The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. Although numerous film and television adaptations of Addams' cartoons exist, the musical is the first stage show based on the characters. The Addams Family is also the first show produced by Elephant Eye Theatricals.
After a tryout in Chicago in 2009, the musical opened on Broadway in April 2010. The original cast featured Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia.Jones, Kenneth (6 March 2011). "Goodbye, Gomez: Nathan Lane Among 'Addams Family' Actors Exiting Broadway Musical March 6" Playbill. . The production closed on December 31, 2011, and a revised national tour of North America began in September 2011.
The Addams Family won several awards during its Broadway run including a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Set Design, and the 2010 Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award (presented to Nathan Lane). The show was nominated for two Tony Awards, among other nominations.
Synopsis
Act One The ghoulish Addams family are visiting the graveyard for an annual gathering of all family members (living, dead, and undecided) to celebrate what it is to be an Addams ("When You're an Addams"). Uncle Fester finds that Wednesday is in love with Lucas and plans to invite his family for dinner, so he stops the Ancestors' return to their graves to enlist their help, not allowing them to return until love triumphs, much to the ancestors' dismay ("Fester's Manifesto").
Wednesday and Lucas instruct their families to act normal so they can all enjoy a simple dinner ("One Normal Night"). As the Beinekes arrive, Mal is more skeptical, while Alice is more supportive of Lucas' love. Gomez then shows his collection of torture devices to Mal, and then discuss the love between Lucas and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Morticia shows Alice her old family, then talks to her about how keeping secrets can hurt a marriage ("Secrets"). While Gomez has a discussion with Lucas and Wednesday about their romantic life, Morticia becomes almost convinced that Gomez is keeping a secret. Pugsley begins to fear that Wednesday will stop torturing him, to which Grandma advises him to use his time wisely and not dwell on it ("What If"). Pugsley then steals Grandma's bottle of acrimonium (a powerful potion that acts as a truth serum) and plots to use it to break up Wednesday and Lucas.
At dinner, all the assembly play Obligacion de Revelar (Full Disclosure), or what the Addamses call "The Game," in which each person present reveals a secret after drinking from a chalice. Gomez tells a story of a loyal husband and wife and a box of secrets never to be opened, Uncle Fester admits he's in love with the Moon, and Grandma confesses to having not spent her time wisely ("Full Disclosure (Part 1)"). As Wednesday is about to go, Pugsley slips the acrimonium into the drink, but the chalice is given to Alice, who drinks it and drunkenly declares her marriage to Mal a loveless mess as she reveals her misery and woe ("Waiting"), disturbing everyone. As Mal, humiliated, attempts to leave with his family, Wednesday announces that she and Lucas will marry, much to Morticia's outrage at Gomez for keeping it a secret. Chaos engulfs both families, and Uncle Fester, trying to be helpful, instructs the Ancestors to create a sudden, terrible storm, creating a tornado trapping everyone in the mansion for the night ("Full Disclosure (Part 2)").
Act Two During the storm, Wednesday tries to leave, but Lucas wants to stay and work things out with their families, leading the pair to have their first fight and Wednesday calling him out for not being impulsive enough. Later, Morticia fears her marriage is broken beyond saving, and reminds herself that death is waiting for her ("Just Around The Corner"). Uncle Fester plays his ukulele, singing a love song to the Moon ("The Moon and Me").
Walking out in the yard, Wednesday runs into Gomez. He is happy she's found someone to love, yet sad that his daughter is growing up ("Happy/Sad"). Wednesday is left worrying that she and Lucas are too different. Then as a show of trust, Lucas blindfolds Wednesday and lets her shoot an apple off his head with a crossbow ("Crazier Than You"). She succeeds, and the two reconcile. Pugsley cannot sleep, and Morticia relaxes him a bit but he cannot bring himself to confess what he did to Alice. Mal, having seen what Lucas did, and with a newfound appreciation for his family, reconciles with Alice as the song "Crazier than You" continues. As Gomez plots to fix his marriage with a trip to Paris, Fester tells him that Morticia is leaving. In a frantic attempt to reconcile with Morticia, Gomez helps Morticia realize she has become like her judgemental mother, explaining why it is hard to tell her the truth. As the two reconcile, they sing "Live Before We Die", then engage in a loving tango ("Tango de Amor").
The now reunited families then deduce that Pugsley stole the potion so that Wednesday would stop loving Lucas. However, since it ultimately brought everyone back together, he is congratulated by his family. Uncle Fester tells everyone he is flying off to be with the Moon. As the families sing one last ballad, they are all shocked as Lurch sings out loud for the first time, just as Fester lands on the moon and the ancestors are finally allowed to return to their graves ("Move Toward the Darkness").
