I think I may have found a musical to add to the favourites list just as it’s about to leave London. I have to admit I was sceptical at first. Not so much because of the story or the music – I love the film and the music (written by Eurythmics Dave Stewart & six time grammy award winner Glen Ballard) sounded good. Though, I have to say it wasn't until I saw the show and experienced the emotion of the music first hand that I really appreciated how brilliant the soundtrack is.
The reason I was initially sceptical was because I knew that there was a lot of automation,
video and projection used as set and I was worried about a high tech take-over
of theatre would ruin the magical atmosphere created by imagination and make it
more like the experience of watching a film.
Even as I sat in my seat (row
A in the centre – not too shabby for a last minute theatre ticket at half price
eh? God bless tkts London) I still felt unsure about it. As the show began, projections played out over the gauze and the large screens moved around
into position with the relevant images being thrown across them I could feel the doubt about this show seeping in.
Then I noticed how it all reminded me of Times Square and from
there came the quick realisation that actually it has been designed, very
cleverly, in this way to convey that bustling, never sleeping, workaholic New
York feel. Thinking about the story – how Carls obsession with money and the
materialistic costs Sam his life – I realised you can also glean a message from
the design about the sensory overstimulation when living somewhere like New York.
The constant bombardment of images and sounds creating a materialism and greed
that doesn’t consider cost. A message
that can also be taken from the song ‘More’:-
“We’re
just playing a numbers game.
And every second those numbers change.
And every second those numbers change.
This is
what I live to feel
It’s
the beauty of the deal....”
Incidentally, this may be my favourite riff(?) in the show.
Though the main story is certainly about the love between
Molly and Sam that survives beyond his death, once I noticed the sub-theme I
couldn’t stop picking up on little things.
Such as the choreography. Lots of people seemed to dislike
it as it can be quite mechanical and choppy. But I found it really helped set
the atmosphere. The movement is also very carefully and cleverly considered, it
seems to me - as the office drones the dancer’s movements are mechanical
because their lives are mechanical – their lives are about working to achieve
the material things they think they need. For the moments when it needed to set
the bustling scene of typical New York it was urban, gritty and sexually
charged. I loved the moment on the tube where they’re getting thrown about by
the subway ghost and they barely even seem to notice. They just sit back down
after wards – like they’ve become so jaded by the city that nothing phases
them.
So I think it’s really important to acknowledge the creative
team on this show, in particular the set designer Rob Howell (who actually won a whatsonstage award for
his design for both Ghost and Matilda and an Olivier for Matilda) the
choreographer Ashley Wallen and Liam Steel for the Additional Movement
Sequences.
On to the cast – there wasn’t a weak link in the lot and I
think that’s quite rare in an age where roles are often stunt cast, regardless
of talent. They could all sing, act and dance – even if the accents were a
little dodgy at times.
Siobhan Dillon as Molly and Mark Evans as Sam, were both as
fantastic as I expected them to be and really made me believe in their characters love.
My favourites,
though, were Andrew Langtree as Carl Bruner and Sharon D Clarke as Oda Mae
Brown.
Andrew Langtree portrays the characters dripping corporate
sleaziness through demeanour and the way he talks and moves. You can really
sense his need to have everything – by whatever means necessary. And who doesn't love a good baddie?
Sharon D Clarke had the mannerisms of the character we love
so much from the film down to perfection. It was as though she has studied
Whoopie Goldburg’s portrayal in depth. Perhaps it would have been nice to have
a bit of her own interpretation in there too, though?
If you go to see Ghost the Musical for no other reason,
though, go for the illusions (created by
Paul Kieve). Wow, I was blown away. I’ve studied technical theatre, which
to be honest has spoilt the magic of some stage illusions, but the magic was
reclaimed in this show. I really couldn’t figure it out. I can guess at some of
the elements that made it work (which I
won’t theorise about here, as I wouldn’t want to take anything away from a
person going to see it for the first time) but how those elements worked to
create the ghostly illusions, I just don’t know. For me, this is wonderful. It’s
like being a child again and being completely swept away in the magic.
http://www.ghostthemusical.com/home/
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