Musical Theater continues to blow it out of the park with this year’s musical “The Addams Family.” The show and students do a wonderful job of introducing us to the lovable characters of the Addams family with incredible acting and unforgettable music numbers.

While they waited for the show to begin, the audience was entertained by characters that people would recognize as Cousin It (Lawrynce Cecio) and Thing (Gibran Mustafa). When the curtains opened, the atmosphere was set by a fog machine and creepy lighting.

The musical follows the story of Wednesday Addams (Thea Farber) and her struggle to tell her mother (Jenna Steinberg) she is in love with a boy. She invites the boy’s family over for dinner and begs her family to act “normal.” Wednesday reveals her true feelings about the boy, Lucas, to her father (Yoni Kruvi) but asks him to do something he’s never done: keep it a secret from his wife.

When Lucas’s family, the Beinekes, arrives, the Addamses are met with people that are their polar opposites. The father, Mal, (Jacob Morilak) is work-obsessed and much too serious in comparison to Gomez Addams’ animated personality. The mother, Alice, (Jillian Strattman) is overly positive and bright, unlike Morticia Addams’ ghoulishly demure demeanor. Their son, Lucas, (Rami Ibrahim) isn’t nearly as spontaneous or crazy as the crossbow-wielding Wednesday Addams.

Much to no one’s surprise, it’s near impossible for these two families to get along. Both families are nearly torn apart by the dinner debacle, but through an elegant tango number, the couples learn that love isn’t always perfect. They realize it’s better to look past their differences and become friends. The show ends on a cheesy but sweet scene of the marriage of Wednesday and Lucas.

However high my hopes were for “The Addams Family,” the show surpassed it by a mile. Though many of the cast are relatively new to theater, all did a great job of portraying the characters and making them likeable. Another favorite part of the production was the beautiful set that pulled the show together and immersed the audience in the weird world of the Addams family.

This was one of my favorite shows that musical theater has put on. Though the ending was pretty cheesy and a bit predictable, it taught lots of important things about love, family, and accepting others for who they are. It’s clear “The Addams Family” has set the bar high for musicals to come.