Interview with the Addams family stars

INTERVIEW WITH THE ADDAMS FAMILY STARS SAMANTHA WOMACK AND CAMERON BLAKELY

Samantha Womack <Morticia> Cameron Blakely <Gomez> What’s in store for audiences who come see The Addams Family? Cameron: A lot of quirkiness, a lot of laughs and a lot of miscommunication. In a way it’s like a dark farce. And I think everyone needs a bit of escapism at the moment, after the year we’ve all had, and this show really provides that. Whether it’s any form of the arts, be it theatre or music, it’s lovely to be able to forget what everyone’s been going through and just have a great time. Samantha: It’s a family show with a dark comedic twist and it centres around the fact Wednesday has fallen in love. She is planning on marrying a rather normal, ordinary person and there’s outrage on Morticia’s part when she finds out. And I’m really glad we’re bringing back such a fun show with that slightly dark comedic element because I think people are ready for that right now. Also, it’s a multi-generational show that appeals to all ages. There’s a lot in it for the kids, obviously, but the more nuanced humour is there for the adults, not to mention the fact it’s got the most beautiful operatic score by Andrew Lippa and a book by the same team [Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice] who did Jersey Boys. It’s a very accomplished piece that whole families can come along and enjoy. How did it feel when the tour kept being put on hold because of the pandemic? Samantha: At first, like with everyone, it felt like a kind of break and because of that initial burst of hot weather we all felt we were on an extended holiday. Then the reality started to dawn that we were dealing with something which was really quite terrifying. Livelihoods were lost and the arts began to disappear, children weren’t able to eat properly because their school dinners had been taken away - it was a really depressing time. We stayed quite close to home and spent a lot of time in the garden. We’re lucky to have outside space and that was a real saving grace for us. Cameron: It was delayed a few times at various points during various lockdowns, which was very frustrating. But I ended up using my driving skills to do Argos deliveries for a while, which was jolly good fun. I really enjoy driving so I thought ‘How can I at least try and make a bit of money out of it?’ I did that and it was very enjoyable just keeping active and doing something. What are you most looking forward to about being back on stage? Cameron: Just the thrill of doing what you’re trained to do, your main vocation, and to connect with a crowd again - knowing that you’re hopefully making people happy and making them laugh. It’s also going to be great seeing other parts of the country because we’ve all sort of been in enforced prison mode, haven’t we, for such a long time. It’ll be lovely to get back out on the road again, see different cities and share this wonderful musical with people. Samantha: For me it’s the audiences, one million percent. You’re riding a wave; the audience feel it and you feel it. It’s a kind of transaction between you and them which is just magical. Morticia and Gomez are such iconic characters. How do you put your own stamp on them? Samantha:It’s interesting because I’ve just gone back and watched some of what I did the first time, which I don’t usually do but we’ve got a reduced rehearsal time. She’s more complicated to get right than you think. There’s the distinctive voice, minimal movement and arch comedic sensibility, but also there’s a softer side, a passion and sensuality. You want her to be quite terrifying so the comedy works but at the same time she has to believe in love and passion. Looking back at the tapes, I think I was so focused on getting the movement and sound right but I’m not sure I captured the danger as much. Cameron: I was always a great fan of Raoul Julia, who played Gomez in the movies. I wanted to make him quite Spanish, as he was in the films, and to make him like a matinee idol romantic type rather than too silly. I loved the original TV series very much but I wanted to make it fresh and not to be hindered but inspired by Raoul’s Gomez whilst trying not to copy him. It’s such a great role because it has everything. And the way the composer has written the score it’s different for each character, so Gomez gets all the sort of Latin music - very melodramatic and romantic with a Spanish feel to it. Do you have anything in common with them? Cameron: I do secretly quite like growing a moustache in a retro 1970s way. I got quite attached to it when I first did the show [in 2017] and didn’t get rid of it for about a year afterwards. With Gomez’s romanticism, I’m quite similar to him in that sense, as am I when it comes to his passion. Samantha: I can absolutely relate to holding the family together as a mother, and I think that compromise of being vulnerable and formidable at the same time is something I think most women would identify with. [Laughs] And I’m definitely an oddball. Tell us a bit about your costumes for the show… Cameron: I mostly get to wear the iconic pinstripe suit with a bowtie, occasionally smoking a cigar, and I have nice black and white spats. Then in Act Two around the dinner table I’m in a beautifully loud and garish smoking jacket with a cravat. Samantha: Morticia is all in black, in things that are as tight and long as possible. [Laughs] So post-lockdown that’s going to be a real issue. There’s an elegance to her and she needs to look like she’s gliding, so the dresses have to kind of melt into the floor and arms should look long, extended and kind of spider-like. It’s full of great musical numbers. Do you have a favourite to perform? Cameron: There’s one called Happy/ Sad, which is a lovely reflective song that Gomez sings to his daughter about being in love and how much she’s grown over the years. It always

