The History of The Addams Family

CONTENTS

The Original Charles Addams Cartoons
1964-1966 Television Series
1991 & 1993 Film Adaptations
Creating the Broadway Musical
Wednesday on Netflix

Charles Addams For LOOK Magazine in 1952

Sandberg, B. (1952, July 1). “Image from LOOK - Job 52-1251 titled Charles Addams” [Image]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021681019/.

The Grandfather of the Addams Family

CHARLES ADDAMS

While today best known for its live-action television and film adaptations, the Addams Family franchise began as a series of comics by New Yorker cartoonist Charles “Chas” Addams. Born January 7, 1912, Addams grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, a suburb 16 miles from Manhattan. Despite what his cartoons may suggest, Addams was not from a bustling multigenerational household; rather, he was the only child in a quiet, average family. Though, perhaps it was this normalcy that led him to seek out the macabre. As a child, Addams developed a taste for the peculiar, frequently drawing disturbing images and sneaking into graveyards and abandoned Victorian mansions (Sauer, 2019).

Charles Addams sketching in his West Hampton Beach studio in 1977

Sirkus, N. (1977). “Charles Addams in his Westhampton Beach, N.Y., studio in 1977” [Image]. Tee and Charles Addams Foundation.

THE GRIM GENIUS OF CHAS ADDAMS

In adulthood, Addams honed his dark humor as a cartoonist for The New Yorker, publishing 1,300 illustrations throughout his career (Sauer, 2019). He displayed a unique talent for depicting the absurd and distilling an entire story into a single panel. Upon Addams’s death, Roger Angell wrote for The New Yorker:

“Accidents, apprehensions, impossibilities, fatalities, and worse haunt his scenes in heartwarming fashion, and one must almost list some of the favorite Addams themes and things before an answer to the paradox suggests itself. Laboratories, space creatures, dark descending stairs, crypts and tunnels, Halloween, desert islands, fortune-tellers, gigantic insects, funerals, headsmen with axes, witch doctors, large serpents, gallows and gibbets, witches and caldrons, beds of nails—these are the sketches or dreamy imaginings of a ten-year-old boy in arithmetic class, and, for all their dire shadows and drippings, they are without cynicism or malice, or true darkness. They are childlike, and the pleasures they evoke bring back the flooding imagination, the perfect memory, and the innocent, skulking anarchy of our first free selves. Those of us who began leafing through this magazine as children quickly fastened upon the Addams drawings, because we understood them and got the joke right away, and then, when we came to know and look for the Addams family, in their slidingpanel, dishevelled Victorian mansion, we may not have understood at first that we were simply visiting a surreal, turnabout American family, but we did notice that this was the only haunted household that included children and pets” (1988). 

Fellow New Yorker artist Robert “Bob” Mankoff spoke with Patrick Healy of The New York Times described Addams’s revolutionary style in promotion for The Addams Family on Broadway in 2010; he later published his extended thoughts in The New Yorker: 

“Addams was one of the first to realize how much incongruity could be tolerated in a cartoon—how far apart the frames of reference…could be and still work as a joke. In this he reveals a fondness for a type of Dadaist mashup humor that is now commonplace in cartooning and on the Internet. But Addams’s most familiar comic trope is to take the familiar and invert it by having ordinary people calmly and nonchalantly harbor or act on aggressive, even homicidal, impulses” (Mankoff, 2010). 

Mankoff also credits Addams for the creation of the horror comedy genre and the introduction of campy horror villains throughout the mid-to-late 20th century, writing: 

“[Charles Addams] tapped into that vein of American gothic that has a touch of paranoia about it, seeing behind every comforting façade the uncomfortable truth about the duality of human nature. But where Gothic literature usually combined these themes with romance, Addams made the horror hilarious: disturbing, but at the same time friendly, identifiable, and acceptable… Horror films that combine humor with horror, such as ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ with its wise-cracking Freddy Krueger, are also in his debt. And, of course, Addams’s humor was ‘black’ and ‘sick’ before those terms applied.

