As much as this cast recording benefits from having absolute pros like Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Terrance Mann, Kevin Chamberlin, and Carolee Carmello in the mix, I have to give this one to Krysta Rodriguez.
Because for me, she is the person who elevates the material the most. And that is not a small thing on an album like this one.
One of the recurring issues with The Addams Family score is that some of the songs are more functional than memorable. They do the job, they move the plot along, they create a pleasant enough listening experience, but they do not always leap off the page on their own. Krysta is one of the few performers on this recording who consistently makes the material feel sharper, more specific, and more alive than it necessarily is.
So yes, Bebe Neuwirth is wonderful. Nathan Lane is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Kevin Chamberlin is wonderfully odd. But Krysta is the one who, for me, most consistently takes material that is good, decent, or merely functional and makes it feel worth paying closer attention to.
Which Song Gets Cut? “Waiting”
If I am cutting one song from this score, it is “Waiting.”
I think part of the frustration is that it feels like this should have been a better song than it is. Give the ancestors a number with more bite, more personality, more actual urgency. Give Alice something sharper, funnier, or weirder. Give us a song that feels less like filler and more like a real event.
Best in the Show: “Pulled”
This one was not hard.
“Pulled” is the standout because it is the song that most fully clicks. It is funny, catchy, character-specific, and actually memorable in a way a lot of this score unfortunately is not. It gives Wednesday a real voice. It lets the show be weird and theatrical without trying too hard. And it works both inside the musical and outside of it, which is not something every song here can claim. This is the number I would hand to someone and say, here, this is the one that really lands. And it now lands on our Best in the Show Playlist!
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