GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Review December 2013

There's nothing that the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre do better than delight the city, offering a large musical production around Christmas time each year. Always an alternative to pantomime, previous December offerings have included Spamalot, Grease, Dolly Parton's 9 To 5 and this year Ghost The Musical. 

Definitely the most ambitious and perhaps the most exciting production to play at the theatre this year, there is great expectation and as with the five previous times I've seen it, Ghost The Musical never fails to disappoint. 

For those that are unfamiliar with the story (and that must be very few...) Sam Wheat is murdered, leaving heartbroken girlfriend Molly Jensen behind to pick up the pieces with the help of the questionable psychic medium Oda Mae Brown. 

Stewart Clarke, Rebecca Trehearn and David Roberts

Solihull-born Stewart Clarke admirably rises to the challenges of being Sam. There is a broken interaction between the character and everyone else in the show - for Sam is dead and no one can see him. Clarke however manages to connect with both fellow cast and audience and does so by delivering incredibly heartfelt tender moments amongst angrier moments requiring a strong vocal belt. 

Other heartfelt moments are provided aplenty by Rebecca Trehearn as Molly. Beautiful ballads With You and Nothing Stops Another Day both showcase and compliment her voice. David Roberts is a deceitful Carl, originally likeable but soon enough a boo-able baddie... but this is far from a pantomime!

Keisha Atwell, Wendy Mae Brown and Karlene Wray

Comedy moments are not sidelined however - Wendy Mae Brown as psychic Oda Mae Brown is a sparkling jewel in this production. Outrageous costumes and a badass attitude ensure all focus is towards her and she is worthy in receipt of rapturous applause by the curtain call. Her numbers Are You A Believer and I'm Outta Here are both lively injections of fun to the otherwise tragic events. 

Wendy Mae Brown, Stewart Clarke and Lewis Griffiths

I admire a huge effort that goes on behind the scenes of Ghost, with a record get-in period that spans three days (and nights), miles of cable and 7 automated LED video screens. The illusions by Paul Kieve are mind-blowing, but I must recommend sitting in the centre of the auditorium for maximum effect when viewing for the first time. Unfortunately, sitting to the far sides and close to the stage will have an impact on the magic's effectiveness. The angle of far side seats will result in illusions becoming blocked by set pieces and ensemble members who are stood in the way. 

The orchestration is most powerful and there is a strong, soon familiar soundtrack to the show. The sound levels do alter quite dramatically, sometimes randomly with many of the earlier songs strangely quiet. Despite niggles with ambitious technology it is important that theatrical boundaries are pushed and with many new musicals failing to succeed greatly in the West End here is a show that has enjoyed a 15 month run at London's Piccadilly Theatre, Broadway and US national tour with productions also in Italy and South Korea. Whilst in Birmingham at the New Alexandra Theatre you mustn't miss your chance to believe in the power of love. Buy tickets here. An ideal alternative to pantomime which runs until Sunday 5th January 2014.

Cast List: Stewart Clarke, Rebecca Trehearn, Wendy Mae Brown, David Roberts, Ivan De Freitas, Stevie Hutchinson, Karlene Wray, Keisha Atwell, Maeve Byrne, Michael Cortez, Kimmy Edwards, Gabriela Garcia, Lewis Griffiths, Bradley Jaden, Gregor Stewart, Amy Webb, Amy West, Luke Wilson, Jaye Juliette Elster, Livvy Evans, Robert Knight and Michael Stewart.

Related Articles
Behind The Scenes At Ghost The Musical
Ghost Is Dancing
UK Tour Review June 2013
Interview With Wendy Mae Brown
London Production Review May 2012

GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Ghost Is Dancing for Children In Need

Mayflower Theatre -  Southampton

Sunday 3 November 6.00pm

‘when the wig girls learned to Waltz’

For the last 5 months 12 terrified technicians from the Ghost The Musical touring company have been taught to dance by 12 professional dancers from the cast all in aid of the BBC’s Children in Need Appeal.

On Sunday 3^rd November they will demonstrate their skills in front of a panel of Judges as part of a Grand Charity fund raising Gala. With a Star Cabaret, Charity auction and lots of surprises this is the one Charity event of the year that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Neil White, Ghost Company Manager said, “From what started as an idea to raise money mentioned between the cast in crew in the quick change room during the performance one night in Edinburgh, has escalated into Dance fever with the touring company. Apart from raising money for Children in Need it really has made the bond between our touring cast and crew tighter. Everyone has been so committed into giving their all, fitting training whenever they can around the busy schedule of moving such a massive technical show. We just hope that everyone will have as much fun watching the evening as we have had rehearsing it and most importantly we raise money for such an amazing charity”.

Below is a message of support from the movie's original Oda Mae Brown, WHOOPI GOLDBERG who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the role. 

