I’m not going to lie, I’ve put off seeing ‘Ghost: The Musical‘ as part of me thought a) movie adaptation – blah, and b) Richard Fleeshman?!
I’m clearly an idiot!
‘Ghost‘ had me weeping like a baby in the stalls.
I won’t lie, I kinda missed some of the action in the opening scene as I was staring intently at Richard’s biceps… Come. To. Mama.
And here’s the thing. I know the film, so I know where all the emotional story beats are, and I know enough stage-craft to spot the tricks behind the special effects, but ‘Ghost‘ got me by the heart-strings and played me like a fiddle AND I honestly have no idea how some of the special effects were pulled off.
In reality, this is not an earth shattering show. In fact, the story, script and even a great number of the tunes are rather average, but they’re performed (both by the cast and the technical crew) with such finesse it’s a real joy to watch.
And Richard Fleeshman. While I had no doubt I would enjoy staring at him, his pop career and stint in ‘Legally Blonde’ left me doubting if his vocals were strong enough to carry a show. Well, THEY DEFINITELY ARE. While his acting is a little OTT in some scenes (mainly the ones after his death – come on, that’s hardly a spoiler, the show’s called ‘Ghost‘ after all), it still works. I won’t lie, I kinda missed some of the action in the opening scene as I was staring intently at Richard’s biceps… Come. To. Mama.
But Caissie Levy is a revelation to me. I hate her.
HATE HER.
Okay, mainly because she’s vocally flawless (a great pop/rock vocalist) and she gets to make out with Richard “Flesh“man every night (and twice on Wednesdays & Saturdays). She sang “With You” and I cried on cue. It’s a bit embarrassing.
Sharon D Clarke gives the show a welcome comedic reprieve as Oda Mae Brown. She had me thinking “Whoopi who?”.
And then there is the greatest pieces of eye candy on stage. Why has no-one talked more about Andrew Langtree? He’s gorgeous. I would have LOVED to see him as Sky in ‘Mamma Mia!’. With so much attention on the obviously stunning Fleeshman, it was nice to get a side injection of Langtree. A slight rewrite may be needed… he really DOESN’T need to borrow a shirt…
Yes, as many critics have said, the show relies too heavily on the projection sets (but handles them much better than any other show I’ve seen) and some of the numbers feel like filler (Dave Stewart can still write a great tune or two). But the effects are brilliant.
Sam’s walking through the door scene, the subway fight, and ALL of the death scenes are handled so well. And Sam’s final moments could so easily have been overly cheesy, but were not.
‘Ghost: The Musical’ is a success. And you definitely get your moneys worth in terms of talent and onstage spectacle. I can’t wait so see the new cast take over… mmm… Mark Evans...
Rating: “La petite mort”! If you know what I mean.
The Theatre Slut 
Posted on January 12, 2012
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