Hello my lovely readers! So, in case you all didn’t know tonight Ghost the Musical based off the iconic Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore film plays its final Broadway performance. I got to see the show recently on the shows bloggers night and I will be honest I wasn’t exactly mesmerized but parts of the show were absolutely stunning. First off, a shout out to Rebecca Cohen who organized this event as well as the bloggers night that I went to to see the riveting and equally thrilling Venus in Fur a few months ago. If your are ever invited to a bloggers night seriously go, they are so much fun!
Like I stated above the musical which is based off the film by the same name tells the story of a young couple, Sam and Molly who are madly in love until they are torn apart by Sams’ murder. Sam, who worked as a banker had noticed some inconsistencies in certain accounts before his death stays as a ghost instead of moving on by staying with Molly and doing all that he can in his power to protect her from his killer and the impending danger from him. Throughout the show with the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown and other ghosts, Sam is able to protect Molly while finding is killer, which was a hired killing by his best friend and co-worker Carl while resolving the issues at the bank.
The cast, which includes Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in the lead roles from the London production, has its moments. Richard and Caissie have incredible chemistry and you can really feel the love between Sam and Molly as well as Molly’s’ pain and grief after his death. However, the standout performance of the show was Da’vine Joy Randolph who plays psychic Oda Mae Brown (the Whoopi Goldberg character in the movie). She was absolutely hysterical and whenever she opened her mouth the audience roared with laughter. The book written by Bruce Joel Rubin is so-so with mediocre lyrics by Rubin, Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard set to decent music that had its great and thrilling moments by Stewart and Ballard. The musical does have some aspects that are just beautiful to see, as it is a very visual show such as the CGI boards that provide shots of New York City as well as interior backdrops such as banking offices. However, I felt that they were overused in a sense, as the audience doesn’t need to see them constantly throughout the show. While these effects are part of what made this show visually stunning but a little less would have made a big difference as we know what we can do with our technology today but seeing it in practically every scene was a bit overdone for my taste. On the other hand some of the additional effects were executed beautifully such as the portrayal of Sam as a ghost, watching him go through doors and seeing objects being thrown around on the stage by themselves. Now while we can piece together how these bits are pulled off what made them so lovely was how they were executed. They didn’t look cheesy or campy but instead they fit so well into the show because of again how they were performed. All in all the show was mediocre, it didn’t blow me away, leave me stunned or emotional after the final curtain. It can use some work but with a little retooling before any of the international productions open will do the show some good.
