Are you familiar with the classic movie, The Addams Family? Our very own Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is now playing their version of the show, The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy. You can purchase tickets to see the hilarious act now, before their final show on May 25, 2024. Don't miss out!
Macaroni KID Fort Myers - Fort Myers Beach received a complimentary dinner and show in exchange for their honest review.
The Show
Love
The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy is a hilariously fun musical spin on the lives of our favorite Addams characters. It follows the story of Wednesday Addams (Lindsay Hoffpauir) and her newfound love with her "normal" boyfriend, Lucas Beineke (Matthew Harper Stevenson), from Ohio. Uncle Fester (Jordan Bunshaft) narrates the story for the crowd, and he shares his goal of helping Wednesday's love life. Tensions run high when we find trouble in paradise for both sets of parents as well.
Family
Trouble begins when Wednesday invites Lucas and his parents, Mal (Steffen Whorton) and Alice (Lauren Foutch) over for dinner at the Addams' family home. Wednesday asks that her family "just be normal," to impress the Beineke's - your average, all-American, Ohio family. She wants to make a good impression because she has a secret, and she only tells her dad, Gomez (Caleb Aguilar).
Honesty
Wednesdays asks Gomez to keep the big secret from mom, Morticia (Liv Pelton), which makes things all the more complicated. The secret-keeping and lack of honesty stirs the pot, starting when Morticia has a one-on-one conversation with Alice. Then again at the dinner table, when they all play "The Game." This scene brings out a lot more silly truths from each of the characters, including: Uncle Fester's love proclamation and Grandma Addams' (Caitie L. Moss) laughable announcement.
Growing Up
During the evening, Pugsley Addams (Jonah Mendoza) has to learn about growing up the hard way. He doesn't want to "lose" his sister, and he'll do anything to avoid that. His devotion to his sister proves troubling when someone else gets a potion he intended for his sister. Morticia also has to learn that her daughter is growing up, and we see her struggle to understand that she is in love.
Final Thoughts
The production is humorous, well put together, and fast-paced. Gomez, Morticia, and Wednesday command the stage equally, and were my personal favorites, though everyone truly played their parts well. Lurch (Randy Kessenich) and The Ensemble (Patrick Agonito, Kiana Raine Cintron, Amy Fenicle, Gregory Holmes Jr, A.C. Lam, Brandon Leporati, Ronan O'Toole, Adriana Michelle Sheer, Erica Seelig, Keila Sue Wong, Ry Cavanaugh, Miranda Jones) were fantastic performers during the show. They really took it home in the final scene.
The Kids
Now, I'm sure you are wondering if your kids can watch The Addams Family? This is going to be dependent on your family! The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre sells both children and adults tickets for the show. They do recommend that babies and toddlers stay home, due to the length of the show, and for the enjoyment of all. There is no stroller parking.
We brought our six-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter. We have watched multiple versions of The Addams Family at home, and they were quite familiar with just how kooky and silly the Addams family is. For example, they are aware that Pugsley likes to play with bombs, and that Wednesday loves her crossbow. They understand that no one really gets hurt, and that the Addams' are just a unique family that loves each other all the same. They do not find the movies scary, nor did they find this show scary.
The production was fast-paced and comical, though there were some not-so-hidden adult jokes throughout. There weren't many noticeable curse words, and there wasn't anything overly raunchy, just kissing at some parts, but my kids just giggled at those short scenes. For the most part, there is so much going on on the stage, and their attention is taken in so many directions, that they won't even catch the adult jokes.
That being said, I would not recommend that young kids watch the show if they frighten easily, have not previously watched The Addams Family, or wouldn't be able to sit and enjoy a 2.5 hour production. In retrospect, we should've brought our family to a lunchtime showing. Bedtime is typically 8pm for us, so the 10pm ending was quite the stretch. At intermission, we asked our children if they wanted to go home, and both of them were enjoying the show so much that they repeatedly told us they wanted to finish it and see what happens. We even asked them questions about what they were looking forward to and liked so far, and we could tell that they were grasping the content and understanding the storyline. They both made it to the end, though the six-year-old almost fell asleep during the final 15 minutes.
The Food
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre boasts not only a buffet, but an entrée menu (on Friday & Saturday evenings) as well. My family got the buffet, though after seeing some of the menu items, my husband wished he could go back and try them. My six-year-old son absolutely loved the honey Dijon pork, baked macaroni and cheese, and roasted potatoes. My husband loved it all, especially the mojo flank steak. My nine-year-old daughter loved the Caeser salad, fruits, and dessert options. I loved all the hot food and the pineapple pretzel pudding/dessert!