But I think his influence extends beyond the horror genre, to humor not as a comforting ‘laughter is the best medicine’ anodyne but as something deeply skeptical of the purported values of middle-class American life. By making us laugh at, and with, his fiendish protagonists, he makes us temporarily share their values, and doubt our own” (Mankoff, 2010). 

CHAS ADDAMS’S NEW YORKER CARTOONS

MEET THE ADDAMS FAMILY

In the magazine’s August 6, 1938 edition, Addams published what would be his first Addams Family cartoon: an image of a salesman pitching a “noiseless, vibrationless” vacuum to a witch-like, Bride-of-Frankenstein woman and her large butler in the foyer of a haunted Victorian home (p. 9). Though unnamed in this comic, these characters would later become Morticia Addams and Lurch. 

The first Addams Family cartoon

Addams, C. (1938, Aug. 6). “Vibrationless, Noiseless, and a great time…” [Illustration]. The New Yorker, p. 9.

The Anti-Rockwell Family

In the foreword to The Addams Family: An Evilution, author and Director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation H. Kevin Miserocchi writes, “Charles Addams set out not to create a family but rather to suggest how society as a whole might interpret characters bent on the darker side while living lives similar to those embracing the light” (2010, p. 9). However, in creating a family of outcasts, Addams birthed a franchise that would win over the hearts of America. Charles Addams intended for the Addams family to be “a funhouse-mirror reflection of American culture,” but American culture embraced the family, instead (KalaLea, 2019). The Addams Family was a weird bunch, but they were just like us. Miserocchi continues:

“Always described as strange, eerie, odd, and spooky, the Family nevertheless had many of the same joys and woes that all families experience… They celebrated Christmas just as eagerly as Halloween, just with their own traditions. What would an Addams Family Christmas be without lighting a fire in the fireplace in anticipation of Santa’s arrival, or pouring boiling oil on the neighborhood carolers? They really weren’t that different after all” (2010, p. 10).

Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want” (1943)

Rockwell, N. (1943, Mar. 6). “Freedom from Want” [Oil Painting]. The Saturday Evening Post.

Addams Family parody of Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want”

Addams, C. (1947, Dec. 27). “Addams Family Christmas Dinner” [Illustration]. The New Yorker, p. 21.

The cast of The Addams Family (Levy, 1964-1966)

Levy, D. (Executive producer). (1964-1966). The Addams Family [Television series]. Filmways Television; MGM Television.

The Addams Family Goes to Hollywood

The first episode of The Addams Family, "The Addams Family Goes to School," premiered on ABC in 1964. The show starred Carolyn Jones as Morticia; John Astin as Gomez; Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester; Lisa Loring as Wednesday; Ken Weatherwax as Pugsley, and Ted Cassidy as Lurch (Levy, 1964-1966). The show featured an inverted fish-out-of-water sitcom premise, existing in a “a self-contained house of horrors where normal folk were the outsiders that allowed for all manner of off-beat jokes, insane plots” (Sauer, 2019). Much of the show’s comedy was shaped by writer, director, and producer Nat Perrin, who was previously best known for his contributions to the Marx Brothers comedy Monkey Business (Sauer, 2019). Vic Mizzy provided the iconic four-note bass line “ba-da-da-dum snap snap” theme song, which is perhaps the most memorable contribution from the series (1964-1966). 

Amazon MGM Studios. (2019, Oct. 18). “The Addams Family Goes To School (Full Episode) | MGM” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/HQlB4jSy-3Q?si=VIlbmvNgVtFvyfK1

A MONSTER REVIVAL

ABC’s The Addams Family was born during an early 1960s revival of “monster culture,” which had first taken root in American media in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression (Morowitz, 2007, p. 38). Hollywood’s initial obsession with the genre was led by Universal Pictures, which released 8 new creature feature films between 1930 and 1939 and established its own Universal Classic Monsters franchise. In 1957, Universal licensed its Monsters catalogue for syndication under the Shock! Theatre television package, renewing the public’s interest in the strange (Zatoichi01, 2019; Cronin, 2025). 

Storied. (2022, Nov. 1). “The Golden Age of Movie Monsters” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/08ASjs_qt70?si=y0eLaXsrzbiR-hPG.

