'Addams Family' reunion fills the Lincoln

As every husband and father knows, there are “Two Things,” no “Three Things” he must not do: “say no to his wife and no to his daughter, or tell the truth.” As life becomes more complex for Gomez Addams, he considers “Four Things” not to do. Welcome to the “The Addams Family, A New Musical” playing at the Lincoln Theatre through April 2.

Addams, played with a confident panache by Luke Dooley, and his wife Morticia (Bailey Wend, with a great deadpan morbidity) open the show on the one evening every year the family gathers to contemplate love and death. And “When you’re an Addams, living or dead, family is still family,” so Uncle Fester (Marley Lagares, sensitive, innocent and wise), dances on his ancestors’ graves, calling forth hordes of them and they stream down the auditorium’s aisles to join on stage, dancing and singing.

This night, teenage daughter Wednesday (Olivia Greso, offering a pouty stiffness), growing up so fast she will soon be Thursday – a typical throw away comic line – confronts her father with her love for Lucas (Andrew Boedigheimer), whom she wants to marry and wants Gomez to get mom’s approval. More, she wants the families to meet over a dinner at the Addams home that night. They are soon to arrive from Ohio.

By this time all the characters from the original cartoon and 1964 TV show have made their way on stage, including the butler Lurch (Andy Buchanan), a stiff, mono syllabic Frankenstein caricature, and Grandma (Erin Connelly), only scary in her blood stained nurses uniform. New is The Thing, Megan Olson’s hand, in sign language inclusiveness.

The family’s upside down bizarro embracing darkness and death, younger son Pugsley (Kennedy Hurtado-Stewart Friday night; two actors alternate) enjoying electric shocks while hanging from his wrists, does not stop them from longing for and their hope for “One Normal Night.”

And it turns out Lucas’ parents Alice (Anne Fields), perfectly portraying a middle age Midwestern mother and father Mal, (Brian Schrader), the matching tie-and-suit-coated husband, are hiding even more in their relationships.

Morticia is against the marriage and doesn’t want to meet this family, but consents under the condition that after dinner all play The Game, where, “Full Disclosure,” all must tell the truth. Throw in acromnium, grandma’s potion heisted by Pugsley, in a scene with the special effect has the green bottle lighting up as he sneaks it away, and you can guess that the game will turn into pandemonium. It does.

In a musical with 27 songs the large ensemble cast was frequently on stage, primarily as a chorus with simple dance numbers.

The music had a tango tinge to it, though Gomez and Morticia ‘s closing “Tango Amor” was that, a love song and dance, and fun.

The saber fight scene between Gomez and Morticia is fast paced, well choreographed and not easy to perform. Credit goes to choreographer Madelyn Hamblin as well as the actors.

All this must be great fun for the cast. Except for playing zombies, what can be better than to be long dead ancestors, across the centuries, in white wigs and white costumes, singing in ensemble and performing together? And, they get to have scars and stitches on their faces. This is the essence of community theatre that NITE/META does so well.

The 13 piece orchestra led by conductor and musical director Jonathon Lyons includes horns, keyboards, reeds, strings and percussionists.

Getting credit for the look, feel and pace of the show are Director Abraham Nurkiewicz, hair and make-up Heather DeGroot and make-up: Diana Becerra Ayala, Emily Hall and Lilianna Rocha.

“The Addams Family” was created in 2009 with book by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, it played Broadway in 2010-2011.

It is brought to Mount Vernon by META, which has recast itself as NITE: Northwest Inclusive Theatrical Education.

It plays weekends through April 2. Tickets and times: lincolntheatre.org; 360-336-8955.