We reviewed the current production of 'The Addams Family' earlier in its run. This review is an updated version of a previously published one.

It's so easy when you come to review a show for a second time, to simply take your existing review, change the name of the theatre and ship it out again. However there's something about this production of 'The Addams Family' that implores you to do the opposite.

There's certain shows on the touring circuit that really spark something in the mind of the reviewer. Shows which are so perfect that you can't help but leave the auditorium with a (somewhat ironic, in this case!) smile on your face - and this production of ‘The Addams Family’ is very much in that category.

I first saw the show in June, near the start of its run and fell in love with the cast, the music and the staging in very quick succession. The producers have not only taken on a phenomenon but they've cast it so perfectly I wouldn't flinch if you said the parts had been written for the principals.

The UK premiere of this spectacular musical comedy comes from the writers of multi award-winning hit musical 'Jersey Boys', with music and lyrics by Tony-nominated, Andrew Lippa. 

Inspired by the original Addams Family cartoons, ​​​​​​The story is a continuation of the tales we know and love. Wednesday (Carrie Hope Fletcher; Les Miserables, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) is all grown up and has a secret that only her father, Gomez (Cameron Blakely; Mamma Mia, Les Miserables) knows. She's fallen in love with Lucas (Oliver Ormson; Hairspray) a sweet young man from a respectable family. With his wife, Morticia (Samantha Womack; Eastenders, South Pacific) in the dark will Gomez manage to keep his daughter’s secret until the two families meet for a fateful dinner with hilarious consequences?

The set and lighting is stunning and Diego Pitarch and Ben Cracknell should be congratulated for creating both practical and functional staging which has a gorgeously dark aesthetic to it. Andrew Lippa's music and lyrics are also some of the most infectious and catchy songs, from an audibly beautiful score, that I've heard in years. 

However the cast is absolutely the grease on the cogs of the production.

Womack shines as a dead-pan Morticia. For many, Anjelica Houston's Golden Globe nominated portrayal of the matriarch epitomises the character, however for me Womack's interpretation is different - but equally as relevant. Alongside Blakely's excellent, excitable take on Gomez, the standing ovation at the end was greatly deserved.

Les Dennis understudy, Scott Paige, has been drafted in and grabs the role of Fester with both hands. Let's be quite clear about this - Scott certainly doesn't 'fill in for the lead' here. His characterisation of the part is such that, short of reading the signs outside the auditorium, you'd never tell that this isn't his main role in the show.

Oliver Ormson gives another solid performance as Wednesday's love interest, Lucas. The natural chemistry between the characters makes for a performance that's so easy to watch and so believable that such a pivotal element of the production is in safe hands.

However, for me, this show still belongs to Carrie Hope Fletcher who owned the stage from the minute she walked on to it. 

With a presence that commands you watch and a singing voice that makes you sit up and pay attention, this role could have been written for her.

Well loved by so many youngsters in the audience, largely thanks to her social media presence as well as her extraordinary talent, Fletcher has been working professionally for around 4 years. In that time she's toured the UK as Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and stood on a West End stage as Eponine in Les Miserables. It's almost impossible to comprehend that this is only her third or fourth full time gig. 

Fletcher's natural warmth and charisma make her a pleasure to watch and the reaction of a number of younger audience members, when the curtain lifts to reveal the kooky clan, was one of genuine excitement. Carrie has played a huge part in inspiring a whole generation of younger audience members to come into the theatre. By her own admission, this is a 'lucky side effect' of her YouTube channel - but it's also a fantastic statistic, which she should be immensely proud of.

I don't want to take away from the other performers, but what's wonderful to watch when she performs is the unpretentious nonawareness of just how good she is. There's nothing 'stagey' about her as an actress - rather she appears to be the sort of person you'd happily grab a cup of tea with and mull over life - it's prior knowledge of this that makes her so accessible as a performer and endearing to the audience as a whole.

Her interpretation of 'Pulled', and her duet with Ormson - 'Crazier Than You' left a huge number of the audience around me grinning from ear to ear. This show is FULL of those moments, alongside some sharp comedy and brilliant dancing. It's a funny, touching, powerful - and pretty gory in some respects - continuation of the Addams tales we know and love and it completely deserves a West End run.

This show is turning into the fine wine of the touring circuit - it’s getting better with age - and for the first time in a while it’s made me want to go back again and again.

The Addams Family runs at Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday 21st October.

LISTEN: HEAR DAN CHAT TO CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER: