Although numerous film and television adaptations of Addams' cartoons exist, the musical is the first stage show based on the characters.

Improbable theatre founders Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott were the original directors and designers, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

The songs "One Normal Night", "Full Disclosure, Part 2", "Crazier Than You", "Move Toward the Darkness", and "Tango De Amor" were rewritten.

[citation needed] The show began previews on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 8, 2010, with an official opening night of April 8.

The creative team included direction by McDermott and Crouch, choreography by Trujillo, lighting by Natasha Katz, puppets by Basil Twist, special effects by Gregory Meeh, and orchestrations by Larry Hochman.

[24] Tour stops included Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Hartford, Saint Paul, Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Orlando, Florida, and San Diego.

The production, which featured a tighter post-National Tour script and a more Chicago improv-oriented cast, was directed by L. Walter Stearns, musical directed by Eugene Dizon, and choreographed by Brenda Didier; with scene design by Bob Knuth, lighting by Nick Belley, sound by Mike Ross, costumes by Frances Maggio, and magic by Neil Tobin.

[36] The first international production opened in March 2012 at Teatro Renault, São Paulo, Brazil, produced by T4F with Marisa Orth and Daniel Boaventura as Morticia and Gomez, respectively.

[38][39] A Brazilian revival opened on March 10, 2022, in São Paulo at the same Teatro Renault, with Marisa Orth and Daniel Boaventura reprising their roles.

Starring: Petra Nielsen (Morticia), Christian Zell (Gomez), Jenny Holmgren (Wednesday), Fabian Nikolajeff/Kalle Jansson (Pugsley), Jesper Barkselius (Fester), Gunnel Samuelsson (Grandma), Jan Unestam (Lurch), Carina Söderman (Alice), Sven Angleflod (Mal) and Linus Henriksson (Lucas)[40] The musical premiered at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia, starting in March 2013.

Four children played Pericles (Pugsley): Kevin La Bella, Jorge Chamorro, Tadeo Galvé, and Valentino Grizutti.

Directed by Tiina Puumalainen, visually designed by Teppo Järvinen, and conducted by Pekka Siistonen, the production featured a cast of Puntti Valtonen (Gomez), Eriikka Väliahde (Morticia), Laura Alajääski (Wednesday), Jukka Nylund (Pugsley), Matti Pussinen-Eloranta (Mumma / Grandma), Samuli Muje (Fester), Minna Hokkanen (Alice), Mika Honkanen (Mal), Juha-Matti Koskela (Lucas), and Sami Eerola (Lurch).

Cast members included Arnell Ignacio (Gomez), Eula Valdez (Morticia), Kayla Rivera (Wednesday), and Ryan Gallagher (Lucas).

In Mexico, the show opened in October 2014 as Los Locos Addams, the name of the TV series in Mexico, starring Susana Zabaleta as Morticia, Jesús Ochoa as Homero (Gomez), Gloria Aura as Merlina (Wednesday), Miguel Ángel Pérez and Sebastián Gallegos as Pericles (Puglsey), Gerardo González as Tío Lucas (Uncle Fester), Raquel Pankowsky as Abuela (Grandma), José Roberto Pisano as Lurch, Luca Duhart as Tomás (Lucas) Beineke, Tomás Castellanos as Mauricio (Mal) Beineke, and Marisol del Olmo as Alicia (Alice) Beineke.

The production started quite successfully, theatre's website crashed due to high number of visitors who wanted to buy ticket.

[55] The show features several notable South African stage veterans including Tiaan Rautenbach, Samantha Peo and Brendan van Rhyn.

[58] It starred Cameron Blakely as Gomez, Samantha Womack as Morticia, Les Dennis as Fester, and Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday.

Ramin Karimloo, Michelle Visage, Lesley Joseph and Ryan Kopel starred as Gomez, Morticia, Grandma and Lucas.

Book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the characters created by Charles Addams.

Mal wants to tear down the old house, Alice begins to spout happy poems at random, Pugsley, Fester, and Grandma fail at acting normal, and Wednesday, after wearing black for eighteen years, appears in a bright yellow dress.

At dinner, the assembly plays a variant of truth or dare the Addamses call "The Game," in which each person present reveals a secret ("Full Disclosure").

Gomez tells a story about scaring away crows and their feet, but upsets Morticia by accidentally comparing her to a goat, while Uncle Fester admits he's in love with the Moon.

Chaos engulfs both families, and Uncle Fester, trying to be helpful, instructs the Ancestors to create a sudden, terrible storm, trapping everyone in the mansion for the night ("Full Disclosure – Part 2").

Broadway (2010–11) In addition to the original characters created by Addams, the musical introduces the new roles of Mal, Alice, and Lucas Beineke, who are described as "straight arrow Midwesterners.

[71] The Variety review of the Chicago tryout said "The show [is] overcrammed and underfocused...From a structural perspective, the storytelling is all rising action followed by rapid and not really convincing resolution... it's very funny, with special nods to Chamberlin, whose ultra-corny number 'The Moon and Me' is a comic highlight, as well as to Hoffman and Lane.

[75] John Simon, writing in the Bloomberg News called it "A glitzy-gloomy musical in which the quick and the dead are equally full of character, especially the chorus of ancestors that exhibits wonderful esprit de corpse.

"[76] However, Ben Brantley in The New York Times wrote that it is "A tepid goulash of vaudeville song-and-dance routines, Borscht Belt jokes, stingless sitcom zingers and homey romantic plotlines".

An Associated Press reviewer stated: "Lane, complete with a deliciously phony Spanish accent, is the hardest working actor on Broadway.

"[75] Despite many negative reviews by New York critics, it has consistently played to 100% capacity and grossed third only to Wicked and The Lion King each week since it opened in previews.

The Times attributed this success to a beloved brand-name title, nostalgia, star strength, and a top-notch marketing campaign by the producers.