The Addams Family at Birmingham Hippodrome Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Julie Hayward

The Addams Family, musical comedy began its U.K tour for 2025, this week in Birmingham at The Hippodrome, and will continue throughout the summer at; The Curve in Leicester, the Lowry in Salford, the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury and onto the Opera House in Blackpool.

With Alexandra Burke as Morticia, the matriarch of the quirky Addams family. She certainly is a classy act, with beautiful stage presence, she embodies the elegance of the character, and her vocals are outstanding. The other female actors are equally talented, Lauren Jones is perfectly cast as Wednesday, and Kara Lane as Alice, both deliver strong, powerful performances, in their solo songs and duets. With the lovely Lesley Joseph, bringing the comedy, in her role as Grandma.

The male actors are by no means a supporting cast. Ricardo Afonso is pivotal, as devoted husband and father. Uncle Fester, Lurch, and Pugsley, all bring these familiar characters to life, with humour and the ability to engage the audience.

We first meet the infamous family, on their annual visit to the cemetery, when they welcome their ancestors from the underworld, to spend the day together. This instantly expands the cast and fills the stage with the ensemble of dancers, who are featured throughout the show as distinct characters. When the dead relatives try to return to their graves, they find that the way is blocked and it is revealed that, Uncle Fester is behind this, as he needs their help, to get the family to accept that Wednesday has found love.

This is a new chapter in Wednesday’s development, as her character is known as the slightly macabre, teenage goth. Now romance is on the horizon, she is finding that she is experiencing new emotions, her song ‘pulled’ helps to explain her mixed up feelings.

She decides she wants to marry her boyfriend Lucus, but wants their parents to meet, so brings the two sets of families together. And just wants ‘one normal night’, which is a lot to ask from the family, and the expected spooky antics follow. But it is the sub plot that is most engaging regarding Gomez, a) having to keep this a secret from Morticia and b) having to come to terms with his little girl growing up.

There was a short interruption to tonight’s show, as an audience member needed assistance. It was during quite an intimate father and daughter scene, with Gomez and Wednesday. Once the show was able to be resumed, Ricardo and Lauren were able to continue with such professionalism, the audience was audibly impressed.

I really enjoyed the first act, the second took a little while to get into as there was more story to tell, but I do think the content was good. The dancing by the ensemble was amazing, particularly the ballerina. We were also treated to a fabulous Tango from Gomez and Morticia, which suited the characters, and allowed Alexandra to show the skills acquired on ‘Strictly’ in 2017.

The live orchestra and original music score are fantastic, it elevates the whole performance, giving the audience an excellent night of entertainment.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £30

The Adams family is at Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre from Thurs 10th to Sat 12th July 2025
For more information and to book tickets call 0844 448 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com

Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Birmingham, B5 4T