love the show. On Thursday evening my wife, Angie and I were, indeed royally welcomed by charming Producer John Whitchurch, our host for the evening. So far, so good.
We were shown to our seats in a full auditorium that was buzzing with anticipation. The pre-show state of the stage was interesting: An impressive tower, stage right adorned with ivy, a spooky skeleton in a cage and amazingly, what appeared to be a whole, real tree! The ivy vine snaked across the front of the stage to another, smaller tower, stage left. There had clearly been some serious work done to create the setting for the show.
A tight spotlight on the closed curtains revealed the bare hand of Thing poking through and beckoning us. It was a shame that a finger of Thing’s other hand also poked through, holding the tabs together as the great fun ‘illusion’ was perhaps not as striking as it might have been. However this was instantly forgotten as the curtains opened to reveal a fabulous tableau of the Addams Family themselves.
As a stage picture this tableau was a great sign of things to come: The family’s patriarch, Gomez (played with great Latino fun by Paul Brolly), resplendent in pin-striped suit and excellent black and white shoes; The matriarch Morticia (played with absolute style, elegance and no little glamour by Vicky Whitchurch), stunning in her trademark tight black dress; Wednesday the mildly psychotic daughter (played with energy and charm by Elena Morgan), the strangely masochistic son Pugsley (played with clarity and confidence by Harrison Caine); Fester, the peculiar brother to Gomez (played with a gentle touch by Quintin Mitchell); Grandma, Mother to either Morticia or Gomez – even they did not know which!- (played with suitably OTT nuttiness by Caroline Lee) and of course, Lurch the family retainer (played with great presence by Duncan Wright). The look of the characters was remarkable and the costume and make-up teams should be very proud. Later the family is joined by the unfortunate Beinekes: The Dad, Mal Beineke (played with great assurance by Theo Simon); The Mom, Alice Beineke (played with real character by Amanda Lowder) and The Son, Lucas Beineke (played in a convincingly nerdy style by Lucas Edwards).
The Addams Family picture is completed by the fabulous Ancestors: Beautifully costumed in pale, ghostly versions of the clothes in which they died and complete with gothic make-up, The Addams Ancestors provided a great looking chorus who delivered some impressive dance and strong singing throughout. Bethan, Iona, Isla, Abbie, Lucy, Lynne, Amy, Rebecca, Alex, James, Rachel, Clive, Elisha, Charmayne, Jack, Natasha, Grace, Lesley, Jo, Gaye and Lucy should be very proud of their substantial contribution to the show.
Choreographer (and Co-Director) Amanda Thornton should be pleased that all of the hard rehearsal-work by the cast paid off well in the group routines and especially in the quite impressive Tango and Passo Doble sequence for Gomez and Morticia.
Musical Director Mark Tromans elicited some good singing performances from individual performers and Ensemble alike. There were one or two ‘pitchy’ moments for some but these were carried by the confidence of delivery. The recorded tracks worked pretty well and the new sound system allowed for good, musical clarity too.
First time Director Luke Whitchurch should be very pleased with his debut. He made some nice directorial touches: The split-scenes were a very neat touch, allowing a good flow to the show; Mrs Beineke’s reaction to Fester ‘doffing’ his wig; The full cast craning forwards to see the collapsing Mrs B during the banquet scene and the overall appearance of the Dining Room, complete with Ancestors holding candles up and down the lovely staircases were just a few examples.
Though I very much enjoyed my evening with CATS I cannot pretend that this was the perfect show: Control of pace tended to vary a little and there was slight feel of ‘ a game of two halves’ – the first Act being crisper and better paced than the second and whilst the show is a lot of fun there was occasionally too much of a hint of pantomime for me: the Terry Pratchettesque Death for example. Plus, I was rather disappointed that ‘announcements’ were made at the end of the show: some considerable effort had been made to create a theatrical experience which was rather spoiled by this very Adram finish. However, these points notwithstanding and judging by the rapturous reaction of your full-house audience this was a very successful show and as predicted, your cast certainly did ‘give it their all’.
It has been such a pleasure to watch shows at CATS develop over the years and it is exciting to see a new, young Director getting a start. I look forward to next year’s show with great anticipation.
Thank you for inviting me