tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797035092645713329.post6458530144449113680..comments2024-03-14T02:43:01.811-05:00Comments on Broadway & Me: How They Murdered "The Addams Family"jan@broadwayandmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05871839027802882307noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797035092645713329.post-83378222051422030202010-04-28T07:56:56.359-05:002010-04-28T07:56:56.359-05:00Mark and Steve, thanks so much for the Chicago com...Mark and Steve, thanks so much for the Chicago comparisons. It's going to be interesting to see how this one plays out. And they still seem to be making changes since there is apparently much less profanity in the show now than there was when I saw it just two weeks ago.jan@broadwayandmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05871839027802882307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797035092645713329.post-48457932456900355692010-04-26T11:12:14.862-05:002010-04-26T11:12:14.862-05:00If you thought the Broadway version was bad, you s...If you thought the Broadway version was bad, you should have seen what I saw in Chicago. The Broadway version is significantly improved!Steve On Broadway (SOB)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04353077627991682499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797035092645713329.post-71542424780410100272010-04-21T14:23:50.658-05:002010-04-21T14:23:50.658-05:00The original wasn't much better, I'm afrai...The original wasn't much better, I'm afraid -- I saw it several weeks into the Chicago tryout (it had already "officially" opened at that point, but I don't think the announcement about Zaks' involvement had been made yet - I'd have to find my ticket stub to be sure). I've been trying to piece together the differences, what Zaks changed, and here are a few I've been able to come up with:<br /><br />1. The TV theme song didn't start the show; the overture still sounded like several utilities strung together (several changes and the outmarch were identical, so I'm guessing the NY overture had yet to be written). The TV theme song was inserted into the show at about the mid-point of the first act; after the Beinke family was lost in the park, they sighted the house (a large flat upstage), and the father said something to the effect of "I wonder what kind of a family this is to have a house in Central Park?". The TV theme played, the flat fell, and there were the Addamses in the famous pose. It may have been a fairly recent addition (Chris Jones alludes to it in his review, but it felt very dropped-in-at-the-last-minute, so maybe the idea was tried a few different ways?); the creatives were all pretty adamant that the show was based on the cartoons and not the TV show at first . . . Zaks probably (and rightly) decided to give the ticket-buyers what they came for right up front. <br /><br />2. The opening number throughout the Chicago run was called "Clandango" . . . and it was pretty strange. It sounded like a bullfight, and was all about introducing the chorus of ancestors, who had risen from the grave to observe a ritual; Wednesday being "annointed" as a woman (they chopped off her pigtails during the number). It was all rather grim. The new number is a considerable improvement, believe it or not.<br /><br />3. Morticia's big number was called "Second Banana", and every critic in Chicago singled it out as the worst in the show. I'm not sure that's fair . . . it actually wasn't that bad (it's one of the only melodies I remember). However, Morticia was much whinier in the Chicago version, not as afraid of getting older as she was her looks fading. The song just really didn't fit the character, and nobody really liked a whiny Morticia.<br /><br />4. The last scene included a rather long (and poorly choreographed) swordfight between Gomez and Morticia that signaled that she had gotten her mojo back. It happened right before "In the Arms", I think. I understand it was cut - it should have been. <br /><br />5. Whatever's happening in the picture where Grandma is dressed as a Nurse and Fester is holding a football did not occur in the Chicago tryout.Mark (kalel80806@hotmail.com)noreply@blogger.com