The Addams Family at HCT

I consider HCT's 2019 production of The Addams Family to be one of the best I've seen of this show so I was very excited to see a new version last night. I had so much fun watching it (I was sitting next to a teen seeing it for the first time and her excitement was infectious) and I think it may even surpass their earlier production! The Addams family relies on their dead ancestors to help them through life and they need them now more than ever because Wednesday (Tearza Leigh Foyston) has fallen in love with a boy from Ohio named Lucas Beineke (Danny Kenny). She wants his uptight parents, Mal (Chandler Bishop) and Alice (Claire Kenny), to meet her family, including her father Gomez (Josh Richardson), her mother Morticia (Bailee Morris), her brother Pugsley (John Nelson Wakley), her uncle Fester (Dallin Bradford), her Gradma (Heidi Scott), and their butler Lurch (Thomas Wood), 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 (Alec Foote, Alex Joyner, Jonathan Avila, Collin Larsen, Sophi Keller, Kristi Curtis, Channing Spotts, and Kennedy Bradford), to convince everyone that love is the answer.  This features a nearly perfect cast and I especially enjoyed Richardson (reprising the same role from the 2019 production) and Morris as Gomez and Morticia, respectively, because their interactions are hilarious (watch their facial expressions). Foyston is one of my favorite Wednesdays because her voice is very well-suited to the score. I especially enjoyed her renditions of "Pulled" and "Crazier Than You" because they are so powerful. Wakley is adorable as Pugsley (he can definitely scream) and Bradford is a different Fester than I've seen before (I liked him) but Wood absolutely steals the show as Lurch (he is often in the background but you should watch everything he does because he had me laughing out loud, especially his interactions with Thing). The choreography is a lot of fun and, in addition to the big song and dance numbers "When You're an Addams," "Trapped," "One Normal Night," "Full Disclosure," and "Move Towards the Darkness," I really loved the integration of the ancestors in a kick-line with Morticia in "Just Around the Corner," a Pas de Quatre with Fester in "The Moon and Me," and a tango with Gomez and Morticia in "Tango de Amor." I loved Wednesday's iconic black minidress, all of Morticia's slinky gowns, and Gomez's velvet smoking jacket but the costumes for all of the ancestors are epic (my favorites are the Conquistador and the Viking). Finally, the set is absolutely incredible. The proscenium is surrounded by portraits of ancestors (be sure to watch them throughout the show) and the stage is dominated by an ornate wrought iron staircase that is rotated to become different rooms with the addition of elaborate set pieces and props (I loved all of the dead flower arrangements). The visuals, which change for each of the different rooms, are my favorite aspect of this production and they, along with lots of amusing little details, are what make it so spectacular! This would be the perfect show to see during the Halloween season and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through November 16.