Musical numbers
Chicago (Pre-Broadway)
Act I "Overture" – Ancestors "Clandango" – Addams Family, Ancestors "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else (Prelude)" – Fester, Ancestors "Pulled" – Wednesday, Pugsley "Passionate and True" – Morticia, Gomez "One Normal Night" – Company "As We're Slowly Dying" – Wednesday, Lucas † "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else" – Fester, Ancestors "At Seven" – Mal, Gomez, Alice, Morticia, Wednesday, Lucas "What If" – Pugsley "Full Disclosure (Part 1)" – Company "Waiting" – Alice, Ancestors "Full Disclosure (Part 2)" – Company
Act II "Opening Act II" – Ancestors "Second Banana" – Morticia, Ancestors "Happy/Sad" – Gomez "Crazier Than You" – Wednesday, Lucas "The Moon and Me" – Fester, Female Ancestors "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love (Reprise)" – Mal, Gomez, Fester "Teach Me How To Tango" – Alice, Gomez, Morticia "Tango de Amor" – Orchestra "In the Arms" – Mal, (Alice ‡), Ancestors "In the Arms (Reprise)" – Mal, Alice, Ancestors § "Move Toward the Darkness" – Company
† Cut after the first preview.
‡ Added to song during the run
§ Cut during the run.
Broadway
Act I "Overture" – Ancestors "When You're an Addams" – Addams Family, Ancestors "Pulled" – Wednesday, Pugsley "Where Did We Go Wrong" – Morticia, Gomez "One Normal Night" – Wednesday, Lucas, Company "Morticia" – Gomez, Male Ancestors "What If" – Pugsley "Full Disclosure (Part 1)" – Company "Waiting" – Alice, Ancestors "Full Disclosure (Part 2)" – Company
Act II "Opening Act II" – Ancestors "Just Around the Corner" – Morticia, Ancestors "The Moon and Me" – Fester, Female Ancestors "Happy/Sad" – Gomez "Crazier Than You" – Wednesday, Lucas "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love" – Mal, Gomez, Fester "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love (Reprise)" † – Grandma, Gomez, Fester "In the Arms" – Mal, Alice, Ancestors "Live Before We Die" – Gomez, Morticia "Tango de Amor" – Orchestra "Move Toward the Darkness" – Company
† Not included on the original Addams Family playbill.
US Tour and current productions The national tours of the production changed the plot as follows: After the opening song, Uncle Fester addresses the audience directly about the love between Wednesday and Lucas, and states that the Ancestors will not be allowed to return to their graves until love prevails. Wednesday confesses her love of Lucas to Gomez but also makes him promise not to disclose her secret to Morticia until the two families all have dinner later that night. Morticia observes that Gomez is acting unusually, and this causes tension between them, especially because Morticia believes that Gomez has never lied to her before. Gomez's The Game parable is instead a variant of the Pandora's Box legend. When the dinner causes these secrets to be revealed, Morticia wonders if her marriage can be saved, and Mal and Alice also have disagreements. All plot references to the giant squid Bernice are completely removed. When Mal observes the sacrifice Lucas is willing to make to Wednesday by having the apple shot off his head, he reconciles with Alice. Gomez stops Morticia just as she is about to leave the family by reminding her that she acted the same way that Wednesday did when Morticia was younger. Some of the songs are either rearranged into new ones or completely cut altogether. "Pulled" was transposed a half step lower, and "Just Around the Corner" was transposed a half step higher. Most notably, the Act II song "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love" is cut, and portions of the lyrics are used in Act I with Fester's song "Fester's Manifesto" and a reprise titled "But Love".
Act I "Overture" – Ancestors "When You're an Addams" – Addams Family, Ancestors "Fester's Manifesto" † – Fester "Two Things" † – Gomez "Wednesday's Growing Up" † – Gomez "Three Things" † – Gomez "Trapped" † – Gomez "Honor Roll" † / "Pulled" – Wednesday, Pugsley "Four Things" † – Gomez "One Normal Night" – Company "But Love (Reprise 1 & 2)" † – Fester, Ancestors "Secrets" † – Morticia, Alice, Female Ancestors "Trapped (Reprise)" † / "Gomez's What If" † – Gomez "What If" – Pugsley "Full Disclosure (Part 1)" – Company "Waiting" – Alice, Ancestors "Full Disclosure (Part 2)" – Company
Act II "Opening Act II" – Ancestors "Just Around the Corner" – Morticia, Ancestors "The Moon and Me" – Fester, Female Ancestors "Happy/Sad" – Gomez "Crazier Than You" † – Wednesday, Lucas, Mal, Alice "Not Today" † – Gomez "Live Before We Die" – Gomez, Morticia "Tango de Amor" – Orchestra "Move Toward the Darkness" – Lurch, Company "Bows" † – Company
† Not included on the original Broadway Cast Album. Development In 2007, the producers announced that they had obtained the rights from the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation to create a musical adaptation of The Addams Family for Broadway, and they anticipated an opening during the 2009–2010 season after an out-of-town tryout. This was the first time that Charles Addams' comic creations were licensed to serve as the basis for a stage production. The musical's lead producers were Stuart Oken and Roy Furman. In addition to Oken and Furman, Vivek Tiwary also joined The Addams Family musical's team of producers. The Addams Foundation reportedly retained control over the show's content and insisted that, instead of drawing the plot from The Addams Family television series or films, the production team devise an original musical based solely on Addams' cartoons.
Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice were engaged to write the book, and Andrew Lippa composed the show's score. Improbable theatre founders Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott were the original directors and designers, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo. Crouch said that, when brainstorming ideas for the overall appearance of the show, he and McDermott turned to the character of Uncle Fester for inspiration, asking themselves, "If Fester was going to do a Broadway show, what kind of Broadway show would he do?" The partners described the result as "an off-beat take on 19th Century Gothic".