Ghost The Musical
Piccadilly Theatre
Performance: Monday 20th August 2012
I think Ghost is a massively underrated musical. It is an incredible show. The score is amazing, some of the songs are stunning and others are extremely powerful. While some tweaks do need to be made there is no doubt that Ghost is a special show and should not be closing in October.
The previous performance I saw of Ghost was Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy's final performance before they transferred to the Broadway production. While I think they took some of the spark of the show to Broadway with them I found it refreshing to watch Mark Evans and Rebecca Trehearn's fresh portrayals of Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen.
The power of Mark's voice is amazing. He acts the role of Sam perfectly and takes the audience on a massive emotional journey. He had great chemistry with Rebecca Trehearn, who understudies the role of Molly. At first I felt Rebecca's voice was maybe tired, or she was holding back too much but after the first half hour I realised this was not the case. In my opinion 'With You' is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It is stunning. The song creates the 'you could hear a pin drop' effect on the audience. I could see how Rebecca drew in each and every audience member. Her voice is stunning and I am unsure why she is an understudy.
The best thing about Ghost is the variety. One minute you are roaring with laughter and then next crying with sadness. I think a lot of people don't realise just how funny the show is... and this brings me onto Sharon D Clarke. From the moment Sharon walks on stage she had the audience in stitches of laughter. She doesn't even have to open her mouth to get laughs, her face says it all. I can't think of anybody else who could have done a better job at playing Oda Mae Brown. She also has an amazing voice and deserves every single award going for her performance. Why she didn't win the Olivier Award for 'Best performance in a supporting role in a musical' earlier this year is beyond me.
Andrew Langtree is good as Carl, however personally I disagree with the way he interprets the role. Straight away he acts sinister, making it clear Carl is 'the baddie' in the show. One of the things I loved about the film, the first time I watched it, is that I could not believe Carl turned out to be the person behind Sam's murder, as he seemed so nice, whereas straight away Andrew makes it clear Carl has something to hide. However this is just my personal opinion and as an actor Andrew has every right to play Carl as he wants.
I found the musical numbers 'Ball Of Wax' and 'Focus' extremely boring and pointless. They both tell key parts of the story but could easily have been made into short scenes instead of lengthy songs that don't connect with the audience.
'Here Right Now', 'Three Little Words', 'I Had A Life' and 'Nothing Stops Another Day' are all amazing songs. I love how delicate 'Life Turns On a Dime' is, it was one of my favourite parts of the show. However my favourite song in Ghost has to be 'Rain'. It is such a powerful song and brings out the anger and frustration in the characters.
Ghost truly is an amazing show and if you haven't seen it yet then you need to before it closes.
Visit www.ghostthemusical.com to find out more and to book tickets.
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