Ghost: The Musical

****

Tue 19 Mar, New Theatre

‘Oh My Love, My Darling,’ Not a dry eye was in sight as the audience were captivated by this heart-wrenching love story.

The film Ghost was a global hit in 1990, portraying an afterlife-romance between Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. This stage production readily achieves the same romantic affect. Originally written for the West End in 2011, the production has been ‘reborn’ for the new tour which sees score and scene changes to keep the romance between Molly and Sam alive.

Set in Brooklyn, the story follows two young lovers Molly and Sam who have just moved into their new apartment, helped by their best friend and Sam’s co-worker, Carl. One night, a ‘mugging’ goes wrong, and Sam gets shot dead. Going on a journey to the afterlife, Sam has one last task to carry out to set him free, during which he makes an unlikely friendship with Oda Mae Brown. 

Taking on the main role of Sam (Patrick Swayze in the film) is Niall Sheehy. It was apparent from the opening number of ‘Here Right Now’ that his vocals were a perfect match for Rebekah Lowings (Molly). Their harmonies were on point throughout the performance, making the relationship ever more so believable and emotional.

Matching Whoopi Goldberg’s portrayal of Oda Mae, it’s no surprise that Jacqui Dubois is reprising the role on this tour; she constantly had the audience in stitches with her quirky traits but did not fail to show off her powerful vocals. You could really see the friendship develop through Dubois and Sheehy’s one-to-one scenes together.

It’s obvious that the show has been updated, incorporating some contemporary choral choreography which did seem slightly out of sync. Lots of scene changes also did not go as smoothly as they could have, but the vocals and score did distract from this. The music filled the intimate theatre and carried the romantic story each step of the way.

words Poppy Manning

Ghost the Musical is at the New Theatre until Sat 23 Mar. Tickets and Information can be found here.