GHOST THE MUSICAL | STAGE REVIEW
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
Tues 16 Apr
★★★☆☆
words: CAITLIN MAGGS
Dust off those pottery wheels and crack out those 50s records, Ghost is alive and kicking on its first national tour. Having left the West End reeling in supernatural delight, the musical’s near-perfect blend of thrill and romance looks set to put the song and dance back into a somber occasion.
Playing our spook with a six-pack, Stewart Clarke makes a fine Sam Wheat. Though Patrick Swayze he is not, brooding and masterful he carries off the show with his head held high. Rebecca Trehearn plays Sam’s clay-shaping girlfriend Molly; a disappointing substitute for the Oscar worthy Demi Moore. But it’s the phantastic Wendy Mae Brown who really steals the show. Playing the larger-than-life psychic Oda Mae, time after time Brown’s comic-precision hits the nail on the head. Breathing new energy into the show, Brown makes Ghost that bit more bearable for the bored boyfriends in the back row.
Sending a chill down your spine, the plot remains largely faithful to the original. Set in New York, trouble lies afoot when a loved-up couple comes into close quarters with a mysterious killing. Leaving many questions many few answers, Ghost is still shocking and suspenseful; living on as a piece of moving and death-defying drama.
But one thing’s for certain, Illusionist Paul Kieve has his work cut out on this production. Visually ground-breaking you can’t avoid mouthing wow during every ambitious set-change. Kieve is really cooking on gas, and having added a touch of his own sparkle to the likes of Harry Potter to Phantom Of The Opera, Ghost looks to be his best work yet. But, as I take off my hat to him, I can’t help pining for more of the 1990 original, and less of the smoke and mirrors. To get to the real emotional punch of a story, I’m sure a stripped back production would have been the smarter way to go.
Ghosts may be one thing, but the score most definitely is not. Lyrically the songs lack what the film has bags of: longing and desire. More time should have been spent on the meaning behind the music and less on the cabaret cover-up.
And yet, Molly’s haunting melody With You shoves a gob-stopper in my mouth. Heart-wrenchingly powerful, Trehearn’s tone is just dreamy. As most loyal fans seemed to appreciate Sam’s reprised singing of The Righteous Brother’s Unchained Melody, I, for one, did not. More of the original grit, and less of the musical cheese.
Clearly a mixed-bag of tricks and treats, Ghost The Musical is worth seeing for the special FX, if not for anything else. Gathering in momentum as the show nears its Kleenex-clutching climax, only time will tell whether the show will defy the grave yet again
Ghost, until Sat 27 Apr. Tickets: £17-£43.50 (Age Guidance 8+) Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
10 Apr – 27 Apr 2013