Kingsley Morton is making her professional stage debut in the tour of the hit musical, The Addams Family, the spectacular musical comedy from the writers of multi award-winning Jersey Boys, with music and lyrics by Tony Award nominated Andrew Lippa.
Hitting the road with this tour has been a long time coming, “I found out back in March 2020 that I had been cast as Wednesday, so just before lockdown, and it has definitely been a roller coaster since then,” says Kingsley. “We officially started rehearsals 19 months after I’d found out I had been cast; I found lockdown really difficult at times, and knowing that I had this job waiting for me helped me to get through it.”
Kingsley found out she’d got the job going into a graduate showcase at her drama school, “I think the Principal wanted me to know as soon as possible, but it was really hard to contain my excitement during the showcase,” laughs Kingsley.
Wednesday Addams has long been a dream role for Kingsley, “I actually did an amateur production of it a few years ago, and I knew then that I wanted to do it professionally. I think it appeals to me so much because the character is the complete opposite of what you’d normally find in the romantic lead of a musical.”
“But it still completely works, and the script is so clever, and the music is incredible. I just love doing it every night so far.”
Kingsley says the musical remains faithful to the original concept, “if you’ve seen the original Addams Family movies, it’s what you’d expect it to be, but in musical form. Wednesday has grown up in our version, and she’s fallen in love with this normal boy, who is like the complete antithesis of everything Addam’s Family.”
“In the first meeting of the families, my character says what could possibly go wrong? And obviously, everything that could possibly go wrong, goes wrong. It’s hilarious and incredible.”
This isn’t the first time The Addams Family has toured, “but the character is very different to how it was last time, including the costume and everything,” explains Kingsley. “She’s more punk rock, and she’s like a Goth scene kid, which I also happen to be. She’s also much more outspoken and impulsive, and works entirely on ‘I’m going to do this now because I want to do this now’. It’s great; it’s very refreshing because I’m definitely not like that as a person.”
Some previous cast members have returned, while others are also joining the tour for the first time, and Kingsley is enjoying learning from her new castmates, “honestly, their experience, even people who didn’t do it last time, but have done loads of shows, it’s been incredible learning from all of them.”
“I just sit there and take it all in, if you told the younger me that I would be in a room with these people talking and laughing, I think she would freak out. But they’ve just been so helpful whenever I was lost during rehearsals, they were totally there to answer any questions I had. Especially about the tour, because this is my first time touring.”
Kingsley says that previous to this tour, the only time she’d left London was to visit her Grandparents in Cumbria, “going to Cardiff will be my first time in Wales,” says Kingsley excitedly, “and I’m really looking forward to Edinburgh, apparently it’s very dramatic and Gothic, and the rest of the cast are saying that I will love it.”
Kingsley is also enjoying the musical elements of The Addams Family, “all the other characters are exactly the same as you would expect, apart from the fact they like to sing now!” laughs Kingsley, “but even the songs fit their characters so well, and I think there’s a little bit of something for everyone, because there are massively dramatic bits of music where it’s like we’re in some sort of Greek tragedy or Opera, then there’s tango and other Latin beats, and other parts are more rock.”
Kingsley says that fans of The Addams Family will definitely recognise all of their favourite characters, but anyone who hasn’t seen the TV or movie versions shouldn’t be too concerned, “The characters get established very early on, and it is this quirky, unconventional family, but the strongest message in it is family, embracing everything about your family and not keeping secrets from each other.”
It’s clear that Kingsley is relishing taking on her dream role as her first professional job, “I absolutely love every second, I mean it would be hard not to with a show like this. It is just the perfect tonic. It is escapism, it’s funny, it’s got the emotional moments, it’s got everything you could want after this tough year and a half.”
The Addams Family, starring Kingsley Morton, is currently touring the UK. Tour listings and ticket information can be found here.
