JK's TheatreScene: #TBT: Playbill: The Addams Family: May 2010

Thursday, April 11, 2019

#TBT: Playbill: The Addams Family: May 2010

There would have been a full on riot if the Broadway show didn't start with the famous TV theme and finger snaps. Thank goodness, The Addams Family didn't make that mistake. And they had a killer cast full of Broadway Royalty, and a composer that was popular among the Rialto insiders. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane (and Jackie Hoffman in a small part) made the most of what they were given, and that's always a win. And there were two of my now-favorites making me love them. Yes, Wesley Taylor and Krysta Rodriguez killed it.

Still, it was a little disappointing. I mean, an octopus??!! Well, I actually enjoyed it - I didn't love it - but considering that the show opened 9 years ago this week, that I have vivid memories of four of the numbers that still make me smile (which counterbalances the stretches of blandness and those...tentacles). Right out of the gate, the show was a load of fun. The opening number, "When You're an Addams" really showed what the whole thing could have been. And I belly laughed at the big Uncle Fester (a fantastic Kevin Chamberlin) number "The Moon and Me." Ms. Rodriguez was darkly funny and the aptly titled "Pulled," where Wednesday had Pugsley on the stretching rack. But the most fun was when Gomez (Lane) and Morticia (Neuwirth) finally got to their signature tango.

A lot has happened for the entire cast in the intervening years, and that alone makes it worth taking a look back at this one.

The Addams Family
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
35 previews, 722 performances
May 2010 Company: Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Kevin Chamberlin, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello, Krysta Rodriguez, Wesley Taylor, Zachary James, Jackie Hoffman, Adam Riegler

If you wanted to see stars of the stage and screen, this was a great time to get your fill! In addition, to the all-star cast of The Addams Family, virtually every show had a star above the title. If you planned carefully, you could see TV's James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, Richard Thomas, Sean Hayes, Kelsey Grammer, Tom Wopat, Matthew Settle, Linda Lavin, Sarah Paulson, Lucy Liu and Anthony LaPaglia. Big screen stars included Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina, Eddie Redmayne (now, anyway), Justin Bartha, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Beloved stage stars included Tony Shalhoub, Janet McTeer, Sherie Rene Scott, Vanessa Williams, and two Broadway legends, Barbara Cook and Angela Lansbury. And nine years ago and today, you could have seen Nathan Lane, Corbin Bleu and Jeff Daniels. Bonus: two stars of Fosse/Verdon were on the boards then, too: Norbert Leo Butz and "Fosse" himself, Sam Rockwell. That's 30!

Here's some production photos to take you back.