The Addams Family at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

Last night I went to the second production of The Addams Family in as many weeks. This time it was the Terrace Plaza Playhouse's version and, once again, I had a lot of fun watching it. The Addams family relies on their dead ancestors to help them through life and they need them now more than ever because Wednesday (Arianna Evans) has fallen in love with a boy from Ohio named Lucas Beineke (Trey Cornell). She wants his uptight parents, Mal (Josh Curtis) and Alice (Jana Plowman), to meet her family, including her father Gomez (Nathan Sachs), her mother Morticia (Natalie Petersen), her brother Pugsley (Amauree Mack), her uncle Fester (David Storm), her Grandma (Carla Zarate), and their butler Lurch (Drew Saddler), so she arranges a dinner and requests that they give her just one normal night. Chaos ensues when a mishap involving a poisonous potion occurs and it is up to Uncle Fester, with the help of the ancestors (Antonio Moya, Colby Majors, Ethan Page, Evelyn Bush, Ian Wellisch, Isabelle Page, Kade Saddler, Kayley Turner, Kelsey Turner, Kysa Ronnow, McKenna Plowman, McLain Reid, Mikelle Shupe, Nataly Hirano, Olivia Page, Savanna Hewitt, and Shane Alvey), to convince everyone that love is the answer. I really enjoyed the choreography in this production, especially all of the big song and dance numbers featuring the ancestors. This was the biggest group of ancestors I have seen used in this show and they are integrated into the choreography very well, particularly in "When You're An Addams," "Trapped," "One Normal Night," "Full Disclosure," "Just Around the Corner," and "Move Toward the Darkness." I also liked having the ancestors as part of the choreography for "Tango De Amor" because I have not seen that done before (I really like seeing subtle differences in productions since the same shows are often repeated by Utah theatres). Evans is one of the best Wednesdays I've seen and I loved her renditions of "Pulled" and "Crazier Than You" because she has a beautiful voice. I also enjoyed Cornell as Lucas (he is a Timothee Chalamet lookalike with all of his same awkward mannerisms), Mack as Pugsley (he is adorable), and Curtis as Mal (his facial expressions had me laughing out loud), but Saddler steals the show as Lurch (he is often in the background but you should watch everything he does because all of his actions are hilarious). The costumes are fantastic, especially those worn by the ancestors (my favorites were the World War I soldier, the Highland lass, and the conquistador) because they are so elaborate! The set is very minimal but suitably atmospheric with lots of spooky details (I loved the organ). My only disappointment was the with the moon.  During "Move Toward the Darkness," the entire cast gestured to the moon so we all turned our attention to it and nothing happened.  I'm not sure if there were technical difficulties but it was a bit anticlimactic. This is a minor criticism because the show is fantastic and I recommend it as a fun activity perfect for Halloween.  It runs through November 12 (go here for tickets).