This time, the popularity of science fiction spawned as a response to the idyllic, prosperous, and falsely utopian postwar Eisenhower administration. During this monster revival, shows like The Addams Family (Levy, 1964-1966), I Dream of Jeannie (Sheldon, 1965-1970), and The Munsters (Connelly & Mosher, 1964-1966) explored “the normal in the freakish and the freakish in the normal” (Morowitz, 2007, p. 41). Creatures were inversions of ordinary people – such as the beautiful giantess in Nathan Hertz’s Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) and the man-eating plant in Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors (1960). 

These new shows starkly contrasted the “conflict-free and homogenized vision of the American family” seen in Father Knows Best (Young & Rodney, 1954-1960), Leave it to Beaver (Connelly & Mosher, 1957-1961), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966), and The Donna Reed Show (Owen, 1958-1966), which served as advertisements for suburban life (Morowitz, 2007, p. 35).

Movies and television shows from the 1960s “Creature Feature” revival

Connelly, J. & Mosher, B. (Executive producers). (1964-1966). The Munsters [Television series]. Kayro-Vue Productions; Universal Television. | Corman, R. (Director). (1960, Sept. 14). Little Shop of Horrors [Film]. The Filmgroup & Santa Clara Productions. | Sheldon, S. (Executive producer). (1965-1970). I Dream of Jeannie [Television series]. Screen Gems; Sidney Sheldon Productions. | Hertz, N. (Director). (1958, May 18). Attack of the 50 Foot Woman [Film]. Woolner Bros. Pictures.

1960s popular sitcoms

Owen, T. (Executive producer). (1958-1966). The Donna Reed Show [Television series]. Todon of California; Briskin Productions. | Young, R. & Rodney, E.B. (Executive producers). (1954-1960). Father Knows Best [Television series]. Rodney-Young Productions; Screen Gems. | Nelson, O. (Executive producer). (1952-1966). The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet [Television series]. Stage Five Productions; Volcano Productions; ABC Productions. | Connelly, J. & Mosher, B. (Executive producers). (1957-1961). Leave It to Beaver [Television series]. Gomalco Productions; Kayro-Vue Productions.

MOTHER KNOWS BEST ON THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The Addams Family went further than its competitors in challenging American family rearing expectations. Unlike Father Knows Best or the Dick Van Dyke Show – which were named for the men of the families – Morticia Addams is the leader of the house in The Addams Family, and Gomez worships her. Like in the original cartoons, Gomez defers to his wife for guidance and hangs on her every word, hoping for the chance to hear her seductive French; in a running gag throughout the series, Gomez declares “Tish, you spoke French!” and rushes to kiss up her arm any time Morticia speaks the romantic language (FETV, 2021). Meanwhile, couples on other shows slept in separate beds and maintained an image of chastity. In fact, Gomez and Morticia Addams in The Addams Family “are generally considered the first television couple who gave the appearance of an active sex life” (Sauer, 2019).

Moreover, while fathers on other series were shown to leave for work, Gomez Addams is “ever present in the household” (Morowitz, 2007, p. 46). The season one episode “Morticia, the Breadwinner” (Lanfield, 1965) addresses this topic, revealing Gomez to be a stock investor and Morticia to have family money in the railroad industry.

Gomez passionately kisses Morticia on The Addams Family (Levy, 1964-1966)

Levy, D. (Executive producer). (1964-1966). The Addams Family [Television series]. Filmways Television; MGM Television.

Rob and Laura sleep in separate beds on The Dick Van Dyke Show (Leonard, 1961-1966)

Leonard, S. (Executive producer). (1961–1966). The Dick Van Dyke Show [Television Series]. Calvada Productions & CBS Television Network.

THEY’RE “ALTOGETHER OOKY,” BUT THEY’RE ALL TOGETHER

Despite their critiques of the American family, the Addamses had a life worthy of envy. The show highlighted the “strong family values” that had been evident throughout Charles Addams’s original illustrations – the family spent time together, they loved each other, and they have “morals that keep the family unit intact” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 16). The show affirmed that the “refusal to conform” only brings “a family more strongly together” (Morowitz, 2007, p. 53). Unfortunately, the show was cancelled in 1966, airing 64 episodes in total (Sauer, 2019). The Addams Family stage musical pays homage to many scenes from the show.

