The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy

by Rick Elice, Marshall Brickmann, Andrew Lippa (Music & Lyrics)

The new musical comedy about everyone's favorite creepy, kooky family.

Genres: Plays, Musicals, Theatre

120 pages, Spiral-bound

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic plot: Wednesday's plan to introduce her new fiance to her creepy, kooky family results in shenanigans.

Who doesn't love the Addams family? Honestly? As a child of the 90's, and a bit of a goth back in the day, it was definitely a favorite of mine. I grew up wanting to find a husband who loved me as much as Gomez loved Morticia. This play is a throwback to all of the fun things about the Addams family, but in no way is a re-hash of the movies. It's more of an homage to the whole culture surrounding it.

The characters fall into their traditional roles, but the author aged Wednesday to "new adult"hood so she would be old enough to be logically getting married. I'm still having a small problem believing Wednesday would fall for a complete norm, but the play needs tension and conflict somewhere, I suppose. The dialogue was fun sometimes. It's a bit risque for a high-school production, but would be an absolute hoot for professional or community groups. Because the naughty bits are mostly double-entendres, a lot can be gotten away with. They'll soar right over the less intelligent audience members' heads. The script overall, though, didn't have as much oomph as I would have liked. There were moments when the script alone seemed almost bland, and I had to remind myself to imagine these wacky characters saying the lines and singing the songs, which has a tremendous impact on how funny or flat the lines end up. It's not a read-alone type of script.

I'm looking forward to seeing it on stage, because the script just wasn't enough.

[Ava Lyczkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great musical! The script is sooooo hilarious, it's so interesting to see these beloved characters come to life in this way!

[Haddi Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very excited to be in this show!!

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful musical with exciting music and, more importantly for this review, a hilarious book. The iconic Addams Family is at their most charming in this play. Each character of the famous family gets their time to shine, making this a great ensemble piece for high school and community theatre. The jokes and dialogue are classic Addams Family, while still staying relevant with topical references and jokes. The new additions to the cast, the family of Wednesday’s fiancé, Lucas, are more than welcome; they make the plot of the musical a classic Addams Family plot (normal people meet the Addams family), while adding stakes rarely seen in the original TV show. This is not to mention that they are all as interesting of characters as the titular family themselves. This musical is an absolute delight for Addams Family fans as well as for more casual theatre goers looking for a nice (lovingly macabre) laugh.

[Kay Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this over and over as my theatre group produced it for the community. The writing is clever and witty. My students had a lot of fun telling this story. We did cut out one scene, with permission from the licensing company, that was just too much for my high school crew. This musical deals with family issues like mother-daughter relationships, husband-wife relationships, father-daughter relationships, unexpected weddings and babies, and alternate life choices in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. It was the most difficult show we have produced, but it was a great experience.

[Stephanie Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun musical! Comedic lines with heavy potential to be even more comedy grabbing when performed live, as intended. Fun character development and contrast, without feeling forced. I know it’s a musical so music is a heavy focus, but the only reason I bumped this down to 4 stars is because I wish there was a bit more dialogue in some of the scenes to really let the audience get to know the characters a little better.

Looking forward to really diving in to direct this one!

[Kinsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a fun musical and I love the soundtrack, but the plot and character arcs felt a bit strange at times. Morticia especially was very out of character. The plot itself reminded me a lot of La Cage Aux Folles (later adapted into The Birdcage), but, you know, the Addams.

Overall, not bad, but I wish Morticia wasn’t so out of character.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A terrible adaptation of the Adams family from the Comics although it is very popular with most people the story is terrible. The music is not that great. The big thing is seeing all the Adams family do all their fun stuff on stage.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm ironically not big into musicals. But, this upholds my love for Gomez, in the tradition of Groucho Marx and Hawkeye Pierce.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for school production!

[Gayle]

8

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fester's song is great.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its title alone is enough to put bums on seats but theres hardly any plot to this musical. Also the way its been written to make the addams, they differ differently from their media personalities.

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little surprised when I heard this was one of the most produced musicals in High Schools.
Then I saw it.
Hilarious!

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, great script. Still mad they didn’t cast me as Wednesday.

[Katie Gainey-West · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good comedy, with a surprising amount of heart. I had no idea how much the Addams Family loved each other and prioritized being together. A sweet story.

[G. Buckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first production I've ever performed in and it was one of the best things I've ever done. I've found a passion in the performing arts and dance and this will definitely not be my last production. :) <3

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little different from the Broadway version of the play, but will written. It is going to be a great production for our local community theatre. I am excited to be Mortician.

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't quite cut Itt for me.

[behsforensics]

2025: NSDA HI Finalist