Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society's annual show - The Addams Family - was a triumph

Carrick Musical Society’s annual show – The Addams Family – that concluded its six-night run at the Strand Theatre last Saturday night - was a triumph from the stellar performances of its cast to the behind the scenes make-up, costumes and direction.

The professional quality of Carrick Musical Society’s production of this dark humoured comedy, based on Charles Samuel Addams’ famous cartoon characters, would rival any staged in the big theatres of Dublin and Cork.

Eoin Sheedy and Sandra Power perfectly captured the gothic characters of Gomez and Morticia both in appearance and acting as did Liadhain O’Shea and Evan Boland as their morbidly funny children Wednesday and Pugsley.

Evan Boland, at just 12 years-old, gave a very assured and impressive performance in this leading role.
Irene Malone made a welcome return to the Strand Theatre stage with a deliciously hilarious portrayal of the bawdy and crude Granny Addams.

Caolán Deehy-Power’s portrayal of Fester was a pure delight and the scene where he ascended above the stage to meet his love – the Moon, was one of the show’s outstanding moments.

It was a poignant show for Carrick Musical Society’s current chairman as his father, Fergus Power, a former chairman and president of Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society who played the panto dame in many Society productions, sadly passed away just days before the opening night. His funeral took place early last week and all performances of The Addams Family were dedicated to his memory and the memory of another Carrick MS legend, Brian Mulvaney, who passed away a few weeks ago.

The show’s choreographer Keith Dwyer Greene stepped into the breach to fill Caolán’s shoes in the first few shows but Caolán played the role for the rest of the run.

His performances were a lovely tribute to his late father, who himself graced the stage of the Strand Theatre so many times as a comic actor and singer.

Addams Family cast members relaxing backstage from left: Michael Raggett (Mal), Luiz Menzes, Diana Preto, Neill Bourke (Lurch) and Bryanna Lima.

Michael Raggett, Jordan Freeman and Cormac O’Donovan as Mal, Alice and Lucas Beineke also gave first class performances as the normal family who get involved with the macabre Addams through Lucas’ romance with Wednesday.

And Neill Bourke played the stiff, grunting Frankenstein like Lurch to a tee and treated the audience to the surprise of the night at the end of the show with his deep voiced rendition of Move Toward the Darkness.

It wasn’t just the principal performers who shone. The ensemble song and dance scenes involving the leads and chorus – the ancestors - were perfectly timed and executed.

The costumes and make up of all the cast were superb. This reviewer marvelled at the level of detail, particularly with the costuming of the chorus members who played a wide range of ghostly ancestors from Sherlock Holmes, Laurel & Hardy and Marie Antoinette to a pirate queen and Viking. The costumes and make-up were strikingly highlighted by the stage lighting.

John O’Donoghue’s set of the Addams Family’s eerie home and grounds also deserves a special mention. It was really atmospheric.

Last Friday night’s performance, which this reviewer attended, ended with a rousing ovation and cheers from the audience in appreciation to the entire cast and backstage team led by director Andrew Holden.

It was richly deserved.

Check out the two pages of coverage of Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society's production of The Addams Family featuring many photos of the cast, backstage team and audience on pages 40 and 41 of this week's edition of The Nationalist now on sale in local shops. 

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