Show guide
The Addams Family
The Addams Family brings the famously macabre cartoon clan to the Broadway stage in a comic musical built around family, love, and embracing what makes you different. Andrew Lippa's score matches the family's darkly playful spirit.
- Broadway premiere
- 2010
- Music by
- Andrew Lippa
- Genre
- Comedy
- Setting
- 2000s
The Addams Family: quick answers
What is The Addams Family about?
- The Addams Family finds 18-year-old Wednesday in love with Lucas Beineke, a boy from a normal family, and begging her parents to act normal for one night when his family comes to dinner at the Addams mansion.
When did The Addams Family open on Broadway?
- The Addams Family opened on Broadway on April 8, 2010, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. It played 722 performances before closing on December 31, 2011.
What kind of musical is The Addams Family?
- The Addams Family is a musical comedy with an original score by Andrew Lippa, based on Charles Addams's cartoon family rather than a single film. It is a family-friendly book musical built around a meet-the-parents dinner.
Where and when is The Addams Family set?
- The Addams Family is set at the Addams family's spooky mansion in Central Park, New York City.
Has The Addams Family played in London's West End?
- The Addams Family has not had a full West End run. It toured the UK from 2017 and again from 2021, and played a two-night concert staging at the London Palladium in February 2024.
Is there a The Addams Family movie?
- There is no film of the musical, but the Addams family is well known on screen from the 1964 ABC series, the 1991 film with Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, and Netflix's Wednesday (2022) with Jenna Ortega.
The story of The Addams Family
Set in the present day, the musical follows the ghoulishly devoted Addams family as they navigate a very ordinary problem in their very unordinary household: a daughter bringing home a boyfriend from a conventional family. The clash between the Addams' gleeful embrace of the macabre and the buttoned up normalcy of their guests fuels much of the show's comedy.
Beneath the jokes about séances and instruments of torture, the story is fundamentally about acceptance, both of a new person joining the family and of each character's own eccentricities. It is a comedy with real affection for its oddball central family.
The music and the makers
Andrew Lippa composed the score, crafting songs that lean into the family's theatrical, over the top sensibility while keeping the humor accessible for a wide audience. The music moves between big comic ensemble numbers and more sincere ballads that reveal the surprising warmth underneath the family's spooky exterior.
As a stage adaptation drawing on beloved, widely recognized characters, the show leans on the built in charm of its source material while giving Lippa room to build a distinct musical identity around the family's larger than life personalities.
The Addams Family on Broadway
The musical opened on Broadway in 2010, bringing well known, widely loved characters to a new generation through song and dance. Its blend of gothic humor and family friendly appeal made it a popular choice for audiences looking for something funny, a little spooky, and ultimately heartwarming.
The show has found lasting life well beyond its Broadway run, becoming a favorite for touring productions and community theatre thanks to its recognizable characters and broadly appealing comic tone. It continues to charm audiences who grew up loving the family's unique take on domestic life.
The Addams Family: frequently asked questions
When did The Addams Family open on Broadway?
It opened on Broadway in 2010.
Who composed The Addams Family?
Andrew Lippa wrote the music and lyrics.
What is The Addams Family musical about?
It follows the eccentric Addams family as their daughter brings home a boyfriend from a conventional family, testing everyone's sense of normal.
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