Halloween 1964 TV Guide featuring John Astin & Carolyn Jones from The Addams Family (Levy, 1964-1966)

Ellwanger, J. (2007, Nov. 4). “October 31, 1964. ‘BING.’ stamp (for ‘Binghamton’) added by local magazine distributor. John Astin and Carolyn Jones of ABC's ‘The Addams Family’” [Image]. Flickr. Original work published Oct. 31, 1964.

Recommended Viewing for The Addams Family Musical

The following are key episodes of The Addams Family to watch before producing the musical adaptation The Addams Family. Many clips — and some full episodes — from the show are available on YouTube for free to watch, and the entire series is streaming for free now on Tubi.

Season 1, Episode 1: “The Addams Family Goes to School”

Jacobs, S. & James, E. (Writers), & Hiller, A. (Director). (1964, Sept. 18). “The Addams Family Goes to School” (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television.

Watch full episode

Season 1, Episode 9: “The New Neighbors Meet the Addams Family”

Coons, H. & Winkler, H. (Writers), & Yarbough, J. (Director). (1964, Nov. 13). “The New Neighbors Meet the Addams Family” (Season 1, Episode 9) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television.

Watch full episode

Season 1, Episode 18: “Uncle Fester's Illness”

Lutz, B. (Writer), & Lanfield, S. (Director). (1965, Jan. 22). “Uncle Fester’s Illness” (Season 1, Episode 18) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television.

Watch clip from episode

Season 2, Episode 11: “Feud in the Addams Family”

Richards, R. & Gottler, J. (Writers), & Lanfield, S. (Director). (1965, Nov. 26). “Feud in the Addams Family” (Season 2, Episode 11) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television.

Watch clip from episode
Watch clip from episode

Season 2, Episode 21: “Pugsley's Allowance”

Winkler, H. & Coons, H. (Writers), & Lanfield, S. (Director). (1966, Feb. 4). “Pugsley's Allowance” (Season 2, Episode 21) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television.

Watch clip from episode

Season 2, Episode 29: “Lurch's Grand Romance”

Thompson, G. & Weingarten, A. (Writers), & Lanfield, S. (Director). (1966, Apr. 1). “Lurch's Grand Romance”  (Season 2, Episode 29) [TV Series Episode]. In D. Levy (Executive Producer), The Addams Family. Filmways Television. 

Watch clip from episode

The cast of Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family (1991)

Sandberg, B. (1952, July 1). “Image from LOOK - Job 52-1251 titled Charles Addams” [Image]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021681019/.

The Addams Family Hits the Big Screen

THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1991) AND THE ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (1993)

The 1990s saw a film reboot of The Addams Family franchise with The Addams Family (1991) and The Addams Family Values (1993), bothunder the direction of Barry Sonnenfeld. The film made history casting Puerto Rican actor Raúl Julia as Gomez Addams, finally affirming the character’s Latino heritage (Zornosa, 2022). Julia was joined by Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams and  Emmy Award-winner Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester (Sonnenfeld, 1991; Sonnenfeld, 1993). Young Christina Ricci played Wednesday – a role that would define her career – and Jimmy Workman played Pugsley Addams (Sonnenfeld, 1991; Sonnenfeld, 1993). Finally, Carel Struycken played Lurch (Sonnenfeld, 1991; Sonnenfeld, 1993). In the first film, the family is conned by a man posing as the Addams’s long-lost Uncle Fester in order to steal the estate (Sonnenfeld, 1991). For its sequel, Addams Family Values, Pugsley and Wednesday are sent to a classic all-American summer camp (Sonnenfeld, 1993). 

VHS Tapes for Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values

Sonnenfeld, B. (Director). (1991). The Addams Family [Film]. Orion Pictures & Paramount Pictures. | Sonnenfeld, B. (Director). (1993). The Addams Family Values [Film]. Paramount Pictures. 

