Warning: Spoilers
This evening I went to see Ghost the Musical at the enchanting Bristol Hippodrome with my best friend and her family. I’ve seen the film and clutched onto a pillow for dear life as the late Patrick Swayze & Demi Moore forced me to care for their characters and the trials they were facing.
I need to take a moment to address what a beautiful building I was sat in. For those that haven’t visited; Bristol Hippodrome is right in the heart of Bristol which opened over a century ago in 1912. It features classic architecture and is exactly how I’ve always envisioned a theatre to look, with majestic reds and golds decorating the walls and carpets. A Gryfindor would feel quite at home.
Ghost is the story of a couple who’s lives our turned upside down when Sam (Stewart Clarke) is killed and is stuck between life and the afterlife as a ghost. He tries to reach out to his girlfriend Molly (Rebecca Trehearn) to warn her of their best friend & co-worker Carl (David Roberts) who orchestrated Sam’s murder. Sam connects with his love through a fraudulent psychic, Ode Mae Brown (Wendy Mae Brown) who is shell shocked upon realisation that she is actually conversing and acting on behalf of the dead.
It was hard to focus on anything in the first few scenes as Sam was wearing a white tank top and the boy has some wonderfully muscular arms – Hey I’m only human! Molly is portrayed beautifully with a deep emotion that comes across through her moving solos. The real show stopper is Ode Mae Brown who was played by Whoopi Goldberg in the original movie. Ode Mae is incredibly charismatic with a bright & colourful wardrobe to match her personality & a stroke of comical genius when she’s bickering with ‘ghost Sam’ throughout.
The special effects were second to none with impressive use of holograms and screens full of lights. When characters are killed you see their bodies hit the floor and stay there, all whilst their ghost stands and processes the fact that they’ve died. How they managed to do this is beyond me and I’m still baffled as to how they had a corporal actor for both without any extras seeming to be added to the stage. Other impressive effects included a fully functional door becoming a hologram so Sam could go through it, rain & a scene on a train which showed the dancers are experienced in parkour as well as dance.
Overall I was really impressed with Ghost and would recommend it to any fans as it does stay true to the film. The actors, music and stage effects were captivating and had me laughing at the right times and sobbing for most of the second act. I’d happily see it again, if only to fall in love with all the characters again (especially Stewart Clarke – yum).
euphoricobsession 