Lexington’s resident community theater is taking on a classic cartoon turned TV show turned movie turned Broadway musical.

Village Square Theatre’s next production focuses on the Addams Family, that scary-fun oddball clan who don’t ealize their oddity, with local actors stepping into the roles of the iconic characters.

“It’s totally fun and totally crazy. The Addams Family is funny and there’s a lot of humor in it,” said director Debra Leopard said of what drew her to the musical. “That’s what I loved about the Addams Family is just how crazy they are.”

Leopard pointed out that despite its dark humor, the show is still family-friendly and good for this time of year. She said it’s PG for some mild profanity.

While younger children may not appreciate the show’s good-natured humor, older, elementary school children are likely to enjoy it, the director offered.

The theater’s production is based on the Broadway musical, with Leopard pointing out the depiction as more of a “coming of age” show, following the daughter, Wednesday, who’s older than what people may remember from the TV show or the movie. 

“She has a love interest and her love interest is a quote-unquote ‘normal person,’” the director said, noting the show’s Wednesday is in her early 20s. “It’s quite an adventure.” 

Wednesday and her family are known as an odd bunch without realizing how odd they are, which produced plenty of comedy. The family features the patriarch Gomez Addams, matriarch Morticia Addams and children Pugsley and Wednesday. Then there’s the extended family, which includes Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Thing and Cousin Itt.

This is the first time the Lexington theater has put on the musical, with Leopard noting that more than 100 people auditioned for parts in the play and recalling how tough it was to narrow down the casting choices.

While Wednesday is older than in many other adaptations,  Leopard said the production stays pretty true to what people will remember.

“You don’t want to go too far in left field with it,” she said.

Leopard also pointed out that inaddition to the laughs, there are plenty of poignant moments rooted in the relationship between parents and college-age kids who are moving out and beginning to move toward adulthood and independence.

The director enthused that the costumes are top-notch, saying that the costume designer, who plays Gomez, really pieced everything together. For instance, there’s an ensemble of ancestors who come back from the dead, and their costumes are various shades of white, gray and silver. 

“It’s just a cool thing to see,” says Leopard.