Ghost, the Musical
Phantom of the Movie
Ghost, the Musical
by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard, book by Bruce Joel Rubin
Bill Kenwright Limited at the New Wimbledon Theatre until 8th February, then on tour until 5th April
Review by Thea Diamond
Premiering in 2011 in Manchester before transferring in the same year to The West End and in 2012 to Broadway and having a number of UK tours over the intervening years, Ghost The Musical delivers a mixed bag of an evening’s entertainment.
Taking place in New York, the staging cleverly recreates various settings across the city’s landscape. The musical faithfully follows the plot of the hit 1990 film, through telling the story of Molly (Rebekah Lowings) and Sam (Josh St Clair), a loving couple who have just moved into their dream apartment in Brooklyn with the help of their close friend, Carl (James Mateo-Salt). All is not what it seems when Sam is killed in what appears to be a random mugging, leaving Molly bereft and distraught.
Sam is left in a limbo state of despair, soon learning that his death was part of his double-crossing friend’s money laundering scheme, and that his beloved Molly is also in danger. He enlists the help of the fraudulent Oda Mae (Jaqui Dubois), whose latent psychic powers are suddenly awakened by Sam’s insistence that she helps him communicate with Molly and avenge his murder.
Although the original film was the recipient of two Oscars including Best Original Screenplay for Bruce Joel Rubin, Rubin’s musical adaptation felt at times laboured and slow. It was disappointing that the film’s iconic Unchained Melody motif only made three fleeting appearances. That the music by none other than Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart along with Glen Ballard’s lyrics, didn’t prove to be particularly impactful or memorable.
Despite a stellar performance by lead Rebekah Lowings, whose powerful yet vulnerable voice delivered the musical’s signature ballad, With You, which encapsulates the immense pain of loss and grief, the depth of emotional connection between Sam and Molly didn’t feel consistently authentic and convincing. The famous pottery scene felt rather disjointed, although it gave Lowings chance to impress us with her skills on the pottery wheel!
Sam’s encounters with similarly trapped souls give Garry Lee (as the Subway Ghost) the opportunity to inject a huge amount of Matrix-like physicality into scenes with Josh St Clair, and Mark Bailey’s designs along with Richard Pinner’s illusions, recreate a terror-inducing haunting of the New York Subway. These scenes indicate a glance of lost opportunity to further utilise movement and dance in this production, which may have injected more believable representations of connection and emotion between the characters.
Jaqui Dubois’ portrayal of Oda Mae, made iconic by Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, was a welcome change of pace, especially when we are introduced to her assistants Clara (Tanisha Butterfield) and Louise (Keiahna Jackson-Jones), who join Dubois in lively, fun and gospel infused renditions of Are You a Believer and the second act’s I’m Outta Here. These scenes really stand out and let Dubois give the role her own stamp of comedy and originality. The audience absolutely loved every moment of the bank scene, and I felt her performance really was the highlight of the show.
The cast received a well-deserved standing ovation, and upon leaving the theatre, the audience were buzzing. It was clearly an enjoyable night out, despite my own reservations about the writing and re-telling of this classic 1990’s love story.
Thea Diamond, February 2025
Photography by Alastair Muir
Mark Aspen 