‘The Addams Family’: Dark, twisted and fun

Photo from Atlantis Productions

Before the curtain had even opened, the audience was snap, snap, snapping along to the familiar theme song, recalled from the beloved TV series (and even its animated version) and movie of “The Addams Family.”

Atlantis Productions’ “The Addams Family: Musical” premiered at the Meralco Theater on Friday, for a month-long haunt of humor and gruesome twists on modern life.

The musical starts with the Addams family, led by Gomez Addams (Arnell Ignacio) and his wife Morticia (Eula Valdes), making their annual trek to the local graveyard to summon their relatives and ancestors.

From there, the storyline varies with Wednesday (K-La Rivera) coming of age and falling in love with Ohio tourist Lucas Beineke (Ryan Gallangher). She invited her beau and his parents over to their home for dinner, but not without asking her entire clan for “one normal night.” When she confides to her father and makes him promise not to tell her mother, it creates a cloud of deceit in the haunted household.

Blessed with a glorious set of pipes, K-La Rivera (Wednesday) delivers amazing numbers that likewise underscore the show’s humor even while torturing her brother… literally. Her performance complements that of show-stealing Anton Posadas (Pugsley), who, even at a young age, shows outstanding vocal work.

Ignacio makes a fine Gomez, ageless and amusing. Valdes, as Morticia, showcases her considerable song-and-dance skills, particularly in the second act with one of the show’s best numbers, “Death Is Just Around the Corner.”

Photo from Atlantis Productions

As for the finale, the song “Move toward the darkness” summarizes the affects of embracing the “dark side” of the characters.

Beneath it all, one of the show’s main themes is defining what is normal, its message being that there might be no such thing as “normal,” in the true sense of the word, because all families have their own oddities.

This two-hour crowd pleaser delivers songs and dance highlighting the comedic elements that the Addams Family is known for, as well as songs that, surprisingly, touch the heart. Though dishing out the humor isn’t all well delivered at times, the excellent mix of elements more than make for an amazing time.

(Catch “The Addams Family” at Meralco Theater in Pasig City up to Dec. 1. Tickets are available in all TicketWorld outlets. Visit atlantisproductionsinc.com for more details)

‘The Addams Family’: Dark, twisted and fun

Source: Mb.com.ph (November 16, 2013 at 05:01PM)

Continue...