See what's available for Ghost the Musical Theatre Breaks Ghost the Musical is currently playing in the West End and makes a great choice for a theatre break. The show opened on July 19th, at the Piccadilly Theatre, after previewing since June 24th, 2011. Before the London run Ghost was tried out in Manchester and was very well received there. Ghost has recently extended its run and is now booking through to 13 October 2012. Ghost tells a beautiful and moving story of the power of love. The film Ghost (1990) starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg and was a huge hit. It has remained a video favourite ever since. The film and the show both tell the sad story of Sam and Molly. Sam and Molly walk back to their apartment after a night out, but Sam is mugged and killed in a shocking attack. After his tragic death Sam is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next. He is convinced that the killer will go after Molly next so he tries to warn her through a phoney psychic in the hope of saving her. Despite the sad theme there are actually lots of laughs in the show and an uplifting ending. Probably the most famous scene in the film is the one with the potter’s wheel and you will be delighted to hear that makes it into the musical as well. Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy play Sam and Molly in Matthew Warchus’ stage musical adapatation. Sharon D Clarke takes the part of the fake psychic Oda Mae Brown and Andrew Langtree plays Carl. Ghost has new music and lyrics by Grammy award winning Dave Stewart (ex-Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard as well as featuring the iconic song Unchained Melody. Oscar winning Bruce Joel Rubin has adapted his original screen play for the stage. The music is lively and Sharon D Clarke has plenty of bluesy numbers to get her teeth into, like this one:
Caissie Levy was most recently seen in last year’s production of Hair. She has a lovely mellow voice with a smooth jazzy feel to it. Here she is singing With You:
The critics reviews are mixed but then film critics all hated the film. Needless to say it was a huge box office hit. Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph liked it enough to give it 4 stars. He said: “Like the film on which it is based, Ghost the Musical proves the guiltiest of pleasures. Indeed, in many ways, Matthew Warchus’ production strikes me as superior to the 1990 movie … In the movies, you can make anything happen. In the theatre, it takes real ingenuity to summon up ghosts and physical disturbances from beyond the grave. Warchus succeeds spectacularly, here with the help of the illusionist Paul Kieve … The use of state-of-the-art video and projections… has great panache, too … Though the story is a touch corny, and often gloopily sentimental, there is something genuinely distinctive about Ghost … Sharon D Clarke is a comic joy in the role, making the part entirely her own despite following in the Oscar-winning footsteps of Whoopi Goldberg … Clarke almost blows the roof off the theatre with her raucous rendition of the show’s best original number, ‘I’m Out of Here’ … Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy need to ignite a touch more stage chemistry … But Andrew Langtree and Ivan de Freitas prove genuinely sinister … The show’s ending… proves unexpectedly touching and is magically staged. This may not be a great musical, but it is a highly entertaining one that looks set to keep audiences laughing, gasping and sniffing back tears for a long time to come.” Charles Spencer is right about it being a guilty pleasure. The show is a great choice for a romantic theatre break for couples or perhaps, for a girly weekend, maybe even a hen night given how gorgeous Richard Fleeshman is! Check for Ghost the Musical theatre breaks Ghost the Musical – theatre breaks was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog
