Review: LOLHS Turns Lemons Into Lemonade with Their Marvelously Morbid Production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL

"I can't believe that was a high school show!" --Overheard after the Land O'Lakes High School's Friday night performance of THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL

When it comes to Andrew Lippa's THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL, I am torn. As written, it boasts several memorable songs, houses some beloved characters whose hilarity seldom bores, and is saucy fun for the whole family. Unfortunately, the musical is also too long for its own good, includes several forgettable songs, and has an Act 2 that acts as an hour-long resolution (imagine an entertaining treadmill rather than a real run). The original Charles Addams cartoon, followed by the adored TV show and movies with the catchy, snappy theme song, is macabre fun, laughing out loud at death and all things gruesome. The musical tries, tries hard, to match the dark splendors of its origins, but it just can't quite get there.

Watching the spectacular LOLHS production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY (School Edition) at the Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center, you would never know the deep problems that are always embedded in Lippa's work here. You forget your reservations about its many shortcomings and find yourself having a joyous, thoroughly entertaining evening. I've seen several productions of this musical--never my favorite show, not by a long shot--but this one, directed with so much verve and love by Sabrina Hydes, stands out as the one I liked and appreciated the most. By far.

The musical opens with the famous ADDAMS FAMILY theme music, the audience snapping along in unison. We know instantly that we're in for a good time. When the curtain opens, and the marvelous opening number ("When You're an Addams") begins, we get to see all those characters we've loved through the years--Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch. They dance, twist, and pretend rigor mortis around tombstones featuring names such as Evan Lomba (the amazingly talented choreographer) and Ewan Wanamaker (the obviously gifted stage manager), soon joined by a group of ghostly ancestors. It's sort of the show's "Wilkommen," a dance-macabre "Comedy Tonight"--an introduction to not only this cast of bizarros but to the entire "feel" of the show. It's bouncy, delightful and full of life (in a show that gleefully and ironically celebrates death).

THE ADDAMS FAMILY is just that--a family. The whole enterprise becomes a demented reflection on American family values with this tight-knit clan of morbid oddballs who see things from a different angle than their conservative Fifties-era neighbors. Except for their penchant for black and their obsession with torture, mortality and all things ghastly (call them Grisly Addams), they are a family not unlike yours or mine...or, well, the Manson's.

Leading the way is Gomez, the hot-blooded Castilian patriarch with a pencil-thin mustache. And Jonathan Garcia brilliantly inhabits the role made famous on Broadway by Nathan Lane. But Mr. Garcia, a major talent, didn't remind me of Lane; he was more in line with Alex Brightman of Beetlejuice fame. He owns the stage, takes the reigns and carries the show in a true star turn. In his big songs--his gyrations in "Trapped" and his emotional connection to "Happy/Sad"--he showcases a performer of supreme confidence. He may be the best Gomez I've seen onstage.

Kaitlyn Bost makes the most out of Morticia--part Vampira, part Ursula. But the part, again as written, doesn't get to display Morticia's more amorous side until the end; for the most part, the script has her as a harried wife and mom, albeit with warped tastes. Ms. Bost really comes into her own in Act 2, and the duet with Gomez, "Live Before We Die," is lovely. Best of all, her "Just Around the Corner," complete with kick line featuring the ancestors, was absolutely fabulous.

Gabriella Hernandez is appropriately dour as Wednesday, the black-clad Addams daughter who is central to the musical's plot. I love it when she shockingly dresses in yellow with spiked boots, looking like Nancy Sinatra as member of Judas Priest. Wednesday gets Lippa's best, most iconic song from the show, "Pulled." If you have been to a Thespian festival in the past several years, then you have heard it almost as much as Lippa's other most famous song ("My New Philosophy" from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown). It's a dream song for a teenage performer (only rivaled of late by "Dead Mom" from Beetlejuice), one that every kid with talent must try to tackle. And the immensely talented Ms. Hernandez sings it just fine. But often I felt she was straining the vocals, and the song didn't have the punch it needed (it should give us chills).

The hyperactive and endearingly annoying Uncle Fester is portrayed enthusiastically by Thomas Dunn. He looks like Billy Idol in Franciscan attire; Girolamo Savonarola, the mad monk of Florence, meets Rocky Horror's Riff Raff. His take on "The Moon and Me" was certainly different, to say the least. With the female ancestors holding the moon (which resembled a giant Alka Seltzer tablet), it became one loony lunar tune, like a Busby Berkely number on psychedelics.

Both Ms. Hernandez and Mr. Dunn were audience favorites.

Nolyn McElaney is hilarious as Grandma, who breaks wind at inopportune moments. Charlotte Rawlins makes for a pugnacious Pugsley, always in character. As the towering, growling butler, Lurch, Michael Gonzalez is one of my favorites in the cast. He possesses an amazing bass voice that he gets to showoff with relish at a key moment. My only qualms are with his costuming here. His jacket is oversized, making the performer look smaller (and Lurch is supposed to be hovering, lurching, over everyone; it would work better with a jacket that is much too short for him). Also, why doesn't the butler wear a bowtie? Lurch dons one in the original series and in the New Yorker cartoons; why doesn't he here?

