The absolutely delightful Addams Family

I could not stop thinking. Where on earth did director Bobby Garcia find this guy? Rangy with a grunting basso to match, he was every bit the way fans of The Addams Family have imagined the butler Lurch would look and sound like. I have always known that Bobby is brilliant with his casting chops, but this Lurch in the Atlantis production of the musical version of the famous show has got to be the runaway winner. 

It turned out that the actor playing Lurch is not really a newbie. He is Ikey Canoy, who has been appearing in films, stage and television for quite sometime. He opened his mouth late in the second act so I thought all along that Lurch in this adaptation is supposed to be silent. So when he did and brought the house down, I saw him as this giant exclamation point to an absolutely delightful evening with The Addams Family.

All of us are familiar with The Addams Family. Kids back in the ’60s, take note, that was 50 years ago, doubtless recall it as a popular TV show in black and white along with an also funny rival titled The Munsters. Both were satires about the typical American family looking and behaving like scary mythical creatures. Now thanks to that vastly recognizable theme song and live-action feature films that made good at the box-office, The Addams Family, based on cartoons created by the famous Charles Addams, has won the longevity race. 

Of course, one cannot really tell with these old TV shows that keep popping up everywhere. For all you know, The Munsters might just surface one of these days in a new big-screen adaptation. Think Angelina Jolie as Lily Munster? That would be really big. But for now though, it is The Addams Family on top. Gomez and Morticia, their kids Wednesday and Pugsley, relatives Uncle Fester and Grandma and servant Lurch continue to upend convention and to put humor in the macabre in the theater.

 The Addams Family, the musical is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. They have pretty much kept close to the original save for not including cousin Itt and Thing, the dismembered hand servant. The only major change is in the story of the daughter Wednesday. Instead of being a six-year-old kid, Wednesday here is grown-up, in love and wants to marry into what seems like a regular family. 

There is a lot of romance between Gomez and Morticia but the addition of young love to this story provides a very good setting to further emphasize the contrasts between the Addamses and another family. Now, who turns out real and true to themselves is something for the audience to discover. And I can really say that it is great fun getting there because the writers did an excellent job. 

The whole of the Meralco Theater was laughing at the jokes and to my big surprise, they were relating and humming along to songs that, like me, they were hearing for the first time. Except for that theme song played on a harpsichord, there are no hit songs in this show. But because the musical numbers were so well executed, each one turned out to be a blast.

Now Garcia did great in casting the roles and honing the performances through all those rehearsals but this production would not have been as enjoyable without such wonderful actors. I know this is no Streetcar Named Desire. This is playacting with deliciously wicked characters they grew up with.  Having the right costume and make up can already help put the actors in the right mood. But this cast did not only look their parts, they truly embodied The Addams Family. They were so good that days later after watching the show, I am unable to find flaws or to imagine others playing those roles.

Can you imagine anybody else than Arnell Ignacio and Eula Valdez being Gomez and Morticia? I can’t. Theirs was a perfect tango that gave and took their best throughout. Besides, I was so happy to see these talented performers playing lead roles and enjoying much-deserved stardom in the theater. The same holds true for Jamie Wilson as the moon-struck Uncle Fester. The problem with Jamie is that he is so good, so versatile and already a fixture in the theater that people tend to take his performances for granted. I refuse to do that this time. He made Uncle Fester’s lunacy so sweet.

As with most Atlantis productions, efficiency runs high in The Addams Family with everybody in the cast and the creative staff in top performance mode. At a time when we can all use some moments of laughter, it is so gratifying to find such talent and dedication in a merry romp.

Catch The Addams Family these next two weekends at the Meralco Theater in Pasig. Tickets are available at Atlantis Productions 892-7078 and at Ticketworld 891-9999.