The stellar cast of 'The Addams Family,' now playing at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, brings plenty of morbid and physical humor to the Tony Award-nominated musical. The rather racy show runs through November 10. Photo by Jeri Tidewell Photography

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The iconic television show “The Addams Family” aired for only two seasons on ABC in the mid-1960s. But it influenced generations of viewers (in part due to decades of syndication), who to this day can chant the theme song with its finger-snapping syncopation. 

To be fair, some of us got our first taste of the macabre humor of the Addams Family from the collections of New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams that graced the waiting rooms of pediatricians and dentists from coast to coast.  

But it was the television show, followed by several full-length feature films, that generated the popular interest that led to the successful Broadway musical production in 2010.  

Starring Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, the show was nominated for multiple Tony, Drama Desk and Drama League Awards, including for outstanding musical, best original score and best actors.  

The musical is now on stage at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, through November 10.  

A familiar story line 

For a show based on the, shall we say, unique characters created by Charles Addams, the musical’s plot feels familiar.  

It centers around daughter Wednesday (Lydia Gifford) surprisingly bringing home to dinner a “normal” boyfriend (with whom she’s fallen in love) and his parents.  

As in La Cage aux Folles, the tension is about whether the offbeat family hosting the meal can keep a lid on their eccentricities long enough for both sets of parents to agree to the match. 

What turns out to be an even bigger part of the tension comes from Wednesday’s begging Gomez (played by Helen Hayes Award winner Jordan B. Stocksdale) to keep the pending engagement a secret from Morticia (well played by MaryKate Brouillet).  

That puts him in an untenable position between the two women in his life — “Trapped,” as he sings in one of the show’s funniest numbers. Stocksdale does an excellent job portraying Gomez as both dashing and hen-pecked at the same time.  

Almost Broadway

Despite the feelings of déjà vu from the plot, Toby’s pulls off the musical with both humor and heart. Much of that has to do with the excellent direction and choreography (yes, both) by Mark Minnick, who has worked alongside Toby’s founder and artistic director, Toby Orenstein, for some years. 

The score, which as noted above was nominated for a Tony, doesn’t feature many tunes you are likely to start humming. But the major numbers manage to convey the spectacle of a big Broadway stage even on Toby’s intimate theatre-in-the-round.  

That’s especially true of the numbers that feature a large cast of Addams Family “ancestors” — ghosts who play a prominent role in the night’s events.  

The principal cast members all have excellent voices and powerful delivery. But it’s the women who really get to show their chops.  

I was particularly struck by Gifford (Wednesday), not only for her superb singing, but also her distinctive speaking voice. Call me crazy-with-a-z, but she kept reminding me of the young Liza Minelli in Cabaret. Perhaps it was the heavy eye makeup and black hair, but she really channeled Minelli.  

Maybe I had Cabaret on my mind because of the attire worn by Morticia. First, the neckline of her floor-length black gown extends “down to Venezuela,” as Gomez describes it. And for their “Tango De Amor” number near the end of the show, she removes the bottom of the dress to reveal a fishnet hose and garter ensemble worthy of Sally Bowles.  

Then there’s Alice Beineke (Anna Phillips-Brown), the mother of Wednesday’s intended. Accidentally given a potion meant to bring out the beast in a person, she convincingly transforms from a ditzy, vapid middle-aged mom into a sex-starved tigress in the middle of the family dinner.  

To make it clear, while you might have assumed young children (or grandchildren) would be the intended audience for an Addams Family musical, you would be mistaken. On the other hand, at least some of the constant sexual innuendo might go over the heads of tender youths.  

As always, Toby’s live orchestra does an excellent job giving life to the score. And the make-up department deserves special accolades, particularly for the wardrobe of the ancestors, who include character types from throughout world history, all appropriately dressed for their time and powdered like the ghosts they are.  

A special shout-out goes to Toby’s scenic and properties designer, Shane Lowry, for designing jaw-dropping set pieces and props, including the disembodied hand (“Thing”) that fences with Gomez, a walking skeleton pushing a cart, and the “monster under the bed” that helps little Pugsley sleep at night.  

All in all, The Addams Family is a fun and funny Broadway musical, well suited for those who are into the macabre humor the characters are known for. On the other hand, if you’re usually (or currently) not in the mood for songs extolling pain and death, you might want to take a pass.  

Ticket information 

As always, Toby’s includes in the ticket price a multi-course, all-you-can-eat buffet: dinner prior to evening performances or brunch prior to Wednesday and Sunday matinees.  

Depending on performance, tickets range from $84 to $92 for adults (those 65+ pay $74 for Tue. evening or any Wed. performance); children 4 and older are $64 to $67. Remember, the tips you leave for waiters also constitute the majority of the actors’ pay, so be generous.  

Tickets are available from the box office by calling (410) 730-8311 or online via TicketMaster (with a service fee). Toby’s is located at 5900 Symphony Woods Rd. in Columbia, Maryland.