Meet the Addams Family

You know the Addams Family. They're creepy and they're kooky. Mysterious, one could even say. Spooky. They're perhaps the last group of people any "normal" human being would want to be associated with. Unless, of course, that person is in love.

Enter Wednesday Addams. Yes, the morose, macabre, "ultimate princess of darkness" has grown up, fallen in love, and is faced with the unsavory task of introducing her charming, respectable, normal boyfriend to her family. What could go wrong?

You'll have to check out Erie Playhouse's production of the musical comedy The Addams Family to find out. The show opened Valentine's Day weekend, because nothing says love like a severed hand gracing your dinner table.

But back to Wednesday for a moment, the poor girl. Nothing, nothing, nothing is more nerve-wracking than the idea of your significant other meeting your parents. It's long been a storytelling trope, from La Cage aux Folles to Meet the Parents to that one time my partner left me alone in a room with his mother 15 minutes after meeting her … We're digressing.

But, like most problems, it's best to face these things head-on – with nothing short of an Addams-hosted dinner at their beloved mansion for Wednesday, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's parents. It's an evening that will change both families forever, and the question remains – will Wednesday and her boyfriend make it?

Well, with role models like Gomez and Morticia (beacons of true, undying love), my money's on yes. But find out for yourself – the Erie Playhouse's run of (the altogether ooky) The Addams Family goes until March. — Sara Toth

Feb. 19 to Feb 22; Feb. 25 to March 1; evening performances at 7:30 p.m., matinees at 2 p.m. // 13 W. 10th St. // 454.2852 or EriePlayhouse.org