THE ADDAMS VS. FAMILY VALUES

While the two Sonnenfeld Addams Family films were released in 1991 and 1993, they began production in 1989 and had been unofficially in the works even earlier (AFI Catalog, n.d.). Thus, they provide more of a retrospective critique on 1980s culture rather than the contemporaneous early 1990s. Much like their 1960s television counterparts, the Addamses of the 1990s films satirized the white-picket-fence, suburban optimism that dominated the media landscape. 

1990s popular sitcoms

Franklin, J. (Executive Producer). (1987-1995). Full House [Television series]. Jeff Franklin Productions, Miller-Boyett Productions, & Lorimar Television. ABC. | Bickley, W., Warren, M., Miller, T.L., & Boyett, R.L. (Executive Producers) (1989-1997). Family Matters [Television series]. Miller-Boyett Productions, Bickley-Warren Productions, Lorimar Television, & Warner Bros. Television. | Sullivan, M. (Executive Producer). (1985-1992). Growing Pains [Television series]. Warner Bros. Television. ABC. | Cohan, M. & Hunter, B. (Executive Producers). (1984-1992). Who’s the Boss? [Television series]. ELP Communications & Columbia Pictures Television. ABC.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Paul Rudnick affirmed he intended for the title of the sequel, Addams Family Values, to be a direct reference to George H.W. Bush’s “family values” presidential campaign (Abrams, 2018). However, its critiques on American conservatism went beyond the title. In one of the most memorable scenes of the film, Wednesday disrupts the summer camp’s patriotic Thanksgiving play to instead call attention to the atrocities the American government committed in eradicating Native Peoples from the land (Levy, 1993). Rudnick noted the scene was “Wednesday Addams’ ultimate revenge, on Republicans, blondes, mean girls and bullies” (Abrams, 2018). Still, critics at the time noted that the Addams Family unit, “which embodies so many wrong values, still has as its bedrock the sanctity of hearth and home” (Klady, 1993).

Analog Indulgence. (2018, Sept. 8). “George Bush | Political Ad | 1988 | Presidential Election” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqYQWGM0DCA.

Binge Society. (2021, Sept. 11). “Addams Family Values: Thanksgiving play (HD CLIP)” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNmkfZN9Wbk.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY SAYS “NOPE” TO THE YUPPIE

Moreover, color film allowed the Addamses to visually contrast their suburbanite competitors to a greater degree than ever before in the 1990s. The 1980s are “often remembered for its materialism and consumerism” with the rise of the “yuppie,” or “young urban professional” (Onion et al., 2018). Fashions of the decade were marked by exaggerated silhouettes, bold colors, clashing patterns, and power-suits (Ramzi, 2024). Meanwhile, the Addams Family maintained their dark, gothic aesthetic, often sporting vintage pieces rather than new mall-bought garb.

1980s Yuppie and Mall Rat fashion

Hartley, M. & Piesman, M. (1984). The Yuppie Handbook: The State-of-the Art Manual for Young Urban Professionals. Long Shadow Books. | Lowenthal, J. (1984, Dec. 31). “The Year of the Yuppie.” Newsweek, p. 14. | 25andGoldVintage. (2025, Sept. 21). “1991 'TEEN Magazine | Cover: Michelle Hansen Cathy Terlink Margie Rhyan | January 1991 | Pauly Shore | Jason Priestly | Jason Puett |” [Image]. Etsy. | Teenmagazinemuseum. (2023, Jan. 1). “February 1990 issue” [Image]. Instagram.

The original Broadaway cast of The Addams Family

Sandberg, B. (1952, July 1). “Image from LOOK - Job 52-1251 titled Charles Addams” [Image]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021681019/.

Bringing the Addams Family Mansion to the Great White Way

NEW SOUNDS ON BROADWAY IN THE 2000s

The Addams Family debuted during a transitional phase for Broadway and the country at large. In January 2009, President Barack Obama became the United States’ first black president, marking a turn toward “hope and change” for the nation (Fairey, 2009). During this time, rock musicals – such as Spring Awakening (2006-2009), Rock of Ages (2008-2015), Next to Normal (2009-2011) – reigned supreme, marking a turn toward contemporary music on Broadway. Additionally, Lin Manuel Miranda made his Broadway debut with In the Heights, bringing rap music and authentic representations of Latino-American culture to the mainstream of Broadway for the first time. 

