The Addams Family in Concert - Palladium 2024

I think that was at least in part because it seemed to come around again pretty quickly, and wasn't really that impressive the first time... I enjoyed it, but had no particular urge to go back, never mind only a couple of years later.

Waiting for the discounts…

It’s a shame they’re only doing a concert because they’re a Gomez and Morticia I’d believe.

 No discounts or dynamic pricing for this yet as far as I know. Around 90% sold Monday and Tuesday evenings, 75% Tuesday matinee. 

 

Kara Lane is honestly out of this world.

Some dynamic pricing kicking in on LW Theatres website.

I am heading in to the matinee shortly. Took advantage of the dynamic pricing. No desire in The Addams Family at all, but want to see Ramin. His voice is absolute perfection and any excuse to see him live. Not sure if I will enjoy it or not really. I certainly wouldn't be going if he wasn't in the cast.

Fester is played by Sam Buttery, right? Hope they're ok.

I also took advantage of the dynamic pricing to see today's matinee for the performers, as I knew from seeing the 2017 tour that it's an average show.

Sam Buttery was brilliant and on form this afternoon.

This enormously slick production (it is more than just a concert, being fully staged) struck me as more focused on the love elements than the 2017 tour, which focused more on the laughs.

That said, as a variety show full of all kinds of declarations of love, it worked very well, and was always entertaining.

Some spoilers follow. . .

The plot feels very sequel-like, as if it's just about showcasing characters you already love, with little to no impetus: essentially, the first half is a tepid rehash of "La Cage aux Folles," which the second half barely bothers to pay off, indulging instead in a presentation of quirky love songs.

Where Cameron Blakeley excelled at excitable quirky, Ramin Karimloo excels at emotional expressions of love.

The elements that are funny are Buttery and their wide-eyed effusive passion for the moon, Dickon Gough and his sudden movements materialising out of utter stillness, as well as his growling (he reminded me of squirrels, which in frozen stillness emit grumpy growls of different lengths and intensity to scare each other off lol), and above all, Kara Lane, who took her end-of-first-half perverse number to Mama Rose levels of belt and bravura and beyond, eliciting an enormous ovation.

Regarding Michelle Visage, this is in no way "Yas Queen camp." Instead, her Morticia is very much a part of the slick stillness of the production, a character moving at half-speed and half-emotion with utter confidence.

(Before every big song, for every character, there is this scene-setting stillness that allows each song to grow into it's moment).

And to my astonishment, Visage can really sing, she hits all the notes in perfect pitch, and rises to a flourish as well.

Of course, Karimloo's singing is far more rousing, sensitive, modulated, making hay of every little emotional build and explosion of emotion, in a chaotic story that otherwise bounces all over the place.

As well as Karimloo, I loved Chumisa Dornford-May as Wednesday, the character who delivers the only forward motion in the story. While not as impishly comedic as Carrie Hope Fletcher in the role, she nails Wednesday's feisty attitude, drives what plot there is hard, roars and reacts off the other performers and makes an entertaining rousing crescendo of her numbers.

All in all, this was a four star rendition of a 3 star musical, meaning I'd rank it as 3 and a half stars of engaging entertainment.

PS: From a slightly delayed start, the show ended at 5:30pm, and I was out by 5:35pm.

“As well as Karimloo, I loved Chumisa Dornford-May as Wednesday, the character who delivers the only forward motion in the story. While not as impishly comedic as Carrie Hope Fletcher in the role, she nails Wednesday's feisty attitude, drives what plot there is hard, roars and reacts off the other performers and makes an entertaining rousing crescendo of her numbers.”

I thought Kingsley Morton was Wednesday?

Carrie Hope Fletcher played Wednesday in the first tour (2017), Kingsley Morton played her in the second (2021/2).