Track by Track: “The Addams Family”

by Chris Peterson

I’m continuing this new series, based on reader suggestions, where I listen to cast recordings track by track and react to them the way I naturally do, which is with too many opinions, a few unnecessary judgments, and a level of investment that is probably not healthy but is definitely on-brand.

This time, I’m diving into The Addams Family, which has always felt like one of those musicals that should have been an even bigger slam dunk on Broadway than it actually was. Because really, look at the ingredients here. You have one of the most recognizable families in pop culture. You have a built-in visual world. You have a tone people already understand. You have Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, which frankly should be enough to get most of us at least halfway there.

But beyond Broadway, this show has absolutely taken on a life of its own in schools and college theatre programs, where it has become one of those titles that pops up constantly because it offers a recognizable brand, a big ensemble, fun featured roles, and a style young performers clearly love sinking their teeth into.

For a lot of people, The Addams Family lives in that category of musicals that are perfectly pleasant to revisit but, in my opinion, rarely anyone’s first choice to passionately defend in public.

Still, cast recordings sometimes tell a slightly different story. Sometimes they reveal performances that deserved better material. Sometimes they make you appreciate songs you forgot existed. And sometimes they confirm exactly why a show never fully landed. With The Addams Family, I think it is a little bit of all three.

So let’s dive in.

“When You’re an Addams”

This is a fun opener. It is catchy, confident, and does exactly what it needs to do. It introduces the family, sets the tone, and lets the show say, right away, yes, we know why you’re here. You want weird. You want elegant morbidity. You want people treating death like a charming personality trait. Great. Welcome. It also helps that this cast comes in hot. Nathan Lane knows how to sell this kind of material with his eyes closed, and Bebe Neuwirth sounds like she was genetically engineered in a lab to play Morticia Addams.

“Pulled”

Now this is the one.

This is the song from The Addams Family that fully escaped the show and built its own second life in audition rooms, cabarets, college showcases, and probably thousands of voice lessons. “Pulled” has become the audition song from this musical, and a huge reason for that is Krysta Rodriguez. She gives it exactly what it needs. She is bright, clear, funny, and controlled without sanding off the messiness that makes the song enjoyable. Some performances of “Pulled” can get a little too polished or a little too cute. Krysta never lets it drift into either. She keeps the tension alive the whole time.

“One Normal Night”

This is a very funny premise for a number because the Addamses trying to act normal is inherently ridiculous. The song is fun. It moves. It does the job. But it also highlights one of my recurring issues with this score, which is that a lot of these songs are perfectly enjoyable while you are listening to them and then somehow evaporate the second they end. You are never mad at them. You are just not haunted by them either.

“Morticia”

I think this song works. It is romantic, yes, but it is also deeply tied to who Gomez is. He is not just singing about love in some broad, interchangeable musical theatre sense. He is singing about Morticia as if she is this impossible, glamorous force of nature that he still cannot quite believe is his. That feels right for them. Their relationship has always been one of the best things about The Addams Family, and this song taps into that without getting too syrupy.

Nathan Lane also helps a lot here, because he knows how to make sincerity land without draining all the personality out of it. That is not an easy balance.

“What If”

This is one of those songs that I think tells you a lot about what The Addams Family musical is trying to do emotionally, even if it does not fully become one of the show’s biggest knockout numbers.

At its core, “What If” is really about fear. Fear of change, fear of losing your place in the family, fear of what happens when the people around you start growing and shifting and becoming something new. Which, honestly, is a pretty smart theme for this show.

“Waiting”

I want to be very clear here because I do not need anyone thinking I am taking a shot at Carolee Carmello. I love Carolee. She could sing the phonebook, a CVS receipt, or the terms and conditions page of a website none of us read, and I would probably still sit there like, wow, what a performance.

That said, “Waiting” just does not do it for me. I know the song has its fans, and I understand why it exists. I keep waiting for it to click in a bigger way, and it just never really does.

