DA-DA-DA-DUM. Snap, snap!
Good buzz is coming out of this week’s invitation-only reading of “The Addams Family” musical, with lots of cheers for what one spy calls a “brilliantly funny” cast – Nathan Lane (Gomez), Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia), Kevin Chamberlain (Uncle Fester), Marylouise Burke (Grandmama) and Terence Mann and Jan Maxwell as a “normal” couple.
Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, who wrote “Jersey Boys,” have come up with an original story, taking nothing from either the TV show or the movies. The Addams estate, I’m told, was adamant that the musical be based solely on Charles Addams’ New Yorker drawings.
“They have complete control over just about everything on this show, and they rule with an iron fist,” a source says of the estate, which is said to collect millions of dollars a year on all things Addams.
The musical is set in the present day, and the Addams family lives in a spooky castle in the middle of Central Park. The plot is a bit like “Meet the Parents,” with Gomez and Morticia throwing a dinner party for the parents of their daughter Wednesday’s boyfriend.
Among many funny wisecracks, this one got the biggest laugh (for the full effect, imagine Nathan doing one his famous double takes on the punch line):
Morticia: When your mother moved in, it was supposed to be for two weeks. She’s been upstairs now for 12 years.
Gomez: My mother? I thought that was your mother!
“The story’s a little thin, but they fire a lot of funny jokes at you,” says a theater executive, who says he’s going to invest in the $10 million show.
Andrew Lippa‘s score is getting mixed reviews. While Lippa’s an accomplished composer (“The Wild Party”), he’s not exactly a tunesmith.
“Truthfully, I didn’t leave humming any of the songs,” one person says. “It’s not a bad score by any means, but I think you’ve got to have a couple of songs that are as catchy as the famous theme.”
(That theme, by the way, is not used on the show.)
That complaint has also dogged Lippa’s peers – Jeanine Tesori (“Shrek”), Michael John LaChiusa (“The Wild Party” – the other one), Jason Robert Brown (“13”).
They’re all smart writers and excellent musicians with lots of interesting ideas for shows. But they don’t write take-away tunes.
A little less Milton Babbitt and more Irving Berlin, kids, and you might start having some hits.
“The Addams Family” is being designed and directed by Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott, co-founders of the Improbable Theater Company. Their production of Phillip Glass‘ “Satyagraha” was a winner for the Met last year.
The show will debut in Chicago in November, with a Broadway opening in April 2010.
WHILE most drama crit ics I know are terrified about losing their jobs, American Theatre magazine’s Randy Gener‘s got plenty to celebrate. He just won this year’s George Jean Nathan Award for theater criticism, which comes with a cash prize of $10,000.
I like to think his peers – David Cote and Adam Feldman, those ambitious little scribblers over at Time Out – are green with envy.
Randy’s moderating a panel about the future of theater criticism (bleak) on Feb. 13 at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Panelists include former Nathan Award winners Jonathan Kalb, Alisa Solomon, Johanna Keller and moi.
I’m not a George Jean Nathan winner myself, but if I do a good job, I hope Randy will split the 10 grand with me.
Speaking of critics, we at The Post are pleased to announce that our new chief drama critic is Elisabeth Vincentelli. She comes to us from TimeOut, where she was arts Editor.
Elisabeth’s first target: “Guys and Dolls,” opening March 1.
I hope the New York Drama Critics’ Circle extends her a warm welcome.
Be nice to her, John Simon!