By Lindsey Kelstrom
What a delightful evening I had with my family watching Four Seasons Theatre Company’s The Addams Family in Cache Valley Friday night. It is a tastefully depicted, family friendly production perfect for this time of year, which begins as you walk into an auditorium with a stage framed to portray an eerie home in a ghostly part of forest illuminated by a sizable full moon. Set Designer, Danny Rash with help from Assistant Designer, Nathan Allen has created an otherworldly ambiance that immediately transports you to a darker place perfect to open the performance.
The story opens with The Addams family making their annual visit to the ghosts of their ancestors at the graveyard. Uncle Fester (Brad Noble) stops the ancestors from returning to their crypt to help the living Addams family through a dinner where the daughter, Wednesday (Kenzie Davis) has invited her unconventionally normal boyfriend, Lucas (Daniel Francis) and his parents to dinner. Wednesday admits to her father Gomez (Chris Metz) that Lucas has asked her to marry him, and begs him to keep it a secret from her mother, Morticia (Celeste Baillio) until after the evening’s dinner. But Gomez has never kept a secret from his wife, and Morticia immediately becomes suspicious. Wednesday begs the family to be normal for once through this dinner, a difficult task for a family who loves anything gothic and macabre. Upon arrival, the two families have a hard time hitting things off, which fills the show with hilarity, punch lines, and well supplied opportunities for character developments and quirks to make their appearance.
From start to finish the vocal performances and exact execution of choreographed numbers are cream of the crop. Afton Furniss as Music Director and Melisa Jensen and Michelle Falk as choreographers help performers accomplish magic onstage. Baillio brings a sultry darkness to her character that lends to her flawless movements as the desirable wife of Gomez. Davis’ vocals are bright and precise and deliver a stunning performance of the song “Pulled.” Her brightness of voice carries a little bit too much in her perkier portrayal of a character where most would associate her character with dead-panned misery, but she’s in love, so all is forgiven, especially when she opens her mouth to sing. Brother Pugsley (Josh Gunnel) has a voice of gold that hits pure, high notes. Sidwell as Alice can belt with the best, and John McVey as Lurch, who mumbles and tumbles throughout the whole show in true comedic fashion, opens his mouth in the final number with a beautiful operatic voice, to surprise and delight the audience into laughter.
Metz as Gomez brings tasteful humor and heart to the stage. He truly evokes the role of loving father as well as passionate sensual husband, all in one breath. Annalee Roberts as Grandma moves with an elderly stiffness and wicked cackle that fool all the audience into thinking she’s much older than she is in real life, and keeps everyone laughing throughout the performance. Francis as Lucas portrays the perfect uncertain young man with a twist of the dark side in him. John Brailsford as his father, Mal, takes the stage as an authoritative figure with his big voice and patriarchal stance. Noble as Uncle Fester uses hilarious facial expressions and quirky movement to completely convince the audience of his slightly weird nuances and random romantic interest in the moon.
An audience favorite of the night I attended is when Noble as Fester sings of his love to the moon, and the female ancestors dressed in vintage bathing suits dance around him like synchronized swimmers. It is full of brilliant, comedic movement that keeps the laughter going throughout the entire song. Also noteworthy are the Ancestor Ensemble Members, who are not only spectacularly clad in ghostly fashion but have the talent and movement to enrich and enliven each scene they are in.
Overall this is a show, well-executed and represented by iconic characters through the direction of Jon Rash and artistic vision of Artistic Director, Kody Rash. Lighting design by Chase Cook lends to the chilling ambiance, and so does the pristine costume design Kody Rash and execution by seamstresses Mary Savage and Kim Rash. Sound design by Justin Wellington is also professional and fluid. It is difficult to hear some of the characters at times in the auditorium, but Wellington does a great job and actors articulate and enunciate well in a space that does not necessarily have the best acoustics.
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If you are looking for a spooky start to your Halloween holiday festivities, The Addams Family should be your first stop. You will get chills not only from the gothic ambiance provided, but from the level of talent from a wonderful cast and production team. The best part is that it’s not too scary for the young ones, so bring the whole family, (three years and older) to snap your fingers and laugh the night away.
Four Seasons Theatre Company presents The Addams Family book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Skyview High School Auditorium 520 South 250 East, Smithfield, UT 84335
October 5-6, 8, 11-13, 15 7:30 PM, Saturday Matinees 1 PM
Tickets: $12 online, $14 at the door/over phone
https://www.fourseasonstheatre.org/c/box-office
Phone: 435-535-1432
fourseasonstheatre.org
https://www.facebook.com/fourseasonstheatre/
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