make me think of my own little girl, my daughter Noelle who turns eight in August. I always think of her when I sing that song and when I first did the show in 2017 I remember I got this big lump in my throat and really struggled not to cry. I thought: ‘Oh dear, I need to get control of this. It’s terribly un-British of me!’ Samantha: I love the dark choral number at the end called Move Toward the Darkness. It’s slightly melancholy and odd, with somewhat strange chord structures, and I think it’s really haunting. Can you recall when you first encountered The Addams Family? Samantha: I remember the American TV series, not when it first came out of course but during re-runs in the 80s. As a kid I’d come back from school and watch it, and I absolutely loved it. Then later I loved Anjelica Huston’s phenomenal performance as Morticia in the films. Cameron: I think it was the first movie, starring Raoul Julia and Anjelica Huston. I’d grown up knowing about The Addams Family but I was more the age group of The Munsters. It began life as a cartoon in the 1930s, became a TV show in the 1960s, a film franchise in the 1990s and a musical in the noughties. Why do you think it has endured for so long? Samantha: There’s a strong family value to it - love and connection and family loyalty - but it’s such fun how dark and odd they are. They do everything in opposites; if Wednesday says ‘Thank you’ at the dinner table she’s reprimanded. Cameron: People inherently like Halloween and the macabre, plus there’s this mishmash of very odd characters in the same family. There’s also the darkness and the fun the Addams family have around graveyards and moonlight. I think viewers are fascinated by the juxtaposition of light and darkness and how it’s completely flipped. It’s just fascinating and there’s so much dark humour you can get out of that. How was it when you first toured with the show in 2017? Cameron: It was lovely. Sam is very easy to work with and really funny. It’s lovely that some of the other cast members are coming back as well, plus there are a few new people I’m looking forward to working with and others I’ve worked with on other shows. Samantha: It was really hard working with Cameron because he’s just so funny. He’s ridiculously funny! It’s very hard as Morticia to remain dead-faced when playing opposite him. He’s like Groucho Marx or Peter Sellers; he reminds me of the great comedy actors. He’s doing all kinds of weird things with his voice and his body and he has the most incredible singing voice, so he’s really hypnotic. Now you’re heading back on tour again, what’s the one thing you couldn’t be on the road without? Samantha: My dogs. I’ve got three dogs - Tink, Edie and Lola - and if I’m in theatres that don’t allow dogs backstage I’ll have a camper van where I pop to see them between shows. Cameron: Because I have to stay in shape for the tango number it would have to be my resistance bands. I know that sounds awfully virtuous but this last year I’ve mainly just been sitting down and driving. There’s a five-minute tango at the end of the show looming, so I’ve started training and running again - which my body hated at first but once all the blisters have settled down I’ll be fine. Taking the resistance bands on tour with me means I can keep fit and trim. The tour calls at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford. Does it have any significance for you? Cameron: We did The Addams Family there in 2017 and it’s always nostalgic taking a show back to somewhere you’ve been before. It’s a really nice modern theatre and it feels quite intimate, with sort of the feel of a cinema, and the show went down there a treat last time. Samantha: I commute to Dartford when performing there and I have to remind myself about the toll charge because I always used to forget. [Laughs] There’s been many a penalty.