Reviewed by Jess
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
Having never seen the Patrick Swayze - Demi Moore classic film, from which Ghost the musical was adapted, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the rom-com I'd imagined was intertwined with a thrilling sub-plot: The story of a man in love, on a mission to discover the reason for his untimely death, whilst protecting his girlfriend from a potentially similar fate.
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| Josh St. Clair & Rebekah Lowings - Ghost The Muscial UK Tour - Photo by Alastair Muir. |
Set against a backdrop of New York, we first meet the two main characters, along with their friend Carl (James Mateo-Salt), in their newly purchased Brooklyn loft. This later, cleverly transforms into subway stations, a bank and the mirky back streets of New York, using sliding walls made of the NY synonymous red brick. The stage design is cleverly imagined, my particular favourite set being a translucent subway carriage, allowing the audience to see the trundling passengers and the platform simultaneously.
Josh St. Clair was a very convincing Sam and the on-stage chemistry between him and Rebekah Lowings as Molly felt very real. Rebekah's vocal performance was nothing short of phenomenal throughout the show, though I thought her sadness felt a tad laboured. This though, may be the fault of the book, as the story moved along so quickly, I felt little emotional connection with her grief, not having had time to understand her feelings, or even the timeline; at no point is it demonstrated whether Sam has been dead a week, a month, or even a year. This confusion makes the story feel quite incohesive. James Mateo-Salt played an excellent friend-turned-villain in Carl, with strong vocals and the star of the show was undoubtedly Jacqui Dubois as psychic-of-sorts Oda Mae Brown. Her communication between the living Molly and deceased Sam was cleverly utilised to bring levity to proceedings, with her immaculate comic timing eliciting raucous laughter from the audience, a much needed tonic from the grief and confusion ridden storyline.
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| Jacqui Dubois & The Cast of Ghost The Musical - Ghost The Muscial UK Tour - Photo by Alastair Muir. |
Aside from Molly's heart wrenching With You, I felt the score was quite lacking. It failed to drive the plot forward beyond the first few scene-settings numbers and I left the theatre unable to recall a single other song. Unchained Melody, iconic in the original film, was woven, not quite seamlessly, but adequately into the show, as was the pottery wheel. The inclusion of the clay-making really adds nothing to the narrative or the visuals, but it allows the audience to access those almost mandatory cultural touchstones that may have brought them to show in the first place.
The choreography was strong and performed well by a talented ensemble. At times they did an excellent job of making the stage feel like a bustling New York City street, encapsulating that diversity, but some pieces did feel a little shoehorned in to the story (an unnecessary dance in the lobby of a bank where the dance troupe appear, clad in outfits printed with dollar bills).
What I think the production accomplished best of all, were the elements of the supernatural. Smart yet simple uses of lighting kept Sam slightly muted, clearly dividing him from the livingdespite his physical presence, inches from them on the stage. The use of body-doubling to signpost the exact moments of death was seamless and effective and the mystic object movements were executed with seeming realism, a feat even harder for a touring set that is being rigged up and down in each new location.
Despite the story being a little rushed through and hence emotional investment feeling limited, I admit during the final goodbye scene, even I found myself feeling softened, a prick behind my eyes as Sam walked into the afterlife, assuring Molly of his ever-enduring love for her.
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| James Mateo-Salt, Jost St. Clair & Rebekah Lowings - Ghost The Muscial UK Tour - Photo by Alastair Muir. |
This is undoubtedly a show for fans of the film, but the shows excellent cast bring the somewhat wanting production to life, making it a piece of theatre that stands on its own two feet for the many first-time viewers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ghost the Musical plays at New Wimbledon Theatre until the 8th February and can be found around the country until 3rd May. Tickets are available by visiting https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/ghost-the-musical/new-wimbledon-theatre/ and for the tour https://www.kenwright.com/productions/ghost-the-musical-2024-2025-tour/
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