Meet the Spookiest Family in Edmonds

One family full of darkness, two love birds, three “normal” people coming to visit, and four walls being broken, The Addams Family from the Edmonds Driftwood Players is a musical full of mystery, drama, and humor. In their cozy theatre, where every seat has a good view, the stage is set with all natural hues. The iconic intro comes on, and you can’t help but snap along to the familiar beat of the song.

This engaging musical captures the story of Wednesday Addams, (Megan Acuna), daughter of proud parents Morticia, (Tamara C. Davis), and Gomez Addams, (Doug Knoop), and older sister to the troublesome, but soft-hearted, Pugsley Addams, (Catherine Craig). Wednesday, the beloved princess of the family, has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, (David Naber), who is different from her family—a more average suburban boy. No one knows about the couple except Wednesday’s father, Gomez, who has never kept a secret from his wife, Morticia. This tension only continues to grow as the polar families meet to have dinner. Wednesday has only one request for her family: one normal night. “Normal is just an illusion,” Morticia points out.

After one bizarre event after another, the dinner, needless to say, does not go as planned. Wednesday and Lucas Beineke are already committed to getting married, so they can’t just call off the engagement… or can they? The show continuously leaves the audience asking questions. Does Morticia find out that Gomez is keeping a secret? Will the rest of the family support the young couple? Although both families and even every character has their own troubles, everyone leans on each other, so when one thing goes wrong, everything seems to fall apart.

The production tackles themes of love, while defying the norms of the emotion. Not only do two very different people fall in love, but Wednesday’s Uncle Fester, (Richard Wright), even falls in love with an inanimate object.

The monochromatic costumes of the Addams family are visually striking. Always wearing all black has become their iconic brand, and contrasts very clearly with both their dead ancestors, who, as ghosts, wear all white, and Lucas’ family, who wear average and colorful clothing.

Although this show has a constant motif of darkness and mystery, there are still many comical aspects that lighten up the mood of the show, such as when Pugsley messes with Granny’s, (Jennifer Price), potions at dinner. The audience was very enthused by such details, and often broke out in a laughter that filled the theatre.

One of the many unique aspects of this show was the narration from the characters. With the act of breaking the fourth wall, we understand how the characters were feeling and what they were planning to do, keeping the audience on their toes. At times, the ideas of the characters clashed, and although the characters don’t know what the others are thinking, the audience does, making them fully sensitive to the building anticipation in the plot.

This show will bring your “Halloween meets Valentines Day” fantasies to life. All families have their ups and downs, but at the end of the day, you have to see the show if you’re eager to know if all Addams are really “obligated to the clan” and if “family [is] first and family [is] last.” This performance exemplifies a sweet story full of heartwarming themes told through a seemingly dark family.

Lead photo credit: The Addams Family - A New Musical by Edmonds Driftwood Players. Photo by Dale Sutton

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