The 2000s also featured many screen-to-stage adaptations, continuing the Disney formula established in the 1990s with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. The House of Mouse furthered its Broadway domination with new adaptations of Mary Poppins (2006-2013) and The Little Mermaid (2007-2009). Meanwhile, fellow animation powerhouse Dreamworks Studio entered the competition with Shrek The Musical (2008-2010). Other film adaptations from the era include the smash-hits The Color Purple (2005-2008), Young Frankenstein (2007-2009), Legally Blonde (2007-2008), and Billy Elliot (2008-2012). The Addams Family franchise’s entry into the Broadway sphere would sit squarely into this trend. 

Popular Broadway shows in the mid-2000s

“In the Heights Playbill Cover” [Image]. (2008, Feb. 14). Playbill. | “Shrek The Musical Playbill Cover” [Image]. (2008, Nov. 8). Playbill. | “Next to Normal Playbill Cover” [Image]. (2009, Mar. 27). Playbill. | “Young Frankenstein Playbill Cover” [Image]. (2007, Oct. 11). Playbill.

CREATING THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL

News first broke that Elephant Eye Theatrical (EET) would be producing an Addams family musical adaptation in spring of 2007 (Jones). Spearheading the project would be playwrights Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who had collaborated on the Tony-winning Best Musical Jersey Boys in 2006, and composer Andrew Lippa (Jones, 2007). In June 2008, Playbill reported Broadway legends Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane would be leading the cast as Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively (Gans & Jones, 2008). Lippa says the casting of Neuwirth and Lane as Morticia “unquestionably” impacted the songwriting for those characters, and began shaping the roles to the actors (Simonson, 2019). 

When writing the score for The Addams Family, Andrew Lippa adopted the motto, “whatever’s funniest stays” (Video Exclusive!, 2010). Like the original comics, much of the show’s comedy comes from parody and subverting audience’s expectations. Lippa particularly loves the dark humor of the Addams family, stating that “writing the lyrics [had] been a great joy, because these characters get to say things that other people don't get to say” (Simonson, 2009). In an interview with Playbill, he explained his approach to writing the score: 

“Musically, we're writing a musical about a family. We underscored the word ‘family’ in ‘the Addams Family.’ And this family is multi-generational. I decided the score was going to represent that notion. The score's very character-based, and each of the characters sings in [his or her] own language. Gomez is represented by Flamenco-style Spanish music; and Wednesday is represented by a certain amount of contemporary pop music; and Uncle Fester is old vaudevillian in our show, and he's sort of the host of our evening, so he speaks in a vaudeville presentation style” (Simonson, 2009). 

Playbill. (2011, June 22). “Andrew Lippa on making "The Addams Family" Cohesive” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/mZ4PcZ_SIVY.

Turning Sunday Comics into Sunday Matinees

The Addams Family isn’t the first stage adaptation of comic strips and graphic novels. The classic Broadway musical Annie is based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip series that ran from 1924 to 2010 created by Harold Gray. You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown brought the beloved Charles Schulz Peanuts Gallery to the theatre in 1967. In 2015, Fun Home brought graphic novels to the Great White Way for the first time.

Broadway musicals based on comics

“Annie Playbill Cover” [Image]. (1977, Apr. 8). Playbill. | “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown Playbill Cover” [Image]. (1971, May 21). Playbill. | “Fun Home Playbill Cover” [Image]. (2015, Mar. 27). Playbill.

OPENING NIGHT FOR THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The Addams Family opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on April 8, 2010, under the direction and design of Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Jones, 2010). Joining Neuwirth and Lane were rising actors Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday Addams and Wesley Taylor as her star-crossed-lover Ohioan boyfriend Lucas, while veteran character actors Kevin Chamberlain and Jackie Hoffman played Uncle Fester and Grandmama, respectively (Jones, 2010). Additionally, Tony Award nominees Carolee Carmello and Terrence Mann played the straight-laced Beineke parents (Jones, 2010). Finally, Zachary James played Lurch, and Adam Riegler played Pugsley (Jones, 2010). 

