Ghost The Musical started life as Ghost the movie in 1990 and garnered writer Bruce Joel Rubin an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. He adapted it for the musical writing the lyrics along with Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart (yes that Dave Stewart) who also wrote the music. It debuted in Manchester in 2011 before transferring to the West End later that year and on Broadway in 2012. In 2013 it toured the UK and did so again in 2019 before setting off again last year and it continues in 2025 stopping off on its travels this week in leafy Wimbledon.
For those of you who haven’t seen Ghost the movie or Ghost The Musical, it’s set in New York and tells the story of a young couple; Molly (Rebekah Lowings) who’s a sculptor and pottery maker and Sam (Josh St. Clair) who’s something in finance on Wall Street. They’ve just moved in together into an apartment in Brooklyn and are very much in love. However whilst out walking one night, Sam is mugged and shot and killed and becomes the titular ghost who can only be heard by a sham psychic, Oda Mae Brown (Jacqui Dubois) who tries to convey Sam’s messages to Molly as best she can. Sam thinks Molly is in danger as Sam’s best friend Carl (James Mateo-Salt) is involved in money laundering and Sam does his best to save her – not easy if you’re a ghost!
The problem with Ghost The Musical is it is not nearly as good as Ghost the movie. The songs which are mainly ballads, all merge into each other and instantly disappear from the memory like a puff of dust. They also pale into comparison with “Unchained Melody” the hit song that anchored the movie. Unfortunately, on top of that, everything seemed very underpowered – it was like watching a dress rehearsal rather than a tried and tested show that has been on tour for a while. Lowings and St. Clair seemed to have very little chemistry and never really meshed as a couple. Even the movie’s erotic clay-throwing scene has been lost although Lowings does throw a mean pot on her potter’s wheel. It all feels a bit tired and past its sell-by date although the show has been brought up to date somewhat as they all have mobile phones. Even when the show should have been given a big lift when Oda Mae Brown appeared with her two acolytes and comedy sidekicks, Clara (Tanisha Butterfield) and Louise (Keiahna Jackson-Jones) and sang their big R&B song “Are You a Believer” – I wasn’t! Even the illusions were like the rest of the show, very average and a bit of a disappointment.
There’s no doubt Ghost The Musical is a big success as it continues on tour and the majority of last night’s audience loved it – I just don’t get it. It’s a rom-com with not much rom and very little com and all very average.
Review by Alan Fitter
Walking back to their apartment late one night, a tragic encounter sees Sam murdered and his girlfriend Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. With the help of a phony storefront psychic, Sam, trapped between this world and the next, tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger…
Rebekah Lowings – Molly Jenson
Josh St. Clair – Sam Wheat
Jacqui Dubois – Oda Mae Brown
James Mateo-Salt – Carl Brunner
Jules Brown – Willie Lopez
Garry Lee – Subway Ghost
Tim Maxwell-Clare – Hospital Ghost and Lionel Ferguson
Tanisha Butterfield – Clara
Keiahna Jackson-Jones – Louise
Molly Cleere – Mrs Santiago / Bank Officer
Gabrielle Cummins – Officer Wallace
Olivia-Rose Deer – Susan / Ortisha / Ensemble
Wade Lewin – Orlando
Jamie Pritchard – Detective Biederman
Joe Readman – Ensemble
Lewis Asquith – Swing
Book and Lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin
Music and Lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard
Directed by Bob Tomson
Choreographed by Alistair David
Design by Mark Bailey
Lighting Design by Nick Richings
Sound Design by Dan Samson
Illusions by Richard Pinner
Musical Director: Jordan Alexander
Associate Director: Jess Ellen Knight
Associate Choreographer: Michael Ward
Music Supervisor: Jeremy Wootton
Intimacy Coordinator: Rebecca Reaney
GHOST THE MUSICAL
New Wimbledon Theatre, 4 to 8 February 2025
Then continues on UK tour until 3 May 2025
