The Addams Family, Theatre Royal, Nottingham

A real orchestra, a proper musical – and from the spine-tingling overture as the lights go down, the energy from The Addams Family crackles right to the end.

Believe the hype on this one. Whoops and hollers at the end, plus a standing ovation showed exactly why this musical comedy has enjoyed sell-out dates across the UK since springtime.

You may have seen the cast performing When You’re An Addams on TV recently; it’s the perfect introduction to this morbid family from the 60s sitcom. But then again, who’s to say what’s normal?

The eagle-eyed among the audience may have spotted high billing for internet sensation Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday and it soon becomes clear why.

Not only does the strong story revolve around Wednesday and her intended love, but she tackles the vocals on her numbers with confidence, verve and feeling.

That’s not to say the others miss out. Sam Womack as Morticia shines in her big number Just Around The Corner and is clearly having fun in a set-piece that echoes the best of Mel Brooks.

Good old Les Dennis as uncle Fester sweetly croons his love of the object of his desire in The Moon and Me, getting the mood spot on for a character of “indeterminate sexuality” before he jets off to get a little closer to his love.

What seems like perfect casting brings us Cameron Blakely as the romantic Gomez, dashing around the stage, sword fighting, joking, and being a wonderful husband and father.

And that’s the nub of this new story. Little Wednesday is a young lady now – so grown up she’ll soon be Thursday, apparently.

But she’s brought lovely Lucas (Oliver Ormson) home with the news the pair plan to wed, but he’s just a normal boy from a normal family – and Gomez has to keep the news under his hat until exactly the right moment to share it with his wife. Unfortunately, he’s never kept a secret from Morticia, so thing start to unravel from there.

Will the two families get on? Will young Pugsley Addams (Grant McIntyre) lose his best friend Wednesday if she goes off and gets married? Will Morticia and Gomez be reconciled? And will the butler, Lurch (Dickon Gough), ever speak?

There’s a great chorus of ghostly spirits of the family’s ancestors, carefully crafted caricatures who are released from the crypt at the outset. 

And the supporting cast of Grandma (Valda Aviks), with Lucas’s parents Alice and Mal Beineke (Charlotte Page and Dale Rapley) all get their moment in the spotlight. Great music from Andrew Hilton’s team along with spooky kooky scenery complete the picture.

There a lot of knowing fun surrounding the (ahem) healthy relationship between Morticia and Gomez, so the management recommend the show’s suitable for kids aged seven and above.