It’s been more than a year since the students at Mingus Union High School have had an opportunity to perform on the school’s stage in a musical production. Last year’s “Shrek” had to be canceled, presaging what became a rather macabre year.
A sense of the macabre continues into the high school thespians’ return to the stage in “The Addams Family,” the stage adaptation by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa of Charles Addams’ iconic comics depicting a family that delights in death, torture and things that go bump in the night. But “The Addams Family,” which premiered on Friday, May 7, with three more performances this coming weekend, brings laughs far more than scares — laughing at death and laughing at family foibles as well.
It was the family aspect of the play that encouraged Director James Ball to choose this musical, and it shows. While a significant portion of the humor comes from the jarring familiarity of the ghoulish visuals and characters [and more than a little stems from asides and innuendo that parents might get more than the students], the real meat of the show comes from the family dynamics of the eponymous family, as well as their counterparts, the Bieneckes, brought by daughter Wednesday Addams [Mingus senior Mikala Gaydon] for dinner, as she is dating their son Lucas [sophomore Lazor Lanson].
“Living or dead, family is still family,” Gomez Addams [junior Jarrett Moncibaez] sings in the opening number.
Moncibaez is a real standout for his performance, anchoring the show clearly on the shoulders of his pinstriped suit. As the father of the titular family, he appears in nearly every scene, with four solo songs, three duets and numerous lead parts in the larger ensembles songs as well. Ball is lucky to have found a star like Moncibaez, whose sweet baritone is able to carry the songs, but even more importantly, is able to hold together the goofy show with the power of his stage presence, and the portrayal of love between him and his wife Morticia, played by the similarly talented Senior Charlie Green. Both embrace the show’s campy tone, with an almost vaudevillian commitment to the slapstick bits and the jokes aimed at the cheap seats. But they also manage to feel human, even when surrounded by fellow actors playing anything but.
The ensemble players portray a host of Addams family ancestors, risen from the dead for a night with their descendants anddecked out with some truly eye-popping costumes, each of them a ghoulish feat of hair and makeup, showcasing grisly deaths and the impact of years in the ground. They all look great, but it is somewhat hard to keep one’s eyes off of Bailey Hartman, playing a gory corpse bride.
In comparison to some of Mingus’ other recent musicals — even the comedies — “The Addams Family” has a notably looser vibe, fitting for a show that had to be put together on shorter notice than the usual Mingus production. The musical delights in a sense of pure fun more than any attempt at high drama, with fewer moments of dazzling choreography and more opportunities for laughs. The plot sometimes takes a back seat to a cheap joke, or sometimes even a clever one. In a show that is already mostly comic relief, there are several comic relief characters given a chance to have their own show- case moments that left the crowd hooting and hollering.
After a difficult year, “The Addams Family” is a fitting return for Mingus’ students, deprived for so long of a chance to be on stage. There is palpable joy seen in the actors onstage, and it extends to the audience, too.
“The Addams Family” premiered on Friday, May 7, with additional performances at 7 p.m. on May 14 and 15, as well as a matinee performance on Sunday, May 16 at 3 p.m. All performances will be livestreamed. Tickets can be bought online at mingusperformingarts.com, in person at the MUHS Bookstore, and by phone at 649-4466. In-person tickets are $12 for adults, $11, for seniors, and $8 for students and children, all $3 more if bought at the door. Livestream tickets cost $10 for an individual or $30 for a family pass.
