Addams Family Musical: Parents' Guide

It was date night, and my husband and I had tickets to the pre-Broadway run of the new musical, The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. We had a great time, but we are glad we left the kids at home.

The plot centers around Wednesday Addams' transition to young adulthood. She has a new boyfriend from Ohio, and his family is coming to dinner. She asks them to give her one "normal night," so that his straight-laced parents will like her.

Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth are funny, but if it's possible to draw the attention away from Nathan Lane, Kevin Chamberlin nearly does so as love-obsessed Uncle Fester, who sings a very hummable "Let's Not Talk About Anything Else but Love." Morticia and Gomez Addams' passion for sex (they "tango" every night at 7) comes through quite clearly in the production.

Morticia frets about getting older-is she now a "prune" instead of a "ripe plum" like her daughter? Pugsley worries about who will torture him if Wednesday moves away.

Of course, the Addams Family is unable to pull off the normal night Wednesday wants. Chaos ensues when the Addams family treats their guests to a drinking game, "Full Disclosure," and Wednesday announces, much to her boyfriend's suprise, that they are going to get married. Neither family is happy about this announcement. Of course (spoiler alert here), this being a musical, there is a happy ending.

There are numerous-and not child friendly-references to sex, alcohol, drug use, and instruments of torture. Some of the creatures that haunt the house may be upsetting to younger children, who may not understand the black humor. But my husband and I laughed quite often during the show.

Several other numbers were notable. In "Full Disclosure," the characters take turns drinking truth serum (merlot wine) and tell dark secrets about themselves. In "The Moon and Me," Fester expresses his unplatonic love for the moon. In "Second Banana," Morticia refuses to "tango" with Gomez and laments growing older (some gags with a spotlight are particularly funny). In "Happy/Sad," Gomez tells Wednesday about his mixed feelings over her growing up, which will be familiar to many parents.

There are still a few kinks to be worked out, and presumably this will happen with time and repetition. The musical is, after all, in it's pre-Broadway trial run. But all in all, it was an enjoyable show.