As a HUGE Nathan Lane fan, I LOVED it. I really did. Not just for Nathan, but the whole cast is fantastic and fun. Of course, the show has problems and isn't that great. But it does exactly what it sets out to do. It entertains. I understand why people wouldn't pay $100 for it, it's just a campy, fun musical and it's exactly what an entertaining musical comedy should be.
I don't know why Nathan didn't get nominated for his performance. Yes, it was just Nathan Lane with a delightfully cheesy accent, but at the same time it was more. People don't give him enough credit. The performance had depth and heart and "Happy/Sad" brought tears to my eyes. God forbid he do something different from a Zero Mostel role.
The rest of the cast was just great. Kevin Chamberlin was just so loveable and sweet. Krysta Rodriguez made me literally fall in love with her (new Broadway crush), Jackie Hoffman was hilarious, Carolee Carmello was AMAZING, Zachary James as Lurch was excellent and over looked.
Now, while the whole cast was GREAT, the rest just suffered from poor writing. Morticia was SO out of character. Since when did Morticia care about getting old? Terrence Mann was a bit wasted in a one dimensional role. His song was HORRID, but he did the best with it. Wesley Taylor was just there.
I think the show's biggest problem was the Beineke family. You just do not care about them. You came to see THE ADDAMS FAMILY...not THE BENIEKES. They did well with what they were given. And Carolee's song, "Waiting" was just amazing. She was definitley the most entertaning of the three.
The set was amazing and large, of course. The score was fun, but some songs were just poorly written ("Where Did We Go Wrong?", "Just Around the Corner" and "In the Arms" specifically). Over all though, I loved it and I reccomend it for anyone looking for a FUN time.
People are giving it too hard of a time, I think. There are and have been worse things. I forgot to mention the young actor who plays Pugsley, I can't remember his name right now, he seemed to be the only one walking through it, oddly enough. And I didn't enjoy his voice, but he's a kid. You can't expect perfection.
I'm guessing you're not a fan of the original The Addams Family stuff then... While I enjoyed the musical, it has nothing to do with The Addams Family at all besides the familiar faces, which I think was one of the problems.
Ironically you didn't like two of the most Addams-y songs ("Where Did We Go Wrong" & "Just Around the Corner," which I believe is the best overall piece in the show despite some awful lyrics)! You also didn't even mention Bebe, so I'm guessing you weren't a fan of hers in the show!
>>>"Now, while the whole cast was GREAT, the rest just suffered from poor writing. Morticia was SO out of character. Since when did Morticia care about getting old? Terrence Mann was a bit wasted in a one dimensional role. His song was HORRID, but he did the best with it. Wesley Taylor was just there."<<<
You state that the "whole cast was GREAT" and then go on to refute the statement.
For the most part, I was just disappointed. It wasn't even particularly creepy or kooky - it barely represented The Addams Family at all, other than in costume. But I do agree on one point - Nathan Lane probably deserved a Tony nomination. He all but carries this show.
Dollypop, nonono, those were meant as character traits. Not the actors themselves. Bebe, Wesley Taylor and Terrence Mann were just given lousy roles is all I meant.
Philly, I can see your point. I DO love the original stuff. The tv show, the cartoon, the movies and I didn't really think much of it at the time, but it IS a bit out of touch with those. But to be fair, they did say they were trying to create an all-new Addams Family, based around the illustration, more so than the tv shows and movies.