The macabre and mysterious Addams clan have descended on Salford this week, bringing their deadpan humour and darkly romantic charm to The Lowry. In this musical comedy, Wednesday Addams – no longer the morbid child of TV and film – has grown up and fallen for Lucas Beineke, an achingly “normal” young man from a respectable family. The twist? Only Gomez knows, and he’s sworn to keep it secret from Morticia until the two families meet for dinner. Cue a night of confessions, unlikely alliances, and culture clashes between the creepy, kooky Addamses and their straight-laced guests.
The Addams Family musical, with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, opened on Broadway in 2010 and has since toured internationally. UK audiences first saw the show in a major tour in 2017–2018, with a further revival tour in 2021-22 that was ultimately halted early. More recently, a semi-staged concert version played at the London Palladium in 2024, rekindling interest in the piece. This latest touring production, directed by Matthew White, arrives with a well-assembled cast and a polished creative team – but while it delivers some excellent performances, the material still feels frustratingly underdeveloped.
The set, designed by Diego Pitarch, is initially striking – a towering gothic frame with panels and looming staircases that instantly locates us in the Addams’ world. However, its use becomes repetitive over the course of the evening, with scene changes relying on familiar patterns rather than imaginative transformations. Costuming is similarly mixed: the ensemble of ghostly “ancestors” is well-realised, with period-specific outfits that offer visual variety and texture, but the principal characters are dressed surprisingly plainly. Wednesday’s costumes in particular feel underwhelming – leaning more towards punky black separates than the traditional gothic aesthetic, they flatten her visual identity.
Lighting design by Ben Cracknell generally creates a rich, moody atmosphere, with some striking washes and well-placed spot effects. However, some possible missed lighting cues on press night left characters underlit during spoken lines.
Performance-wise, Ricardo Afonso’s Gomez is the production’s anchor – charming, vocally assured, and blessed with the best-written character in the piece. His warmth and wit hold the show together, providing the emotional bridge between the eccentric and the conventional. Alexandra Burke delivers a consistently poised Morticia, with flashes of nuance, though the role’s limited progression and lack of standout vocal moments feel like a missed opportunity for an artist of her calibre. Maria Garrett’s Wednesday is a vocal highlight, her strong, expressive delivery elevating the material she’s given.
Clive Rowe’s Uncle Fester is a delight – fully committed, physically inventive, and consistently hilarious, his every entrance energises the stage. Lesley Joseph’s Grandma offers moments of great characterisation, though her accent slips between British and American. Kara Lane’s Alice makes the most of a thinly written role, delivering “Waiting” with a powerhouse vocal that briefly lifts the evening to another level. Jacob Fowler’s Lucas is convincingly played, though the character is the most underwritten of the lot, leaving him without a memorable arc.
The real sticking point lies in the writing. The show’s narrative is simple, but it doesn’t dig deep enough into these beloved characters, leaving most feeling one-dimensional. Structurally, it plays like a paint-by-numbers musical, giving each lead a song or duet without building a truly cohesive story. Musically, Andrew Lippa’s score is eclectic to the point of disunity – styles range from Latin-infused numbers to vaudevillian pastiches to power ballads, but the shifts in tone mean the piece never finds a consistent musical identity.
There’s no doubt this is a well-cast and competently staged production, with moments of humour, charm, and vocal brilliance. But with such rich source material and such iconic characters, The Addams Family should feel stranger, darker, and more unified. Instead, this visit to the family mansion is a pleasant diversion rather than a truly unforgettable night in their deliciously twisted world.
The Addams Family plays at the Lowry until Saturday 16th August where it will continue its UK tour. Tickets for the Lowry available here and the rest of the tour here.
Photography throughout from Pamela Raith.
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