There is a "normal" family in the musical, the Beineke clan, led by the father, Mal (well-performed by Seth Flythe, who gets to strut his stuff in an AC/DC shirt later in the proceedings). Harrison Patruno as the Beineke son, Lucas (who wants to wed Wednesday), is quite good. He matches up well with Ms. Hernandez's Wednesday and his singing voice is superlative.

My vote for best in the entire cast of THE ADDAMS FAMILY goes to Mckenna Knouse as Alice Beineke. If you want lessons on how to capture a show and make it your own, then watch what Ms. Knouse brings here. She's a fully developed character, and when she accidentally drinks a potion near the end of Act 1, what happens to her must be seen. It's worth the price of admission to see her performance of "Waiting." It's unlike almost anything I've ever witnessed--dressed in yellow, flailing about the floor, she's like a tased crazed Mrs. Carol Brady. An incredible voice, a natural acting ability, Ms. Knouse has it all. There's an ease about her and yet she speaks rat-tat-tat fast, like a 1930's comedienne. I have seen hundreds of high school shows, and Ms. Knouse stands as one of the most talented young performers I have seen. She's that good.

The ancestor ensemble look like Disney Haunted Mansion apparitions, each a separate character, not one boring B.O.S. (Body on Stage) in the lot. Their make-up is fabulous; I only wish some of them added the white make-up to their necks as well as to their ghostly faces. But they are a wondrous deathly presence: Aarini Saini, Analisa Martin, Ashley Johnson, Bianca Siqueira, Brooke Enginger, Emma Campbell, Jake Despenas, Jason Campbell, Kennedy Engasser, Nalani Bisono, Presley Knouse, Raina Mayerschoff, Rianna John, Samantha Cole, Shane Ganga, Kai Kelly and Whytni Salmons.

A special shoutout to Lauren Richard as my favorite ghoulish ancestor, always poised, always in character, always showcasing the joys of performing. Ms. Richard proves that, yes, ensemble members are incredibly important to the show and, yes, as vital as any lead. She and the entire ensemble are the heart and soul of this production.

By the way, Cousin Itt (Savannah Pickering) even appears throughout, looking like Chewbacca as a droog, a broom sprung to life.

The scene changes, as in all LOLHS productions, becomes works of art in and of themselves. The backstage crew, donning black, are always moving sets, bringing in props, taking them out, with the precision of surgeons in a very busy operating room. The stagehands include: Savannah Larkin, Natalia Huertas-Prieto, Savannah Van Ost, Michael Kawa, Emily Grattan, Mackenie Moon, Nayaritt Moran and Gyllian Ervin. They are quite a team, and the show ran like clockwork due to their hard work.

Evan Lomba's choreography is sensational and quite clever. The sound and mics worked well (thanks to sound technicians Erin Roberts and Caleb Smith). The lighting was spot on (to use a bad pun), due to the efforts of Braedin Kirby and Ridley Wanamaker. All of this feverishly run by stage manager Ewan Wanamker, and the assistant stage managers Rylee Johnson and Noah Lopez.

The set pieces, the backdrops, and the stairway are glorious things of beauty. Kudos to the set designers: Pete Eales, the Patruno Family, the Richard Family and Ivette Gonzalez. Prop master Bethany Bosworth and her crew (Grace Fleming and Olivia Skillman) were obviously kept breathtakingly busy throughout this show. I like that skulls and animal skeletons adorn the bookcase; is it my imagination, or is one of the animal carcasses a bulldog? Speaking of the bookcase, I just wish the framed photographs inside of it were turned upside down or something odd like that.

Campbell McElaney's costumes and make up work beautifully for the most part. The program looked good, but I would prefer if a song list had been included in it.

Director Sabrina Hydes (along with music director Renee Palma and assistant directors Haley Jimenez and Evan Lomba) should get all the much-deserved accolades for this incredible production. Ms. Hydes is one of two Pasco County directors who constantly want me to review their shows; this proves 1) they are brave because I am honest (but always strive being fair), and 2) they have an abundance of confidence in their cast and crew. It was my pleasure reviewing one of their previous shows just a couple of months before the pandemic hit (LEGALLY BLONDE), which had some of the best tech kids I had ever seen work a high school show. Their production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, which ends tonight (Saturday, February 12 at 7:00 PM), is even stronger overall, and each and every cast and crew member should be extremely proud of their work on this juggernaut.

And once again the glorious tech kids rightly get the final bow.

Life is hard and teaching is even harder these days. It's a tough world out there for educators. So when a teacher likes Ms. Hydes goes above and beyond, when she and her talented students have created theatre magic and have made an anti-Addams curmudgeon like me actually like the show, then we must celebrate her and shout out her praise. She along with her young cast and crew have helped so many of us get through these tough times by putting on a thrilling musical where the troubles of our world have disappeared for two and half hours. Their work here matters more than they probably realize; they lift us up when we need it the most.

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