WICKERMOSS: EVENTS: Backstage with the Macabre Clan: The Addams Family!

"What happens backstage, stays backstage". Well, not for me! As I'd like to show you what I have seen at the backstage of The Addams Family Musical. Aside from the well-executed performance and laughter from the musical play, The Addams Family production has always targeted to be constant every show, and in every night. They must execute each show crisp and clean, think at least 8x a week? Though they are currently on an International Tour, each show is always like a first time; welcoming a new breed of audiences. I have rolled out the Top 10 reasons on why one should at least catch the show; the link is here! so what's behind The Addams Family theatrical curtains?

Costumes (left to right) worn by: Uncle Fester; Grandma (she wore the nurse uniform to portray her being “normal” haha!); Pugsley’s signature striped shirt)

Grandma Addams’ cart potion

Once the curtain rolls up, people see the set for the first time and it’s an overwhelming sight, if not a magical experience. When the music starts (da da da dum snap snap) that just puts everybody in the mood. So the set and music must always come hand in hand and here they do make a great job. There’s always a fast transition for every scene change in The Addams Family musical, as there are a lot of venues to take you to the characters’ lives (graveyard, the Addams house interior, the torture room, etc…) The way they change the set is just like flippin’ the page of a book, looks really simple but they do it to a swift retort.

The set comes with the provocative elements that bring the additional humor to the show. For a family to have that dark and weird lifestyle, it’s not easy to lay-out the set in my opinion. What may seem dark to one may mean a totally different thing to someone else. Balance for dark humor and zany comedy? It’s not something you always get from a musical play. The Addams Family deliver those with heaps of pure entertainment.

I call this tiny little gate the door to reincarnation! This is where the ancestors made their entrance when Uncle Fester called from the dead to join in the yearly family tradition of honoring the cycle of life and death.

The Torture Chair

Gomez Addams asks Mal Beineke to sit here for a question and answer game in which Mal answered with: “Uhm, maybe next time.” HAHA!

The Addams Family Dinner Table. Can you spot the human rib cage there?

Resorts World Sentosa Grand Festive Theater has no orchestral pit, so this is located at the backstage.

I wonder if the casts had difficulty with this kind of set-up? What if they forgot their lyrics? I also noticed they did not have any prompter on stage. So it means, they’re just great. No room for mistakes for this show ; kudos to the cast… such hard work involved!

The backdrop was made to look like it’s 3D but upon closer look, they’re cardboards. Fabulous lighting works here.

The Addams Family is well loved all throughout these years, a lot of fun in the show yes, but the amount of talent between the writing , production staff and the entire cast is what makes it timeless and a yeah…a classic. It still has this captivating appeal despite of the changing of casts involved. The sets were used in such a clever way that it makes the story solid all throughout the show. The musical scoring of Andrew Lippa is totally brisk and as mentioned before, totally relatable. Be enchanted not just by the tangible love affair of Gomez and Morticia but how they were able to maintain a strong family knit all throughout these years.