The opening of the Butler Little Theatre’s 74th season Friday night was an out-of-this-world good time as it brought “King o’the Moon” to the stage.

Tom Dudzick’s play is set against the backdrop of the 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing. It catches up with the Pazinski family of Buffalo, N.Y.

They are preparing to celebrate or commemorate the five-year anniversary of their father’s passing. Each of the family members possesses unique memories of him and gather with the intention of updating their father on the state of the family at the family dinner.

The reunion finds the family members all struggling with different challenges and issues.

The first act is mostly scratching the surface and introducing us to the unique characters that make up the Pazinski family.

Jerry Johnston, the director, was responsible for bringing together the strongest element in this production: the amazing chemistry with the actors. They truly seemed like they were family knit together with all the believably portrayed bantering, body language and sibling rivalry.

All the characters where strong and the acting was flawless.

Ellen, the matriarch of this rag-tag clan, was played by Katie Moore, who was both loving and exhausted like most mothers I know. Her rapport with her children was effortless and convincing.

She tenaciously tries to keep the family on the path they were on when her husband died, despite the passing of time.

Jordan Meals, who expertly plays Rudy, rocks the family with his surprise visit and the ball begins rolling as they explore the issues of religion, politics, marriage, commitment and family. Meals delivers as the evolved young man who is questioning not only his past but most importantly his future.

Jeremiah Ion dug into the role of Eddie, the oldest son who was slated to ship out the next week to Vietnam. He smoothly transitions from the tough guy to the vulnerable brother who is nervous about a future of leeches and swamp rot.

Kaelyn Beatty brought a brassy sassy Maureen to life as Eddie’s pregnant wife. Her red hair and irreverent attitude cleverly clashed with the Pazinski family but not in a way that ostracized her.

Annie was portrayed by the expressive Kimberly Nutter, whose timing and delivery were quite credible as the only sister of three brothers. She is a joy to watch and netted many of the laughs.

Most notable was the amazing performance by Aaron Paul Zimmerman, who spoke throughout the show without many lines. He totally captured the mostly nonverbal role of Georgie, the challenged son of Ellen. His respectful portrayal was extremely realistic and not over the top. His grasp of the role was mesmerizing.

The role of Walter was a vintage Doug Anderson character — a combination of charm and vulnerability with a small touch of a crazy. He brought the Polish sweetie to life with great ease and crafted an amusing character

Act two dug into the meat and the emotions that are stirred as the family truly begins to set aside the stuff of childhood and connect as adults who share real issues with each other.

The realistic and detailed set was a super way of transporting the audience into the Pazinski’s backyard.

The whole package made for a fun night at the theater.