Presented by Scotch College
Reviewed 28 July 2017
This production was ambitious, and to do it with two full casts shows the depth of talent hiding in this school. Director Adam Goodburn was lucky to find such talent and he used it well. The very creative Linda Williams was the choreographer and these two make a great team. Along with Briony Nickels, the MD they have done a wonderful job. The opening number, When You’re an Addams, set the scene beautifully and established the characters, along with the creepier members of the family.
Felix Setchell made a fine Lurch, a difficult character to maintain, but he seemed to relish the challenge. He was a fine introduction, taking care of Thing (Ella Atkins), who has a very expressive hand! Gomez, played by Ris Mosel, was suave and in control except of Mortica, played with excellent style, in a fantastic costume, by Onor Nottle. Their children were all you would expect, Isabella Mennillo made a feisty Wednesday and everyone soon forgot that a girl, Olivia Sutton, was playing Pugsley, she was a nasty little boy!
Issy Derwent was great as Grandma, just as you’d expect her to be but Fester was beyond good. Ned Baulderstone has a fine voice and a talent for comedy which makes Uncle Fester a very odd but likeable character. May Serafin-Rai was totally unrecognisable as Cousin Itt, but was also one of the chorus of Dancestors, but of course I couldn’t pick her out.
The “normal” folk in this, Wednesday’s boyfriend Lucas and his parents are played by Jack Raftopoulos (Lucas) Charlie Ryan-Kane (Mal Beineke) and Laura Williams (Alice Beineke) and the parents, at least, were anything but normal. Like the rest of this cast they did a fine job with many highlights.
Those highlights include Fester singing But Love backed by a great chorus, Two Things/Four Things by Gomez and Mortica, Full Disclosure by the Ensemble and ….everything else! It goes without saying that the orchestra was excellent, we couldn’t see them but we heard them clearly, in all the right places. That was due to the great sound design by Jamie Mensforth and operation by Lachlan Williams. The lighting was also good, operated by Charles Grabham, although in the first row, the audience blinders were a bit too blinding. Brian Budgen’s set design was just right and complimented by Craig William’s animation and Michelle Menillo’s costumes.
Congratulations to all the cast for a great production and to Scotch College for another good show!
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @franeds
Venue: The Chapel, Scotch College
Season: 28 July-5 Aug 2017
Duration: 2 hours 30 mins (including interval)
Tickets: Adults $30 Conc $20
Bookings: Kate Crawshaw, Performing Arts Secretary Ph 8274 4210 Email [email protected]
www.scotch.sa.edu.au/musical
Photo Credit: Tim Allen
Watch out for Glam Adelaide’s Arts Editor Brian Godfrey’s review of the Kooky Cast
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