The Addams Family

The Addams Family: in their world, to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams.  But, like any family, they face their challenges.  We meet them as ‘once a year they gather beneath the Family Tree to honour the great cycle of life and death’; when every member of the clan, living and dead, come together to celebrate.

This coincides with Wednesday, daughter and ultimate princess of darkness, turning 18. She has fallen in love with Lucas who is a sweet, clever young man from the respectable Beineke family. Her younger brother Pugsley misses the torturous attention of his sister; Morticia struggles to accept that her grown up daughter is changing; and Gomez just wishes everything could stay the same. Uncle Fester attempts to guide the family, reminding them that their ancestors will not be able to return to their graves until love prevails. The much more traditional Beineke family are invited to come to dinner and in one fateful, hilarious night the Addams Family’s world is turned upside down, as secrets are disclosed and relationships in both families are tested.

Our vision

This is a fabulous, whacky musical comedy with a witty script, glorious, larger than life characters and a wide variety of music and exciting musical numbers including pop, jazz, latin, vaudeville and some almost operatic choruses. The show opens with the Addams Family revealing that Wednesday has come of age. She emerges from a coffin, has her braids cut off and agrees to the family traditions which include finding a mate chosen for his honesty and passion.

Within a dark, gothic setting, we will see spectacular dance numbers in a variety of styles, enjoy the surprising warmth and humour of the varied characters and watch family relationships unravel and rebuild as love prevails.

There will be a fixed ‘Addams Family Mansion’ set and minimal furniture/torture apparatus, moved by cast in choreographed transitions.  A gauze to take us outside the mansion, painted floor to create texture, some physical theatre, magic tricks, pyrotechnics and dry ice.

The Ancestors, already involved in numerous musical numbers, will also be used as storytellers, driving the story, present in every scene and watching and guiding the family as well as facilitating the scene changes.

Production Team

Director/Choreographer – Sian Bowles-Bevan

This will be my second show as director/choreographer for BROS, my first being Sister Act at The Minack in 2019. I am delighted and excited to have been asked to take on the same role for The Addams Family. I have many years of experience directing and choreographing large company shows in a variety of theatres, many of which have been fortunate enough to be recognised by NODA for being ‘innovative and creative’; winning Flame Awards, Best Musical and Best Use of Chorus.

I had a lot of fun (and I think the company did too) rehearsing Sister Act and I always strive to ensure that the whole company work hard, but also enjoy the rehearsal process as much as show week – after all, we spend longer rehearsing than we do on stage! I like to discover and utilise the talent, experience and abilities of any cast, while also encouraging everyone to try something different and develop their performance skills.  We are going to have a lot of fun with this show; show casing very different singing, acting and dance/movement styles.

Musical director – Chiara Beebe

Chiara first joined the BROS family for their production of Sister Act in 2019 and is delighted to be Musical Director of The Addams Family. Primarily a classically trained cellist and singer, Chiara studied music at Manchester University where she was awarded the Proctor-Gregg Prize for excellence. An avid performer herself, her recent credits (across pit & stage) include The Last 5 Years, West Side Story, RENT, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and (almost – blame Coronavirus!) It Shoulda Been You. Chiara has worked professionally in the music business for five years, liaising with renowned venues and music festivals around the world. Feeling very fortunate to have spent the majority of 2020 in a mostly Covid-free Guernsey, Chiara is a guest vocal coach at Avril Earl Dance & Theatre Arts Centre and assistant MD for St Stephen’s Pantomime this Christmas.

The Addams Family score has such a variety of styles from the jazz through to latin-infused numbers and some fairly operatic choruses – there is something for everyone. Chiara is excited to bring all of her energy, efficiency and supportiveness to The Addams Family rehearsal room!