Romance, music & spooky humor: Why critics say you should see these 4 Cape Cod theater shows

What did our reviewers think of shows now on Cape Cod stages? Here's what they had to say about "The Bridges of Madison County" musical produced by Falmouth Theatre Guild; "The Humans" at Provincetown Theater; "The Vourdalak" from the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans and "The Addams Family Musical" at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre.

‘The Bridges of Madison County’

By Sue Mellen

Written by: Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, based on the novel by Robert James Waller; directed by Joan McKenzie-Baird; presented by Falmouth Theatre Guild.

What it's about: People with romance in their soul have likely seen the 1995 film of the same name with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, so may already know the plot of this stage musical version. It’s 1965 and war bride Francesca (Jenn Perrault) — who grew up in cosmopolitan Naples — is now a farmer’s wife in a little town near Des Moines, Iowa. Her life is now all about tending to the animals, her vegetable garden and her husband and two teenagers. It’s not exactly the stirring vision she had back in old Napoli. In the opening number, “Building a Home,” Francesca sings about the physical and emotional edifice that now surrounds her, as the actors and stage crew carry in pieces of the set, literally “building the house” behind her. Perrault’s quietly soothing voice helps set the gentle tone for the show from the very start.

Then into her house and life walks Robert Kincaid (Danté Murray), the tall, handsome stranger of many women’s dreams. He’s out shooting photos of the famed covered bridges of Madison County for a National Geographic magazine spread and can’t find his way to one of the bridges. What he really hopes to find is something different in his life, which he makes clear as he sings the line “I’ve been looking for something” from the number “Temporarily Lost.” Murray’s strong, sure voice is the perfect counterpoint to Perrault’s gentle tones in the song “What Do You Call a Man Like That?” Clearly, the pair is headed for a detour in the road of life.

It turns out that Francesca’s husband and kids are off at the county fair so — well, you know what happens. Numbers like “Falling Into You” and “Another Life” set the tone of romance and longing. Where to from here?

See it or not: Go for the music and tone of the piece. All of this story could be a bit cliché, but there is a sweet and genuine-feeling chemistry between the leads that make it all a palatable and enjoyable ride.

Highlight of the show: The amount of musical numbers gives this show the feel of an operetta, so the quality of voices and accompaniment couldn’t be more important. Again, the leads’ voices are strong and sure, and the musical accompaniment by the 10-piece orchestra, under the direction of Nancy Sparklin, flows gently through the scenes. (Is there anything more satisfying than the sounds of a full orchestra in the background?)

Worth noting: While the leads and their romance take center stage, there are some other performances that stand out. Bonnie Fairbanks is fun as Francesca’s nosey, binocular-wielding neighbor Marge. As she peers through her window at the lovers next door, slightly bumbling husband Charlie (Dan Zajac) chides her for being such a busybody. And later on they have a cute scene where Marge bemoans the fact that her hubby wouldn’t care if she had an affair. Charlie’s response is, “Do we have any more of that cake?”

Interesting fact: Hollywood legend has it that Eastwood has been particularly impatient, and has a taste for simplicity. So the simple feel of this story apparently appealed to him.

One more thing: It’s a sign of a good director (Joan McKenzie-Baird) and stage manager (Maggie Sexton Dwyer) when set changes are seamless and unobtrusive. This was definitely the case here on opening night.

If you go: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 6 at Highfield Theatre, 8 Highfield Dr., Falmouth. Tickets: $30, $28 for seniors, $25 for under age 18; 508-548-0400, https://falmouththeatreguild.org/

‘The Humans’

By Carol Panasci

Written by: Stephen Karam; directed by David Drake; presented by Provincetown Theater

What it's about: It’s Thanksgiving 2015. And it’s awkward. Mom Deirdre (Jadah Carroll), Dad Erik (Ken Lockwood), Grandma Momo (Dian Hamilton) and big sister Aimee (Laura Scribner) convene in the new New York City apartment of the younger sister, Brigid (Danica Jensen) and her new beau, Richard (Nathan Butera). What could possibly go wrong? There are familial tensions, barely repressed resentments, mental and physical health issues, secrets bubbling up from a forced façade. Oh, and the apartment just might be haunted.

