In April last year, Julia Robertson directed a deliciously entertaining production of Mel Brooks’ musical The Producers at the Hayes Theatre Co., presented by Joshua Robson Productions. Ingeniously staged at the intimate Sydney venue, it was a sold-out hit.

The Addams Family, presented by Joshua Robson Productions at the Hayes Theatre Co. Photo © James Reiser

Robertson has now returned to the Hayes to direct another musical comedy for Robson, this time The Addams Family – a riskier undertaking than The Producers, which is a more admired show – and once again she and her creative team have delivered another brilliantly conceived production, breathing fresh life into the show.

Featuring music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, The Addams Family spins a story around the kooky, spooky characters from Charles Addams’ gleefully macabre cartoons, first conceived in 1938, which inspired the 1960s television series and two films.

Wednesday Addams, the 18-year-old daughter of Gomez and Morticia, has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a decent boy from a conservative, middle-class family. Inviting Lucas and his parents to dinner, she begs her ghoulish family to act ‘normal’ for the night. Naturally, things go awry and relationships are tested on both sides, but love finally wins the day.

Beneath the funny one-liners (of which there are plenty), Brickman and Elice have added heart and heft to the show by exploring ideas around family, trust, difference, compassion and acceptance. Lippa’s Latin, pop and Broadway-influenced songs are easy listening, with a couple of lovely ballads in Act II, while When You’re an Addams is a real earworm.

The Addams Family, presented by Joshua Robson Productions at the Hayes Theatre Co. Photo © James Reiser

Robertson directs the production on a fantastic, monochrome, cartoon-like set by production designer Dann Barber – which is a star in its own right. It includes a curtain that says “The End” with holes through which heads and creepy hands appear. There are gravestones along the front of the stage and a couple of coffins, while the curtain is draped to create different spaces, cleverly lit by Jasmine Rizk.

Barber’s costumes, which range from Morticia’s glamourous gown to Pugsley’s punk threads and Lurch’s architectural headgear, also work a treat. The yellow dress Wednesday dons for the dinner still has an edgy Addams danger to it, while Morticia’s black-gloved coat has to be seen to be believed.

Robertson’s direction is full of wonderfully weird little details, and the way she and choreographer Shannon Burns move the performers around the space is deftly done. The tableaux which bring the company together in eerie fashion look great, matched by the soaring vocals. On top of that, the chorey is fun, notably a tango (with sword) by Gomez and Morticia.

Erika Heynatz is sensational as Morticia. She is every inch the stylish, vampish matriarch, combining perfect comic timing with impressive vocals, while Marcus Rivera nails Gomez’s joyous, manic, heartfelt energy in an exuberant performance, nailing humour that could easily fall flat.

In her mainstage debut, Jenny Guigayoma’s Wednesday is the toughest of nuts, with a belting voice to match, Georgia Oom is on point as Wednesday’s torture-seeking brother Pugsley, and Evan Lever is touchingly sweet as Uncle Fester, who declares his naked love for the moon, triggering two reveals.

Georgia Oom and Erika Heynatz in The Addams Family, presented by Joshua Robson Productions at the Hayes Theatre Co. Photo © James Reiser

Among the rest of the strong cast, Teagan Wouters (who played Wednesday in the 2013 Australian tour) is very funny as Lucas’s repressed, frustrated mother Alice, who speaks in rhyming platitudes. When she launches into her number Waiting, having inadvertently swallowed a drug Pugsley intended for Wednesday, she really lets rip. As for the taciturn butler Lurch, Elliot Aitken is a hoot, while conveying a surprising gentleness as he moves around at a snail’s pace.

Meanwhile, the seven-piece band under Musical Director Zander Gaal pumps out a big, exciting sound that almost sounds orchestral, with excellent sound design by Chaii Ki Chapman.

All up, it’s a delightfully dark, joyously morbid, weirdly kooky, very funny production. Snap up the tickets while you can!

The Addams Family plays at the Hayes Theatre Co, Potts Point, Sydney until 9 August. More information here.