Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Good Reviews For Addams Family Musical Reading

The Online New York Post reports reviews, summary, and snippits of the invitation-only first reading of the Addams Family script.

From the Post:
DA-DA-DA-DUM. Snap, snap!

Good buzz is coming out of this week's invitation-only reading of "The Addams Family" musical, with lots of cheers for what one spy calls a "brilliantly funny" cast - Nathan Lane (Gomez), Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia), Kevin Chamberlain (Uncle Fester), Marylouise Burke (Grandmama) and Terence Mann and Jan Maxwell as a "normal" couple.

Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, who wrote "Jersey Boys," have come up with an original story, taking nothing from either the TV show or the movies. The Addams estate, I'm told, was adamant that the musical be based solely on Charles Addams' New Yorker drawings.

"They have complete control over just about everything on this show, and they rule with an iron fist," a source says of the estate, which is said to collect millions of dollars a year on all things Addams.

The musical is set in the present day, and the Addams family lives in a spooky castle in the middle of Central Park. The plot is a bit like "Meet the Parents," with Gomez and Morticia throwing a dinner party for the parents of their daughter Wednesday's boyfriend.

Among many funny wisecracks, this one got the biggest laugh (for the full effect, imagine Nathan doing one his famous double takes on the punch line):

Morticia: When your mother moved in, it was supposed to be for two weeks. She's been upstairs now for 12 years.

Gomez: My mother? I thought that was
your mother!

"The story's a little thin, but they fire a lot of funny jokes at you," says a theater executive, who says he's going to invest in the $10 million show.

Andrew Lippa's score is getting mixed reviews. While Lippa's an accomplished composer ("The Wild Party"), he's not exactly a tunesmith.

"Truthfully, I didn't leave humming any of the songs," one person says. "It's not a bad score by any means, but I think you've got to have a couple of songs that are as catchy as the famous theme."


Read the rest on NYPost.com!

1 comment: