The Addams Family musical came to our shores and of course, being a musical fan that I am, I took the opportunity to watch it last night with three of my friends before it ends its run tonight.

Let me first just begin by saying that the experience of watching a musical/stage play includes the venue where the musical/stage play is held and Resorts World Sentosa’s Festive Grand Theatre is actually pretty nice. For a fifth row seat, the price is way lower than that of a fifth row seat at the Marina Bay Sands’ MasterCard Theatre. There was also no one patrolling up and down the steps of the theatre before the show telling the patrons not to take photos of each other and/or the stage unlike that of the other theatre mentioned, which can get really annoying. Audience of a musical/stage play usually pretty much know how to behave in this setting so “babysitting” the patrons can really get on their nerves. There is a difference between giving great service and babysitting us. So, the experience in the venue was a good one for me as it was my first time there.

Now, on to the musical itself…

I have to admit that I came with no expectations on the musical. It was not exactly a well-known musical like Wicked, Jersey Boys, Rent, etc. But we all grew up watching The Addams Family TV show, cartoons and/or movie so watching the musical version of the spookily fun family is just the next step.

The musical was fantastic! The show tells you what happens when little Wednesday grows into a young lady and falls in love with a “normal” guy named Lucas. But what exactly is “normal”? Hmmm…

As it goes with a musical, the songs need to be great and I really enjoyed the songs on the show like “One Normal Night”, “Full Disclosure” and “Happy/Sad”. And with the songs, you need great singers and each of the cast members was great vocally, particularly Jennifer Fogarty who acted as Wednesday Addams. I can imagine her singing “Defying Gravity” and nailing it. Her voice was that good.

The musical has a really strong cast and I have to particularly commend Shaun Rice’s Uncle Fester. He nailed Uncle Fester’s characterization. And I don’t know if it’s just me but if Lord Varys of Game of Thrones is put in a musical and has a great sense of humour, he would be Uncle Fester. And what about Lurch? He had no lines with the exception of groaning but he was hilarious with his actions and reactions. One of the funniest scenes was when he was moving ever so slowly to open the door. Wednesday told him to move faster and all he did was wave his hands around faster while still walking at his own speed.

We talk about songs, vocals and cast members but the script is also important. The show has great dialogues and it is so witty. I have three favourite quotes that I could remember from the musical. In one scene, Gomez and Wednesday had a heart-to-heart talk when Lucas came out of his hiding place:

Wednesday: How long have you been in the shadows?

Lucas: My whole life.

And in another, Pugsley had difficulty sleeping and asked Morticia for help and she said:

“Life is like a tight rope – at the other end is the coffin.”

Cue the entire theatre in stitches!

Last but never ever the least was one of the many scenes with Gomez and Morticia:

Gomez: “What I lack in depth, I make it up for the shallowness.”

The script was also modernized with its references to the current US political climate such as Obamacare. But with an audience in Singapore, not many people may actually know how the US politics are like and so these dialogues, witty and hilarious as it may be, may go over some people’s heads. And because it’s Singapore, I do appreciate the little localization it tried to do with its mention of the Merlion.

The other little things that I love are the tight choreography and the props. I noticed in the background of the scene with Gomez and Wednesday, the scenery actually changes, it became darker as the night goes on. So, props to the props people.

Overall, it was a really really great show. I enjoyed it a lot. Tonight is the last night of the show in Singapore but if you are reading this and you are elsewhere in this world and the musical is heading down to somewhere near you, I do recommend catching it. There will be non-stop laughter throughout the show.