All Menus Include:
- Complete salad bar with specialty salads, rolls and butter
- Assorted desserts: pies, cakes, ice cream sundaes and more
- Coffee, tea, and hot tea
- *Sodas and all other drinks are an additional charge
The Buffet:
- Chef Carved Mojo Flank Steak (*, GF, LF, DF) (evenings only)
- Honey Dijon Pork (GF, LF)
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (GF, DF)
- Baked White Fish with Black Bean Lime Salsa (GF, LF, DF)
- Baked Macaroni and Cheese
- Roasted Potatoes (GF, LF)
- Yellow Rice with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Spinach (GF, DF, LF)
- Corn Confetti (GF, DF, LF, VEGAN)
- Seasonal Vegetable Blend (GF, DF, LF, VEGAN)
- *Menu item subject to change
- GF - Gluten Free, LF - Low Fat, DF - Dairy Free
The Entrée Selections (Friday and Saturday Evenings Only):
- Slow Roasted Prime Rib with Au Jus and Horseradish
Served with Potato du Jour and Mixed Vegetables - Chicken Parmesan - Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast
Topped with Marinara Sauce & Mozzarella Cheese
Served over Penne Pasta
Accompanied with a Warm Garlic Bread Stick & Seasonal Vegetables - Seafood en Papillote - Shrimp & White Fish Seasoned with Old Bay & Dijon
Topped with Tomatoes & Finished with a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce
Served with Potato du jour and Mixed Vegetables
The Prices
- $30 - Children (12 & Under) - Show Only
- $35 - Children (12 & Under) - Dinner & Show
- $60 - Adult (12 & Over) - Show Only
- $70 - Adult (12 & Over) - Lunch & Show
- $80 - Adult (12 & Over) - Dinner & Show (Sun - Thurs)
- $85 - Adult (12 & Over) - Dinner & Show (Fri - Sat)
Purchase tickets online (a $3/ticket fee applies for online orders)
The Show Times
- Matinee - 11:30am Lunch, 1pm Show
- 5/8 (Wed), 5/11 (Sat), 5/12 (Sun), 5/15 (Wed), 5/18 (Sat), 5/19 (Sun), 5/22 (Wed)
- Evening - 5:30pm Dinner, 7:30pm Show
- 5/8 (Wed), 5/9 (Thurs), 5/10 (Fri), 5/11 (Sat), 5/15 (Wed), 5/16 (Thurs), 5/17 (Fri), 5/18 (Sat), 5/22 (Wed), 5/23 (Thurs), 5/24 (Fri)
- Twilight - 5:30pm Dinner, 7pm Show
- 5/12 (Sun), 5/19 (Sun)
The FAQs
- Attire: Broadway Palm encourages a nice night out. They prefer collared shirts, but want you to be comfortable. I wore a floor-length dress, my husband wore a collared button up with dark jeans, my son wore plaid shorts and a solid shirt, and my daughter wore a nice long sleeve shirt and matching leggings. The rest of the crowd wore outfits as if they were going to a nice (but not too fancy) dinner - sun dresses, button ups, slacks, tropical shirts, nice blouses, etc. I did see a couple of folks with regular t-shirts and shorts/pants, as well as a few people/kids dressed as Wednesday or Pugsley!
- Show Length: Typical Broadway shows can last more than three hours, plus an intermission. For The Addams Family, the first act was about an hour, followed by a 15-minute intermission, and about an hour for the second act.
- Time Frame: We went on a Friday evening. The buffet/dinner menu opened up at 5:30pm. You could make as many trips to the buffet, dessert, and salad tables as you liked. At 7pm, the narrowed the buffet line down to one. At 7:15pm, they closed down the buffet, and more folks arrived who were there for the Show Only. At 7:30pm, the lights dimmed and the show began. The 15-minute Intermission began around 8:30pm. The show ended at about 10pm.
- Audience: Broadway Palm sells tickets for The Addams Family for both children and adults. I counted at least eight kids between six and thirteen years old, plus a few teenagers. The majority of the crowd was probably in their 50s or higher, if I had to take a gander.
For more information about the show, check out: https://broadwaypalm.com/shows/the-addams-family/
