Ghost The ,Musical

I was warmly welcomed on arrival by Director Ben Maytham and Co-Director Alison Baker and spoke with them again at the end of the performance The entire production had sold out weeks ago and this audience was fully engaged from the beginning. This was a big and challenging musical for this small and talented society and what a scintillating performance this turned out to be.

Once again David Thompson and colleagues had designed and built a simple but stunning set showing the apartment in which much of the action took place. This was capable of being changed so many times to denote different locations. Each change took place seamlessly with props moved on and off speedily. Costumes were modern and reflected the characters perfectly. There was excellent use of video to screen backdrops and good use of technology. Lighting and special effects were impressive including the ghost episodes. Sound levels were great especially considering that no actors used microphones

Phil Toms was Musical Director with a band of three other instrumentalists, all well hidden behind the back curtain. The melodies and harmonies were delightful and creative, providing good support to the actors and the music was a pleasure to listen to.

Good use of the small stage led to constant movement with some actors performing in the front of the auditorium leading to an almost immersive, certainly intimate setting. Skillful and varied movement was expertly choreographed by Holly Bird.

Without exception all the cast performed and sang to a very high standard with some impressive vocals apparent and good delivery of harmonies.

The two lovers, Molly and Sam were superbly paired. Cally Kline was terrific as Molly, vulnerable and emotional and her portrayal captivated the audience. Paul Flynn, as Sam, was tender and loving but unable to commit to Molly.. He was killed as a result of a mugging but remained on earth as a ghost in order to protect Molly. Both Cally and Paul had great vocal ability eg in Three Little Words and Unchained Melody. Paul was a wonderful ghost with emotional facial expressions venting his frustrations as he was caught between this world and the next.

Carl was brilliantly played by Dean Bartholomew. Supposedly Sam’s friend and co-worker, he was mired in debt and deceit and organized Sam’s mugging! He commissioned Willie Lopez, convincingly played by Nathan Joseph to carry out the deed.

Symone Pemberton was ideally cast as Oda Mae Brown, a psychic. Flamboyant, cheeky and extrovert she was completely over the top. She claimed to hear Sam’s voice and characterized the role with a good deal of humour and also empathy. Her costume was quite extravagant. Symone was assisted by her glamourous associates, with Beth Aherne-Shaw as Louise and Nikki McCarron as Clara. They both played their roles well with plenty of fun and laughter.

Dan Serheunik was a formidable but spooky Subway Ghost, teaching Sam, as a ghost how to move physical objects. Gary Huggins was a friendly and amiable Hospital Ghost with a magnificent voice. All the ensemble had small character roles also eg Loraine as a client of Oda Mae and Alex as a padre.

This musical was energetic and fast moving with stellar performances by the principals and ensemble backed by a skilled and experienced creative team. Big congratulations to Ben and Alison, Co-Directors, for their creativity, imagination and ability in bringing this production to the stage. Well done to everyone involved in any way. You can all be very proud of your achievements. All the audience, myself included, loved this production!

 

 

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