“Just Around the Corner”

Bebe Neuwirth, come get your flowers. This is maybe the song that best captures what this musical should sound like. It is darkly funny, elegant, morbid, theatrical, and just glamorous enough to feel worthy of Morticia. Neuwirth sounds incredible because she never pushes too hard. She does not need to. She just glides through the number like doom in a fabulous dress.

“The Moon and Me”

See, this is where I have to revise myself a little, because I actually do like “The Moon and Me.” It is weird. It is whimsical. It is fully committed to the bit. And in a musical called The Addams Family, that should count for something. Uncle Fester serenading the moon is exactly the kind of bizarre choice that could either be deeply annoying or completely charming, and for me, this one mostly lands on the charming side.

A huge reason for that is Kevin Chamberlin. Because Kevin Chamberlin can sell just about anything, and here he sells it with total sincerity. And maybe that is part of why Chamberlin was the only cast member from The Addams Family to receive a Tony nomination, for Best Featured Actor.

“Happy/Sad”

This is sweet enough. I do not hate it. I just do not think it leaves much of a mark.

“Crazier Than You”

This one is genuinely fun. The escalation works, the family dynamics come through, and it has that nice chaotic energy that the show really needs more of. What I especially like about Krysta and Wesley Taylor in this number is that they actually sound like a couple caught in the middle of everybody else’s nonsense. There is chemistry there, but there is also irritation, defensiveness, and that very believable young-love feeling of “why is everyone making this harder than it already is?” It gives the song some shape beyond just being a family comedy number.

“Move Toward the Darkness”

This is a pleasant closer, and I like that the musical ultimately lands on the idea that weirdness is not something to fix. That is the correct ending for this family. Anything else would have felt like a betrayal of the whole point. It is not a giant showstopping finale, but it sends the show out with warmth, affection, and enough Addams spirit to make the ending feel earned.

Alright, let’s hand out some awards.

Who Wins This Recording? Krysta Rodriguez

As much as this cast recording benefits from having absolute pros like Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Terrance Mann, Kevin Chamberlin, and Carolee Carmello in the mix, I have to give this one to Krysta Rodriguez.

Because for me, she is the person who elevates the material the most. And that is not a small thing on an album like this one.

One of the recurring issues with The Addams Family score is that some of the songs are more functional than memorable. They do the job, they move the plot along, they create a pleasant enough listening experience, but they do not always leap off the page on their own. Krysta is one of the few performers on this recording who consistently makes the material feel sharper, more specific, and more alive than it necessarily is.

So yes, Bebe Neuwirth is wonderful. Nathan Lane is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Kevin Chamberlin is wonderfully odd. But Krysta is the one who, for me, most consistently takes material that is good, decent, or merely functional and makes it feel worth paying closer attention to.

Which Song Gets Cut? “Waiting”

If I am cutting one song from this score, it is “Waiting.”

I think part of the frustration is that it feels like this should have been a better song than it is. Give the ancestors a number with more bite, more personality, more actual urgency. Give Alice something sharper, funnier, or weirder. Give us a song that feels less like filler and more like a real event.

Best in the Show: “Pulled”

This one was not hard.

“Pulled” is the standout because it is the song that most fully clicks. It is funny, catchy, character-specific, and actually memorable in a way a lot of this score unfortunately is not. It gives Wednesday a real voice. It lets the show be weird and theatrical without trying too hard. And it works both inside the musical and outside of it, which is not something every song here can claim. This is the number I would hand to someone and say, here, this is the one that really lands. And it now lands on our Best in the Show Playlist!

Does This Still Slap Today?

Sure.

That is the funny thing with The Addams Family. I can absolutely see the appeal. I understand why it has become so popular, especially in schools, colleges, and community theatre. It has a recognizable title, a big ensemble, fun featured roles, a spooky-comic tone people enjoy, and one song that has basically become an audition industry of its own. Clearly, this show has found its audience.