REVIEW: The Addams Family - Millennial Productions

The Addams Family

Presented by: Millennial Productions

Venue: Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills

Music and Lyrics: Andrew Lippa | Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice | Based on characters by: Charles Addams

Director: Taylor Atley | Assistant Director: Amelie Clarke

Musical Director: Kaitlin Evans

Choreographer: Lauren Bensted | Assistant Choreographer: Kennedy Foley

Lighting Design: Pavani Wickremasinghe

Sound Design: Lane Agostinelli

Costume and Wig Design: Taylor Atley

Set Design: Taylor Atley and Jacob Atley

Photography: By B’rit Creative and Red Dog Productions

"Life is a tightrope, my child, and at the other end is your coffin."

I have somehow made it this far in life without seeing The Addams Family musical! So, I arrived knowing only the important basics: the click click, the monochrome branding, and the general commitment to death as a personality trait. What caught me off guard was how much heart was sitting beneath the gloom. It's really a story about growing up, letting go, and accepting that the people we love might be slightly different weirdos than the weirdos we expected they'd be.

Presented by Millennial Productions at Ron Hurley Theatre, The Addams Family follows Wednesday Addams, who is growing up and has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke: a sweet, seemingly normal boy from a respectable Ohio family. She invites Lucas and his parents over for dinner, but first asks her dad (Gomez) to do the unthinkable... keep her engagement a secret from Morticia! For a guy whose entire personality is his devotion to his wife, this is basically emotional terrorism. Throw in Uncle Fester, Lurch the butler, little bro Pugsley, wacky Grandma, and a house full of dead Ancestors and you've got yourself a par-tay! Naturally, this strange dinner quickly spirals with family pressure, truth-telling games, accidental potions, and the Addams clan facing something their beloved darkness cannot shield them from: change.

Tristan Vanyai heads the family as Gomez, a loveable, devoted husband and father who would do anything to keep the women in his life happy, even when that means emotionally short-circuiting for two acts, much to the audience’s enjoyment. His song “Happy Sad” with Wednesday captures that painful little parental realisation that your child is becoming their own person. His dynamic with Ruby Thompson’s Morticia is a treat too, with their height difference played for laughs and their chemistry full of frustration and flirtation.

Ruby Thompson is a clear standout as Morticia. She looks the part instantly: tall, slinky and elegant, with sharp brows, dramatic liner, striking nails, and hips that don’t lie. She floats through the production with the composure of someone who has never once apologized for being overdressed at a funeral. Thompson brings dry humor, a killer smile, fluttering eyelids and tightly controlled drama to the role. Every line carries a hint of danger, and her old Hollywood-style voice suits the smoky glamour and gloom of Morticia beautifully. While Morticia may appear cool on the surface, Thompson lets the cracks show whenever Wednesday pulls away. And it stings because mother and daughter are so clearly cut from the exact same black velvet cloth.

Angelina Bourke gives Wednesday all the eerie, rigid, deadpan intensity you want, while still showing the pull of a young woman caught between her family and her feelings. Her solo “Pulled” is an early highlight, showing off her insanely impressive voice and dark comedic touch. “Crazier Than You” shines too, because by then, the idea of being crazy in love actually sounds pretty appealing.

Jamieson leaps onto the stage as Pugsley like a hyperactive little frog. Amid all the sibling shenanigans, Pugsley’s fear of losing Wednesday gives the character an emotional undercurrent. Their solo “What If” turns little-brother anxiety into something surprisingly tender: the heartache of realising your favourite torture buddy is growing up and leaving you behind.

Caleb Holman is a crowd favourite in the role of Uncle Fester, bringing a playful, offbeat sweetness to every scene. Fester's romantic saga with the moon is one of the oddest bits of the musical (and that's really saying something), but Holman dives in with full enthusiasm. Plus, kudos to him for shaving his head for the part. Now that's commitment!

Aden Lowry has mastered the art of playing Lurch: stillness, silence, miming, and the looming presence of the Frankenstein-adjacent butler. Lowry spends the show lurking around in a maid’s outfit and observing everyone else’s chaotic antics without cracking a smile (which is definitely harder than it looks!) Mik Bobart as Grandma is random, noisy, and completely unbothered by conventional reality. She seems to operate on her own private frequency, occasionally tuning into the rest of the show only to cause trouble before wandering back into the mist.

Carly Wilson is a major highlight as Alice Beineke. At first, she is polite, cheerful and deeply repressed, but once the truth starts escaping, Wilson turns her into full musical theatre detonation. Her solo “Waiting” is belted out with comedy, frustration and liberation. Her duet with Ruby Thompson in “Secrets” also works beautifully, with Morticia’s cool control contrasting Alice’s increasing instability.

Zach Price gives Mal Beineke the necessary stiff-collared rigidity, setting up the collision between respectable suburbia and gothic household. Hunter Ireland brings an earnest sweetness to Lucas, Wednesday’s normal boyfriend - though in this show, “normal” should always come with quotation marks.

The Ancestors, played by Caitlyn Brindley, Emily Fuller, Ally Hickey, Lucinda Isbel, Aidan Cobb, Peter Wood, Ellen Axford, Emily Rohweder, and Sian Van Blerk, bring the Addams family’s dead relatives to life (get it?) with committed, detailed character work and odd little portraits from the family tree. Also, shoutout to Daniel Lelic as Thing, popping up throughout as the household’s disembodied helper.

Taylor Atley and Jacob Atley’s set design wastes no time dropping us into the Addams family home, which is less “come on in and get cozy” and more “please mind the electric chair.” The set is like a spooky graveyard playground, packed with all sorts of morbid little details. Here, headless dolls and dead bunnies are not red flags, but rather interior design choices.  As the iconic Addams Family theme played, the audience instinctively snapped along - it must be hardwired into our collective memory! Lane Agostinelli’s sound design and Pavani Wickremasinghe's lighting adds haunted-house vibes, while fog creeping from the staircase adds to the ghostly drama. That visual world is most enhanced by Atley’s costumes, wigs, and makeup. Each member of the Ancestors ensemble possesses their own ghostly backstory, so well disguised that I almost failed to recognise any of the performers!

Lauren Bensted’s choreography keeps the stage buzzing, especially whenever the Ancestors suddenly join the routine. “When You’re an Addams” and “One Normal Night” have that satisfying big-group buzz at this haunted family reunion. “Tango De Amor” showcases Ruby Thompson’s Morticia in all her gothic elegance - the dress, the wig, the shoes, the backbend! While “Death is Just Around the Corner” turns from solo into spectacle, complete with a kick-line and faultless harmonies. Kaitlin Evans’ musical direction brings out the score’s mix of comedy, character and big musical theatre drama. “Full Disclosure” is the strongest group moment, with the vocals, drama, and prop choreography all working together. But the final surprise belongs to Aden Lowry, whose glorious bass voice appears after a whole show of silent looming.

Millennial Productions finds the warmth beneath the cobwebs in a production that is funny, visually detailed, and full of big character performances. It has all the gloom, glamour and family dysfunction you could want. The Addams family may be obsessed with death, but this production is very much alive.