The Addams Family
Mayhem performed the quirky Addams Family musical over 4 nights in October 2018 to standing ovations and further recognition from NODA. It was hailed as an "excellent production full of humour and originality" with Musical Director Jez Piper and his young orchestra highly praised. With regards to the casting, every character gave total involvement and "made the parts their own with excellent interpretations". As a result of the excellence of the production the resulting NODA nominations and award wins were:
​
-
WINNER! Best Youth Production - Mayhem Youth Theatre Group for the Addams Family
-
WINNERS! Best Youth Performance (Joint Nomination) - Oliver Riba Fookes for Gomez and Grace Follows for Wednesday
-
Best Youth Performance - Josh Morgan for Lucas
-
Best Supporting Youth Performance - Liam Phelps for Uncle Fester
​
The show took place at the Haberdashers School Monmouth. The show included final performances for Josh Morgan, Oliver Riba Fookes, Grace Follows, Alicia Mc Clachlan, Jake King, Josh Ellis and India Elliott, who will all be missed in future performances but not forgotten. As members move on it gives us the opportunity to show-case the talents of more of our group in 2019's performances of Whistle Down the Wind.
The Addams Family are an eccentric, aristocratic family living in New York’s Central Park. Gomez Addams is the enthusiastic, suave, Gentleman of the House and is married to the beautiful and elegant Morticia. They are the perfect parents of children Pugsley and Wednesday and share their mansion with Gomez’s brother Fester and their mother Grandmama. Quite a normal family, you might think, except that Grandmama is a witch, their butler, Lurch, is a zombie and other members of the family include a giant hairball called “Itt” and a disembodied hand that roams the corridors called “Thing.” There are monsters in the cupboards and under the beds, and the weird and macabre is usual whereas normal is unheard of. The family have an annual celebration of their family values in a ceremony at the graveyard called “Waking the Dead” where all the family ancestors (Alive, Dead and Undecided) come out to rejoice in what it is to be an Addams! With such a normal family what could possibly go wrong?
​
The show starts in the graveyard, with Gomez and his family and the Ancestors. All is well until it’s time for the Ancestors to return to their crypt, when they find it locked by Uncle Fester because something important has to be said - Wednesday has fallen in love with a relatively normal boy! All except Fester are appalled by this and even the Ancestors are upset, but Fester refuses to let them go back to their crypt unless they help him make the teenagers’ love triumph.
​
Pugsley’s jealousy of Wednesday’s suitor (Lucas Beineke) has calamitous consequences during a formal dinner where the two families meet and playing the “family game” results in the Beinekes taking umbrage and leaving – only to be thwarted by Fester stranding them in the mansion with no power!
​
Act 2 sees both families under stress but love eventually conquers all in this witty, hilarious and irreverent depiction of alternative life in New York. You’ll be GHOUL-ly glad you saw it!