BENGALURU: The ghoulish, morbid and macabre-filled The Addams Family with their snappy (literally) theme song will always be fondly remembered by kids of the previous generation. For the first time in Bengaluru and India, the two-hour broadway musical will be staged by the CAUSE Foundation.
The story is every father’s nightmare. Princess of darkness, Wednesday Addams falls in love with a ‘normal’ man and invites her boyfriend and his parents for dinner at their gothic house. As if that weren’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams is let to do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia.
Director of the show and president of the foundation, Leila Alvares says, “We are opening with Bengaluru and then travelling to Mangaluru followed by other states. I am particular about having only live music rather than backup music or lip syncing. The sets are hand-painted in an old-fashioned way, with no projections as seen in modern theatre these days.”
Though live orchestra players are hard to find in the country, Leila has five musicians in the cast, playing different instruments. “We don’t have the infrastructure or musicians for a proper broadway-style orchestra. However, we have cast members with three keyboards, playing brass, strings and piano on it. We have a bass guitar, lead guitarist and drums. This style will be western classical,” she says, adding that comedies are her forte.
The proceeds from the play will go to charitable organisations including CUPA, something which the CAUSE Foundation has been doing since 1997. All the actors, dancers and musicians are volunteers with full-time day jobs. 25 percent of the cast in all the theatre productions by them in the year, are new and undiscovered talents. “The aim is to promote local talent who need not be professionals,” she says.
The musical will be held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram on September 1 and 2 at 5.30 pm. The second performance will on at MLR Convention Centre, Whitefield on September 5 at 7.15 pm.