See it or not: The slice-of-life story has generous helpings of humor alongside family drama with an eerie undertone — suggesting that the horror not only lives among us, it may be us. This is an engrossing concept, delivered by a capable cast with impressive production values. The start is a bit sluggish, and the actors sometimes need to project and articulate more clearly, but this was resolved on Saturday as the evening progressed.

Highlights: The script uses the implications of the otherworldly as a metaphor for the everyday anxieties, challenges and foibles that haunt families and humans in general. Sharp, credible and clever dialogue flesh out the theme. Can’t not give a shout out to Hamilton as the grandmother, who gives an amazing performance while hardly uttering an intelligible word.

Fun fact: This is the Cape Cod premiere of the play.

Worth noting: “The Humans” won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. There is a 2021 movie of the play, written and directed by Karam, and featuring Richard Jenkins and Amy Schumer.

One more thing: Press material for the Provincetown show describes “The Humans” as "part family drama, part dark comedy, part haunted house” and compares it in tone and scope to the company’s production of “August: Osage County.”

If you go: 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30 at Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St.; $40+; 508-487-7487, https://provincetowntheater.org/

‘The Vourdalak’

By Shannon Goheen

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The world premiere of Bragan Thomas' "The Vourdalak" at the Academy Playhouse in Orleans features Vaida Armonite, right, as Zdenka and Thomas himself playing Lord Nicholas Sommerville.

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Written by: Bragan Thomas; directed by Thomas and Jonathan Ryder; presented by the Academy of Performing Arts

What it’s about: A British Lord is traveling by horseback to Bucharest when he gets caught in a serious thunderstorm. He takes refuge under a tree with others and meets a local who invites him to spend the night. He finds himself among a worrisome family and a beautiful woman who steals his heart. The family, however, has other horrific plans for him – and his horse, for that matter. He’s clearly doomed but his overwhelming attraction to the woman blinds him to any possibility of escape.

See it or not: When the play ended, the child behind me said, “That was so good!” It’s a spooky, creepy Halloween play, just right for the season and not so gory that children can’t handle it. You can take the whole family – except the very young and impressionable – and can expect to feel a little anxious while you watch this one-hour play.

Highlight of the show: Zdenka (Vaida Armonaite) has Lord Nicholas Somerville’s (Bragan Thomas) best interests at heart and she makes an effort to save him. His hesitation to leave her has serious consequences. “You must choose death or life everlasting,” she tells him. Armonaite and Thomas together blur the line between the two realities, our familiar world and a world with vampires. That fuzzy boundary is where the real discomfort happens in this play.

Fun fact: Thomas presented an early version of the script, based on a novella by Tolstoy, at the Academy’s 24-Hour theater festival in March. He says this fully staged world premiere too him three years and 34 drafts to produce. The theme fits in nicely with the Academy’s goal of performing live theater throughout this Halloween season and they are integrating parts of this play into their month-long Haunted House project.

Worth noting: The members of the small cast all offer their own turbulent touches to the action. Fred Carpenter’s Jorg is abusive and fearsome from the get-go and it’s clear that he’s a bad egg. His wife Elizavet, played by Diane F. Parkes, doesn’t like him – nor should she because he’s so nasty – and she uses effective body language to let us know just what she thinks. Peter Eldridge is Jorg’s brother Pyotr who spends most of his time whittling wooden stakes with a giant knife. His sinister habit of holding the sharp blade near Nicholas’ neck is unsettling. Mishka the vampire child is a role shared by Charlie Tobin and Toby Goers. On opening night, director Ryder stepped into the role of Gorcha, the man who turns the whole family into vampires. It’s clear that the cast is having fun with this Halloween special and they together turn out an entertaining production.

One more thing: “There is a small price to pay…” for everlasting life, says Armonaite. Really? It’s an unanswerable good/bad question - the prospect of living forever. Being unachievable, it remains a concept to grapple with that will endlessly pique the human psyche. Thomas’ “The Vourdalak“ entertains and confounds. It’s the best kind of creepy!

