Addams Family cast delighted to bring dark musical to stage
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Three actors starring in the South African premiere of The Addams Family musical, which will show at the Homecoming Centre from Saturday December 14 for a seven-week run, said they are excited to see the production of one of the most famous dark and weird families come to life on stage.
The Addams Family Musical by Andrew Lippa, Marshal Brickman and Rick Elice, is based on the beloved characters created by Charles Addams - an eccentric who delighted in the macabre and the grotesque.
The musical, which will show in South Africa for the first time, centres on the story of the “princess of darkness”, Wednesday, who falls in love with a “normal” boy, Lucas. The Addams family invites him and his parents for dinner, mayhem and some dark humour.
“Expect to be amazed and inspired, because that's what I feel every time, sitting on the sidelines and watching rehearsals, and seeing it all go from literally nothing to what it is now in just a few weeks. It’s mindblowing, ”said Chad Baai, who plays Lucas, the boy that Wednesday Adams falls in love with.
“It’s amazing to see... it's definitely like the best of all worlds in this show,” said Connor Merryweather, one of the cast members who plays Pugsley Addams, Wednesday’s 10-year-old brother.
Connor, 16, from Sunningdale, shares the role with Londiwe Zuma, 16, from Milnerton. The two, who will alternate the part on different production days, say they juggle the character with their own authentic styles.
“It’s the same character, but we make it unique to ourselves. We also love bouncing ideas off of each other, so if one of us does something that we think is really good for the character, we might incorporate it into how we play the characters because we can't play the exact same style of character but we definitely are trying to keep it in line with how Pugsley is usually played as this very butch child,“ said Connor.
Londiwe added: “Pugsley is a 10-year-old child, and both of us aren't. Playing a child is bit challenging but we also quite enjoy it because it allows us to tap into our inner child.”
Both actors say their interest in musical theatre comes from their families.
“I think it came from both sides of my family - on my father's side, my uncle was an artist and on my mother's side, my family used to sing a lot at church and over the years. I have been performing at church and at school. My love of performing and singing it just flourished into what it is now,” said Londiwe.
“My musical background definitely comes from my sister who started musical theatre before I did...I just got to watch her on stage in all the shows that she performed and I always used to think ‘wow’, because she used to be this very shy kid that I used to also be and when she was on stage, she was just so bright and happy and I was so proud of her.
“No matter what was happening in my life, it was like I could always go on stage and just become someone else and be who I wanted to be and it was just the most amazing feeling.“
Chad, from Belhar, did dance and drama as a subject at school. "Funny enough, I didn't know what I was going to study afterwards, but I always knew that I wanted to do arts. After taking a gap year, things just started happening after my dance teacher got me into a musical. At the time, I didn’t know anything about musicals.“
Chad said is character, Lucas, falls madly inlove with Wednesday, one of the Addams children, but he is normal, and the Addams family is, well, the Addams family. “They just want the families to come together and accept the the love of two different people.
He said the character he plays is a challenge, as he considers his “coloured” accent as one of his biggest flaws, as it was difficult to break away from. “For me, its difficult to go into different accents so with the exposure I get here, it adds a new skill to my repertoire.”
Chad said that as well-known as the Addams family is, watching the South African cast bring the characters to life was different to what he has seen on a movie or a TV series.
“People who come to watch can expect laughter... definitely a lot of laughter.”
Londiwe says patrons are in for “one emotional roller coaster”.
“It is quite a beautiful production that I think people should come see, not just once, but more than once.”
The Addams Family Musical will run from Saturday December 14 until February 2 next year, at 7.30pm at the Fugard Theatre. There are matinee shows at 3.30pm over weekends. Tickets cost from R350 to R580 and are available at Webtickets.
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