REVIEW: Comedy is king again for Claremorris Musical Society

‘THE Addams Family’ seemed like the natural successor to ‘Young Frankenstein’ for Claremorris Musical Society.
On Wednesday night, they proved that a show about a freaky, macabre New York family laced with one-liners and creepy capers was the perfect follow-up to an utterly off-the-wall innuendo-laden gag-fest more suited to older eyes and ears.
‘The Addams Family’ is a fairly daft (in the nicest way) show, but rather tame and civil compared to the all-out ‘Transylvania Mania’ that ensued when Claremorris Musical Society last took to the stage.
Their last two shows and their respective casts both have similar features; a lead cast of ‘living, dead, and undecided’ eccentrics, a set bedecked with spooky lights and macabre cobwebs, and a story with enough twists, turns, ghouls and gags to wake the dead.

Opening night
Claremorris Musical Society set a very high bar for themselves with ‘Young Frankenstein’ last year. Twelve months later, they certainly cleared it on their opening night of ‘The Addams Family’ with a solid, playful performance of a show that cannot – and should not – be taken too seriously.
The plot lurches from one awkward, outlandish embarrassing set piece to the next as the ‘normal’ Beineke family crosses paths with a clan fit for a freak show when the Addams’ daughter, Wednesday (Chloe Scott), falls for Lucas Beineke (Oisín Dowling).
Though macabre and sadistic from heel to toe, Wednesday is clearly enraptured with this ‘normal’ boy from Ohio. Compliments, in this regard, must go to Chloe Connor, who gave one of the best interpretations of Wednesday Addams that this reviewer has ever seen (this was his fifth). It’s far too easy to give an ultra-serious performance bereft of charm when you’re playing a character who literally tortures her brother Pugsley (played by the very talented Ryan McDonnell) on a rack and tears a canary in two during the first act.
Connor, a CMS newcomer, got the balance just right. She was head-over-heels in love, verging on slightly awkward, when in Lucas’s company and snappy and stern with her freaky family. Her fine singing voice gave plenty of ‘oomph’ to ‘Pulled In A New Direction’ and ‘One Normal Night’, two of the standout songs in one of the catchiest comedic scores out there.
It wasn’t easy for Connor to stand out in such an experienced and talented lead cast, but she did.
David Alexander showed good comedic timing and really showcased Gomez Addams’s sensitive side and total and utter lack of self-awareness. His morbid mistress, Morticia, was played by Vivienne Lee, an AIMS award winner who was perfectly cast for the role.

Laughs a plenty
The rest of the family were great in their own unique ways. Another man made for his part was Mervyn Fahy, who loved every minute of lolly-gagging around as lunar-sexual (if you got to see the show, this will make sense) lunatic Uncle Fester.
Nicole Scott and society newcomer Paul Singleton (Alice Beineke and Mal Beineke) were both fine singers and actors and whose characters contrasted well with the Addams family – but even they embraced their wild side as the show went on.
Mary Dempsey (Grandma) and Ruadhán Gormally (Lurch) had small, but absolutely hilarious roles, and they drew plenty of laughs from an audience that filled Claremorris Town Hall on Wednesday night.
But a show is nothing without its chorus. And in shows like ‘The Addams Family’, the chorus is often criminally under-utilised. In this production, the mostly female ancestors were present in almost every scene, sporting some impressive chalk-white make-up, diverse costumes and eyes that popped out underneath startling dark grey eye shadow.
As always, Jay Molyneux’s choreography was slick, creative, playful and not too over the top, while the vocals were crystal clear throughout.
The set is an important component of any good Addams Family production. In Claremorris, the Addams’ spooky Central Park manor brooded over the stage like a grey, black, smoke-filled spectre illuminated by a well-chosen combination of white, blue and green lighting.
Well-thought-out makeup for the lead characters meant that Gomez, Morticia and Wednesday were pale but still looked human.
This was a nice contrast to Lurch’s Frankenstein-like dirty-grey skin, Grandma’s tea-brown wrinkled brows and Pugley’s ghastly, pale visage and untidy eyeshadow.
Visually, sonically, musically and comically, this show was a success and a credit to a society that continues to do comedy as well as any other society in Connacht.

° Claremorris Musical Society’s production of ‘The Addams Family’ ran nightly in Claremorris Town Hall from Wednesday, January 29, until Saturday, February 1.