by Aya Takechi

Okay, let’s get the Addams Family cliches out of the way right now: They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky. (Insert theme music and snapping fingers here.) Need a hand with that opening number? Why, yes. Thank you, Thing.

The Addams Family has been a household name for at least three generations of comedy lovers. If you’re not familiar with the wonderfully dark cartoons by Charles Addams in the New Yorker magazine, then you probably know them from their 1960’s sit-com or the series of movies from the 1990’s.

But now, add a Tony-nominated musical score and a chorus of dancing ghostly ancestors, and you get the general idea of the finger-snapping fun in store for you at Burien Actors Theatre.

Opening their 2015-16 season with a ghoulish evening of song and silliness, BAT has brought us the latest adventures of Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Fester, Grandmama and Lurch to the stage.

Wednesday Addams (Taylor Davis) is all grown up now and has fallen in love. Lucas (Andrew Hunter), the “normal” young man she has fallen for, wants his parents (John Lynch and Leslie Youngblood) to meet the family.

Gomez (Nathaniel Jones) and Morticia (Daniela Ferdico) reluctantly agree to invite Lucas’ family to dinner. But when Wednesday confides a secret to her father and begs him not to tell anyone else, Gomez must do what he has never done before: hide the truth from his beloved wife.

It seems that all is amiss in the world of Addams, but Uncle Fester (John Kelleher) enlists the aid of their ancestors (Dylan Cook, James Fesalbon, Jeremy Force, Erin O’Loughlin, Lani Smith and Laura York) to help him set things right.

The Addams Family takes a fresh look at America’s most bizarre family, with unexpected sweetness and sentimentality smoothly mixed in with the dark, macabre humor.

BAT boasts a well-cast ensemble of players. Director Mok Moser has found the perfect family in his actors. Nathaniel Jones is the centerpiece as Gomez Addams. As the man blissfully living in his own twisted world, Jones’s Gomez is our ringmaster. You won’t be able to take your eyes off him. And why would you want to? Jones’ strong comedic skills are the hub that holds the show together.

Taylor Davis is wonderfully dark and brooding as Wednesday. Daniela Ferdico’s Morticia has just the right amount of sexy ghoulishness, and John Kelleher’s Uncle Fester is spot on. While Wednesday and Pugsley provide much of the darkness, Fester provides the sweetness. Kelleher nails it with his understated humor.

And speaking of Pugsley, Izzi Ferdico is an absolute delight as the jealous and torture-loving younger brother. Anna Richardson rounds out the family as the ancient but spry Grandmama and Leroy Chin is the unsung hero of the cast as Lurch, the long-suffering and other-worldly butler. Although he has no actual dialogue in the story, Chin makes his presence felt, and enjoyed.

Strong performances by Lynch, Richardson and Hunter made the “normal” family into much more than comic foils for the Addams clan.

Fine work was also contributed by music director Daryl Spadaccini and his band, as well as scenic designer Albie Clementi and costumer Helen Roundhill.

Don’t miss this fun, family friendly musical. And get your snapping fingers ready. You need to pay a call on The Addams Family.

The Addams Family runs through Nov. 1. Tickets range from $7 to $20, with student tickets just $10. For more information, log onto www.burienactorstheatre.org or call 206-242-5180.

Burien Actors Theatre performs at the Community Center Annex, located at 14501 4th Ave. SW in Burien.