Playbill. (2011, June 15). “Highlights from Broadway’s ‘The Addams Family’ starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-oX77xftPyE?si=QUFC5Dc0PBYvxQkW.

The original show was critically panned in both its out-of-town tryouts and Broadway run, leading the creative team to make major changes before sending the show on a national tour (Collins-Hughes, 2020). New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley wrote, “being in this genuinely ghastly musical… must feel like going to a Halloween party in a straight-jacket or a suit of armor” (2010). Other critics derided the formulaic structure and lack of character depth, with Steven Suskin for Variety arguing the show was an “ill-formed one-dimensional cartoon with lines and shading not quite inked in” (2010). 

The show then underwent further revisions. Composer Andrew Lippa later told New York Times that the writing team “ripped apart the show,” looking at the central conflicts and the score for areas of improvement (Collins-Hughes, 2020). Playwright Rick Elice says the team “rewrote it to make the show more about the characters,” paying special attention to the “new characters that we introduced to make it less bizarre and more human” (Collins-Hughes, 2020). 

These revisions proved to be worthwhile, as The Addams Family has taken on new life post-Broadway. Since the rights have been released, The Addams Family has consistently ranked as one of the most produced shows across American high schools (Zamansky, 2025; EdTA, 2023).

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday (Gough, Millar, Burton et al., 2022—)

Gough, A., Millar, M., Burton, T., Alpert, K., Berman, G., Harper, T., Miserocchi, K., & Mittman, A. (Executive Producers). (2022–). Wednesday [Television series]. MGM Television; Millar Gough Ink; Tim Burton Productions; Toluca Pictures.

The Modern Addams Family

WEDNESDAY (2022—)

In 2022, Netflix premiered Wednesday, a new fantasy comedy series directed by Tim Burton centering the “smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside” Addams daughter as she “investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends – and foes – at Nevermore Academy” (Netflix, 2024). Like the Addams Family films, Wednesday comes in response to American political leaders running on “family values” and “making America great again.” Showrunners Miles Milar and Al Gough told TIME they were directly inspired by the Thanksgiving play scene from Addams Family Values and aimed to create a show that explores the “outcasts” versus the “normies” while critiquing American colonialism (Zornosa, 2022; Sonnenfeld, 1993). 

Netflix’s Wednesday also continues the precedent established in the Sonnenfeld films of casting a Latino actor to play Gomez and further cements the Addams family’s Latino culture. In doing so, the show highlights how the Addamses have always been the “perfect allegory for immigrant families…they sound funny, they dress oddly, they dress oddly, they eat strange foods” – they’re America’s favorite outsiders (Zornosa, 2022).

Netflix. (2022, Aug. 17). “Wednesday Addams | Official Teaser | Netflix” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Di310WS8zLk?si=0KttPHrDhyeS_lx0. 

Netflix. (2025, July 9). “Wednesday: Season 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/03u4xyj0TH4?si=Rzzbm9MgqRcK7WCN.

Rather than satirizing American sitcoms — which have largely fallen out of the zeitgeist in the streaming era — like its film and television predecessors, Netflix’s Wednesday chooses to parody contemporary teen dramas. Particularly, Wednesday fits into the oeuvre of teen supernatural, mystery, and horror media popularized in the 2010s. 

Popular 2010s Teen Dramas

Schwartz, J., Savage, S., Levy, B., & Morgenstein, L. (Executive Producers). (2007-2012). Gossip Girl [Television series]. 17th Street Productions; Alloy Entertainment; CBS Television Studios; College Hill Pictures. | Plec, J. & Williamson, K. (Executive Producers). (2009-2017). The Vampire Diaries [Television series]. Outerbanks Entertainment; Alloy Entertainment; CBS Television Studios; Warner Bros. Television. | King, M.I. (Executive Producer). (2010-2017). Pretty Little Liars [Television series]. Warner Horizon Television;  Alloy Entertainment.  | Aguirre-Sacasa, R., Berlanti, G., Schechter, S., & Goldwater, J. (Executive Producers). (2017-2023). Riverdale [Television series]. Berlanti Productions; Archie Comics Publications; CBS Television Studios; Warner Bros. Television.

Works Cited

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Characters of The Addams Family