If you go: 2 p.m. Oct. 23, 6 p.m. Oct. 20 and 27 at the Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans; $15; boxoffice@academyplayhouse.org, 508-255-1963, https://www.academyplayhouse.org/.

‘The Addams Family Musical’

By Sue Mellen

Written by: Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa; directed by Nick Cearley; presented by Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre.

What it's about: Here’s the Addams family, in all their ghoulish glory, and just in time for the Halloween season (most certainly the Addams’ favorite time of the year). There’s Gomez (Anthony Teixeira), ever the debonair (if a bit charmingly wacky) leader of the clan. Then there’s Morticia (Brittany Rolfs) the forever sultry siren at Gomez’s side. Maryana Crawley is the somewhat sullen teenaged Wednesday, while Kelly Martin is the delightfully mischievous Pugsley. And who could forget Grandma (Trish LaRose) with her hunched back, wild hair and equally wild attitude about … well, everything.

Rounding out the household are John O. Fennell as the somewhat bumbling but always lovable Uncle Fester and Matt Gardner as the silent, enigmatic, 8-foot Lurch. (It would be fascinating to know exactly how the company managed to get Gardner up to that impressive height. And you have to wonder how Gardner became so sure-footed on the apparatus.)

Considering the above, it would almost be enough to see the Addams gathered together in their Home Sweet Mausoleum. And, in fact, when the play opens with a seemingly disembodied hand reaching through the curtain and the familiar music and finger-snapping in the background, the audience bursts into applause.

But there’s actually a plot. Wednesday is contemplating marriage, and her intended’s family is from (horrors) Ohio. (Gomez comments that it’s a dreaded “swing state.”) The patriarch is the first to know about the impending union, and Wednesday asks that he keep the news to himself until after a dinner with the (of course) conservative Beinekes, boyfriend Lucas (Salvatore Guillermo Garcia), mom Alice (Jess Andra) and dad Mal (Ed Donovan). So Gomez is trapped “like the moderate wing of the right,” he says. He doesn’t want to disappoint Wednesday, but has never lied to Morticia.

You know what’s coming: It’s literally a feast of hilarity, as the family introduces its favorite parlor game, “Full Disclosure,” to the staid Ohioans. In fact, sunshiney, rhyme-spouting Alice drinks a potion meant for Wednesday and launches into a siren’s song, eventually draping herself along the dining table. Considering the chaos, will Wednesday and Lucas stay together? And how about Fester? Will his dream of a romance with the moon (that’s right, the moon) ever be realized?

See it or not: Go for a deadly delightful trip back in time to those days in the 1960s when the original Addams Family graced TV screens on a weekly basis. But whatever your age, go for the sheer fun of the show. The one-liners alone — especially those delivered by a deadpan Teixeira — are worth the price of admission. When Alice asks to use “the little girls’ room,” he answers, “We used to have one but we had to let them go.” Priceless!

Highlight of the show: There is so much about this show that’s outstanding that it’s hard to zero in. Excellent direction from Cearley means that the characters are all spot-on and scenes flow seamlessly from one to the next. And the theater’s longtime musical director Robert Wilder and his behind-the scenes musicians provide deftly delightful accompaniment to the action, beginning with the opening, ensemble number, “When You’re An Addams.” The voices are almost universally strong and trained, with Rolf’s and Crawley’s standing out. And choreographer Suzette Hutchinson has ensured that numbers like the show opener (featuring a youthful ensemble of deceased Addams ancestors), and the sultry “Tango de Amor” performed by Rolfs and Teixeira, are perfect.

Interesting fact: The incomparable Jackie Coogan played Fester in the original TV series, with Christopher Lloyd assuming the role in the two feature films.

Worth noting: Set design by James P. Byrne and costumes by Robin McLaughlin are also fun and authentic, fueling the trip back in time.

One more thing: The intimate CCTC/HJT theater is perfectly suited to this trip into the fabulously freaky corridors of the Addams abode.

If you go: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30; Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., West Harwich; $35, under 21 $18; 508-432.2002, https://capecodtheatrecompany.org/

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod theater reviews: Romance, musicals, spooky humor and horror