Reviewed by Paul Davies
June 2015
Is there something in the water at Balaklava? You’d think that a small town would be challenged to produce a full-blown musical, but not this one. My eighty minute drive each way was well worth it.
From the opening overture when the audience joined in with a bit of finger-clicking the scene was set for a cracker of a show.
Paul Paulenas has directed a very talented cast to a standard that never misses a laugh, and never lets a joke go undone. I’m a big fan of anyone who kicks down the forth wall. Tahlia Crickmar’s choreography is superb, everyone looked like a natural. And Heidi Zerk’s musical direction was so good, -I wanted the cd!
Backstage the standard were equally high. –Sets, costumes, make-up, lighting and sound, all of a very high standard, all invisible to the critic’s eye. (Which is a good thing!)
The actors of course have the best of it. All of the Addams boxes ticked. –The tango. Morticia speaks French. Fester’s lightbulb trick. All were well cast, and all happily overacting where appropriate. Joe Russell’s Gomez channelling Antonio Banderas wonderfully. Kelly Bickle inhabiting Morticia totally –one should warn her family that the character might take a while to leave! Jessica Beattie has for me the plumb role in Wednesday and runs with it (with her arms firmly motionless!) Scott Everett’s Uncle Fester is suitably cartoonish, -the audience, quite rightly loved him.
Musicals need true talent, performers need to be able to act, sing and dance. The whole ensemble here was brilliant. The whole show was Finger Clickin’ Good!
