Ruth Agnew reviews The Addams Family, book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, backed on characters created by Charles Addams, directed by Claire Clark and Phil Deadn, musical direction by Caelan Thomas, choreography by Catherine McHaffie, at CentreStage Rolleston, Wednesday 15 April 2026.
CentreStage Rolleston has wholly embraced The Addams Family atmosphere, bathing the pre-show theatre space in a red-hued gloom, mysterious figures lurking in the murkiness. The set’s textures and levels are immediately satisfying, but before a word has even been spoken, the audience is gifted with something more magical and fitting than I have ever seen at CentreStage. Upstage centre, built into the set, elevated above the ground upon which mere mortals tread, silhouette sharpened by the high peaks of his cloak collars, sits Caelan Thomas, an onstage ivory-tinkling Nosferatu, a band-leading bloodsucking sonambulist, a veritable vampiric virtuoso. This brings me joy because that is what Count Caelan does; brings joy to us. His musical direction is always solid and assured, and his patient and encouraging demeanour draws outstanding performances out of emerging performers and community theatre casts. Thomas the Impaler’s seat symbolises the importance of the role he plays not only as musical director of The Addams Family, but throughout amateur and professional musical theatre in Ōtautahi. This is Mr Charisma, CentreStage as Dracula. Or, as my succinct clever companion said, Draculalala.
The familiar musical motif begins the show properly. The well-known characters from The Addams Family comic strip, television series and films are all here: Gomez (Nick Cheeseborough, a clear crowd favourite), Morticia (an icy Elly Bucher, slaying in the obligatory body hugging slinky black dress), Wednesday (Sophie Moore giving big glares and big voice), Pugesly (tall teen Tom Gilchrist), Uncle Fester (Jeremy Tocker with a face of the moon and the voice of a star), Grandma (CentreStage stalwart Marilyn Ollett in a very different guise) and Lurch (co-director Phil Dean doing double duty). The plot revolves around three newcomers entering their macabre world: Lucas (Makani Pockson), Wednesday’s paramour, and his parents Alice and Mal (Izzy Tocker and Rob Naysmith). Clearly, this is a killer cast.
This show operates on the relationships, love and lies between characters, and is most successful when this is done through song. The parallels between the couples peaks after an accidental drugging incident, leading to one of my favourite moments of real life leaking onstage. Future in-laws in the world of the play, but sisters offstage, Izzy Tocker and Elly Bucher’s voices are amazing in tandem, and we now have an idea of how hard it would have been to raise two teens with such powerful lung capacity. Other absolute highlights are Uncle Fester’s mooning over the moon, and anything involving Gomez. Cheeseborough is a bloody triumph in the role, demonstrating his versatility as a performer.
The stage is filled with the ghostly “enzomble”, who come to life for ensemble numbers, then haunt the space as singing spectral set pieces. This is more successful in the first half, as there are some parts of the second act where the enzomble seem more like eavesdropping neighbours than creepy ghouls. This does not detract from the drama though, and did keep the scene transitions speedy and seamless.
There are some magnificent moments in the show, alongside some oddly dissatisfying ones. First-time director Claire Clark and lurching co-director Phil Dean are not wholly to blame for this however; The Addams Family has a script with some annoying issues to overcome. Everytime I see this show, the same problems surface: there is a lengthy establishment of issues then a super quick resolution of the numerous problems. This leads to unsatisfying moments like Wednesday and Lucas’ William S Burroughs – sorry, William Tell – moment being over quickly, and them shooting offstage with their final notes still hanging in the air. The obvious deficiencies in the text have not held the show back from becoming a big hit on Broadway and beyond, and the Rolleston audience on the night I attended was completely entertained and enthralled. This was a hell of a show, and a great example of community theatre at its finest. Many of the lead roles were played by performers who have learnt their craft through climbing the CentreStage scaffolding, and some are now continuing their training in tertiary institutions with intentions of pursuing a career in performing arts. CentreStage Rolleston is an essential part of the life of this thriving town, with the support shown by the lack of empty seats on a Wednesday night.
There are only a couple more nights to catch The Addams Family, and it would be a grave mistake to miss out of you’re a fan of CentreStage. The crux of the show is that we might all be a bit weird, but that’s normal, and when you find your people, you’ll fit in just fine. So I encourage you to take a quick trip to Rolleston, where you’ll find a community of creatives proving that, in a macabre musical.
The Addams Family runs until Saturday 18 April 2026. Banner photo credit: Peter Moore.
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