Ghost the Musical

Ghost the Musical is based on the very famous 1990’s film starring Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg. It was adapted into a stage musical in 2011 and has proved very popular with audiences both in the West End and Broadway. The level of special effects alone make this a brave choice for any amateur company, but the Masqueraders pulled these off admirably.

The set had a look of New York chic, with exposed brick and minimal furniture, which worked well. Key items such as the red fridge and potters wheel were slid into place very unobtrusively by the stage crew. The space was then transformed into a very believable subway when required, as well as an office or bank interior as necessary. Keeping it simple really worked well and stopped the many scene changes from appearing clunky. Props, costumes and hair were all in keeping.

Sam Wheat  really looked the part and had good stage presence. His physicality was ideal for this character, made famous by Patrick Swayze, and perhaps most in evidence in his scenes with the subway ghost.  Vocally, there were times when his intonation was not quite there, but Morgan kept in character throughout and did well to create a heartwarming relationship with girlfriend Molly cut short by a tragic event.

Molly Jensen gave a terrific performance with strong vocals and some outstanding acting. Her scenes after Sam’s death were poignant and heartfelt and her two solos ‘With You’ and ‘Nothing stops another day’ were both stand out moments in the show.

Carl Bruner was in safe hands,, delivering a confident performance and solid vocals for this good guy/bad guy but ultimately rather unlikeable character.

Oda Mae Brown is such a difficult role to portray, having been so memorably played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film. However, the actress's presence really lifted the show with each appearance and she handled the dialogue and character extremely well.  Her performance of ‘Are You a Believer’ was easily one of the evening’s vocal highlights and her scenes in the seance parlour were particularly funny.  She was very well supported by the ‘Psychic Sisters’ Clara and Louisa, who worked nicely together vocally and reacted entertainingly to Oda Mae’s antics.

Willy Lopez and subway ghost were both skillfully played, who had the shouting subway character off pat. As the Hospital Ghost, Mark projected the authoritative but reassuring persona needed for his encounter with Sam and ‘You gotta let go now’ was well sung.

The ensemble had a range of interesting choreography to perform with some really striking moves. I especially enjoyed the use of umbrellas in the opening number of the second act ‘Rain/Hold on’.  Their singing was also of a high standard and delivered with energy and commitment throughout.

The show required a huge number of special effects which were technically demanding but executed with the necessary skill to drive the story forwards.   Very good use was made of the back wall for projected images and video footage, perhaps most effectively in the scene where Sam finally manages to move objects and we see him typing ‘murderer’ etc. to a startled Carl.

Other effects relied on more traditional stagecraft. The door to the apartment was stretched with fabric with a slit to enable Sam to seemingly walk through the door after his death. There were also moving cups and papers in the subway and some brilliant lighting for each death depicting the characters being taken to heaven or hell as appropriate. Sound effects too were all timed beautifully. Each death was well handled with the actor leaping from the dead body to emulate the film.

All in all this was a very enjoyable production and very much a team effort. It was thoughtfully directed with strong vocals, excellent special effects and innovative choreography. 

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