This show is a roller coaster of emotions and pays homage to the original story in a considerate and affectionate way. All the things you loved about the film are in this show, and the character definition is fantastic with an outstanding level of acting from the cast.
Molly, a sculptor who has just moved in with Sam her boyfriend they certainly are in love with each other and seem the perfect couple except Sam just can’t say those three little words. Sam and his friend, Carl, work in the city and New York is a big world wanting more, it’s a great number. However, its not giving anything away to say that Sam is killed early on in the show (hence why it is called Ghost) and you can really feel the emotions of both Sam and Molly’s grief to be torn away from each other so dramatically.
Sam meets up with Oda Mae who is a medium contacting the dead, only she doesn’t really do it very well, infact she is a fraud. That is until she hears Sam and he starts annoying her. He realises that she can hear him and wants her to help him communicate with Molly. After a very annoying rendition of 10,000 bottles of beer on the wall, she agrees and goes to meet Molly.
Molly is played by Carolyn Maitland and she gives molly a warm affable personality to the role. Her expressions are wonderful and she makes you really feel for the character. And she can sing beautifully too. Sam is played by Andy Moss and he also gives great credibility to the role. He makes us feel for Sam; his anger, his sadness and when he is happy. He is very emotional and Andy demonstrates his range of fantastic acting skills. Carl, Sam's friend is played by Sam Ferriday who gives the role of Carl a sly calculated feel. We want to like him but when we find out about his bad side …well he is so good at it, that I am surprised the audience didn’t boo him at the curtain call.
Oda Mae is played by Jacqui Dubois and gives her all in this role. She absolutely does justice to it and offers the humour in the piece, both with her amazing voice (she also gets the best songs, Are You A Believer and I’m Outta Here) and with her outfits, over the top personality and humour. Jacqui took on this huge part made famous by Woopi Goldberg and made it perfect for her. When she is on stage, she lights it up.
The sets are fantastic and give real atmosphere to the show. There are some things that were done absolutely brilliantly, like Sam not being able to open a door and his hand goes through the door. The show is a very moving and dramatic piece and that is what makes this a success. Some of the songs are unremarkable and really do not add anything to the show. This would be just as powerful as a play rather than a musical. But powerful it is and with such an amazing cast with quality acting it is definitely worth watching.
Ghost – The Musical is at Waterside Theatre until Saturday 22 April.
