Bill Kenwright’s haunting musical Ghost, based on the 1990 film featuring Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg plays in the King’s Theatre this week as part of a new and reimagined four month UK tour.
This tale centres around a handsome and successful banker Sam (originally played by Patrick Swayse at the height of his Dirty Dancing fame), who has moved to Brooklyn with his girlfriend, pottery designer Molly. They’re madly in love and destined to live happily ever after. However, one fateful night, a robbery leads to Sam murder after he heroically tries to protect Molly.
Instantly he transforms into a ghost who can only communicate with the world through the fraudulent yet loveably quirky “psychic” Oda Mae. Between them, they must work together to solve Sam’s murder and help protect Molly from danger. However can they convince her to believe in ghosts?
Despite the original film being set in the 90s, the constantly changing set and visual designs bring a fresh and contemporary feel to the story. There are plenty of ghostly goings on throughout the show and with the magic of theatre trickery, there are lots of clever and effective illusions which are to be commended.
Sam played by Niall Sheehy and Molly played by Rebekah Lowings have a spark on stage.
Lowings has a sweet and captivating voice and portrays the vulnerable and heartbroken Molly with some impressive vocal performances. Sheehy also delivers excellent vocals throughout and has a natural warmth and charisma that endears him to the audience almost immediately.
Oda Mae Brown was originally played by Whoopi Goldberg in the movie and so this particular role was always going to require plenty of diva like sass, personality and character. Jacqui Dubois reprises her role after performing in the 2016 tour and it is clear why she has once again returned to the show as she steps into Goldberg’s shoes with ease.
Dubois time and time again steals the show with her comedy timing, facial expressions and funny quips, bringing much needed hilarity to proceedings. She also partners well with Sheehy as their bickering and bantering as they work together to solve Sam’s murder and save Molly from danger has the audience laughing.
The musical score was written by Dave Stewart from Eurthymics fame and Grammy Award winner Glen Ballard. It features a mix of ballads alongside some upbeat numbers. With You and I Can’t Take it Anymore stand out and of course the famous Unchained Melody which has become the signature tune of the musical.
Despite being perfectly enjoyable and showcasing some fantastic vocal performances, the numbers themselves were somewhat forgettable, which is perhaps a little disappointing given the credentials of the composers.
However this does not detract from the performances that will continue to delight audiences as the tour continues.
Ghost is at the King’s Theatre until 30th March.