Michael Ockwell, Mayflower Theatre Chief Executive added, “This event is a wonderful idea, I am so pleased that we can help raise money for Children in Need by offering our venue and facilities. It will be a wonderful event for a very worthy cause and our staff are looking forward to uniting with the touring company of Ghost to provide a great nights entertainment.”

Rehearsals for a group performance were well under way in August, fitted in and around the schedule of Ghost performances! Watch a short video below: 

Tickets are priced at £20 and all funds raised from the event will be going to children in Need. BOOK TICKETS for Ghost Is Dancing via the Southampton Mayflower website here. You can also book tickets to see the production in Southampton here. 

The cast are used to dancing, night after night on the spectacular set... 

but how will the technical crew cope!?

Visit the website for GHOST IS DANCING here. With a £15,000 target you can click here to pledge any amount of money to the official Just Giving page. 

WHAT TO SEE (West Midlands) 2013/2014

The 2013 season is steadily drawing to close and theatres in the West Midlands are beginning to announce spectacular shows that you can look forward to throughout the new year. Here is my round up of the three theatres you're most likely to find me at!

BIRMINGHAM NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE

RENT IN CONCERT

Seeing 2013 out and 2014 in is the groundbreaking Ghost The Musical - based on the Oscar winning musical, the timeless fantasy about the power of love runs from Tuesday 17th December 2013 - Sunday 5th January 2014 (BOOK GHOST).  Kerry Ellis stars in the hugely popular return of Rent In Concert on Friday 14th February, a perfect Valentines treat? (BOOK RENT) The Rod Stewart musical Tonight's The Night played to sold out audiences on it's previous tour, catch it from Monday 24th February - Saturday 1st March (BOOK TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT). Vincent and Flavia bring their brand new stage show Dance Til Dawn to Birmingham from Monday 21st - Saturday 26th April (BOOK DANCE TIL DAWN). Finally, perhaps the biggest and most anticipated production this year is West Side Story (BOOK WEST SIDE STORY).

Other season highlights include Sleeping Beauty On Ice, Scrooge The Musical, Ha Ha Holmes (starring Joe Pasquale), Peppa Pig's Big Splash, The Vagina Monologues and The Dreamboys.

Full listings of what's on at the New Alexandra in 2014 can be found here. 

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

WICKED

Seeing out 2013 at Birmingham Hippodrome are John Partridge and Gok Wan who star in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (BOOK PANTO). The West End hit Singin' In The Rain makes a splash from Tuesday 18th March - Saturday 5th April staring Faye Tozer from Steps as Lina Lamont (BOOK SINGIN IN THE RAIN). Marti Pellow continues to star as Che in Evita as the production tours to Birmingham from Tuesday 8th - Saturday 19th April (BOOK EVITA). The National Theatre's One Man Two Guvnors runs from Monday 26th - Saturday 21st May (BOOK ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS). The previously announced summer smash hit Wicked opens on Wednesday 9th July and plays until Saturday 6th September (BOOK WICKED). Finally, the Andrew Lloyd Webber phenomenon Cats will be bringing the Jellicle Ball in Birmingham from Tuesday 9th - Saturday 27th September. Tickets for Cats are on sale to friends of the Hippodrome from 10am on 7th October, group on 14th October and general, online and phone sales from 16th October (BOOK CATS).

Other season highlights include War Horse, War Horse: Only Remembered, Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Welsh National Opera. 

VIEW THE NEW HIPPODROME 
SEASON TRAILER HERE

Full listings of what's on at the Hippodrome in 2014 can be found here.

WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

CABARET

Joe Pasquale headlines this years pantomime, Sleeping Beauty alongside Ceri Dupree and Lucy Evans from Saturday 7th December 2013 until Sunday 19th January 2014 (BOOK PANTO). Before the festivities however, West End heartthrob Oliver Thornton stars as Frank N Furter in the 40th Anniversary Production of The Rocky Horror Show from Monday 28th October - Saturday 2nd November 2013 with Dani Harmer and Ben Forster (BOOK ROCKY HORROR). Pop Idol winner Will Young returns to his award winning role of Emcee in Cabaret which also stars Siobhan Dillon from Tuesday 26th - Saturday 30th November (BOOK CABARET). The new year sees Noel Sullivan starring in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert from Monday 27th January - Saturday 1st February 2014 (BOOK PRISCILLA). The highlight of the 2014 season is Dirty Dancing which runs for three weeks from Tuesday 23rd September through to Saturday 11th October (BOOK DIRTY DANCING).

Other season highlights include The Upbeat Beatles, To Sir With Love, Brendan Cole License To Thrill, The Russian State Ballet of Siberia and Derren Brown Infamous. 

Full listings of what's on at the Grand in 2014 can be found here. 

You can book for any of the listed shows by visiting the theatres websites - click on the theatre to book: Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. 

GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Review June 2013

Ghost The Musical is the stage adaptation of the 1990 film which everyone has seen.... surely? If you haven't, the musical stays loyal to the heart-breaking story of Molly Jensen (Rebecca Trehearn) and her boyfriend Sam Wheat (Stewart Clarke) who is shot and killed in a New York alleyway. Seemingly a random attack at first, Sam (who's ghost is trapped between worlds) seeks the help of psychic medium Oda Mae Brown to discover the reason behind his murder and ultimately to prove his love to Molly. 

From the moment the overture blasts out it is quite clear that this is no budgeted mockery of the film trying to cash in with it's many fans. Ambitious technology is at the forefront of the production and the many screens, projectors and ever changing scenery help to re-create the effects which are so easily achieved in the film on stage. Yes, Sam certainly walks through the door!

Stewart Clarke is a mightily impressive Sam, much angrier than previous castings, he makes clear the torment and confusion of being trapped between the human world and the afterlife. Not only admiral sensitivity in the subtle ballads but belting powerfully the bigger, angrier numbers such as I Had A Life.  Rebecca Trehearn (who had previously understudied the role in the London production) leads as Molly and has a seemingly exhausting job. The music by Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard is a demanding sing. Trehearn pours her heart into With You and Nothing Stops Another Day which had much of the audience quivering wrecks before the heart-rending final scene.

For the role of Oda Mae Brown in the movie, Whoopi Goldberg won the Academy Award for best supporting actress, London's Sharon D. Clarke and Broadway's Da'Vine Joy Randolph were both nominated for same award at the Olivier and Tony Awards. If there was such a thing as the UK Touring Awards Wendy Mae Brown would most definitely be nominated too. Oda Mae Brown is the most infectious character and steals every scene she is in. This comedy role is most definitely needed to take away from the heartbreak of most of the other scenes. Together with sisters Clara and Louise (Karlene Wray and Keisha Atwell) and Maeve Byrne as Mrs Santiago, the psychic parlour scenes are filled with laugh-out-loud moments. Oda Mae's disco number towards the end - I'm Outta Here is perhaps the musical highlight of the show, where she envisages the many things she plans on doing with the ten million dollar cheque she has just withdrawn from the bank. (You can read my interview with Wendy here.) 

David Roberts is a deceitful Carl Bruner - Sam's best friend, for a while... Likeable at first and then suitably twisted as the plot thickens revealing his secret. Ivan De Freitas reprises his role from the London production as hit-man Willie Lopez which he plays with extreme sliminess. Stevie Hutchinson is impressive as the acrobatic Subway Ghost. The ensemble are all on fine form and work Ashley Wallen's exciting, disjointed current choreography well and provide excellent eerie harmonies. 

The show is testament to not only the cast but the incredible crew who worked around the clock to take Ghost from Edinburgh to Wolverhampton in just three days. It is a difficult job to ensure Paul Kieve's illusions work perfectly and the amount of technical equipment required means that 21 production staff are on hand. (Find out more behind the scenes here.) 

Ghost is an incredible theatrical experience unlike any other. Visually spectacular and will continue to reduce audiences to tears for it's entire run. Tickets are in high demand at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, you cannot miss out on the Midlands premiere of what has to be the biggest West End production to visit the region - BOOK HERE. Playing until 15th June 2013.

Social Media was overflowing with responses to last nights opening show. Here are a selection of the casts comments!

You were amazing @wolvesgrand simply the best opening night so far and a superb reception after the show from the friends of the theatre.
— GHOST The Musical (@ghostontour) June 5, 2013

What a lovely crowd @wolvesgrand this evening. Thanks for your kind words, looking forward to the next couple of weeks!
— Rebecca Trehearn (@RebeccaTrehearn) June 4, 2013

Great opening tonight in Wolverhampton with top audience - thanks for the lovely welcome/reception from the @wolvesgrand
— Stewart Clarke (@StewClarke) June 4, 2013

Great being back at the Grand Wolverhampton! Just soundcheckedfor @ghostontour's opening tonight. You'll all be believers by then .....!
— Wendy Mae Brown (@WendyMaeBrown) June 4, 2013

With Michael Cortez, Maeve Byrne, Amy West, Gregor Stewart, Wendy Mae Brown and Rebecca Trehearn

Cast List: Stewart Clarke, Rebecca Trehearn, Wendy Mae Brown, David Roberts, Ivan De Freitas, Stevie Hutchinson, Karlene Wray, Keisha Atwell, Maeve Byrne, Michael Cortez, Kimmy Edwards, Gabriela Garcia, Lewis Griffiths, Bradley Jaden, Gregor Stewart, Amy Webb, Amy West, Luke Wilson, Jaye Juliette Elster, Livvy Evans, Robert Knight and Michael Stewart. 

GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Interview with Wendy Mae Brown

Wendy Mae Brown is currently starring as the coincidently named Oda Mae Brown on the UK touring production of Ghost The Musical, the role originated by Whoopi Goldberg in the film and by Sharon D. Clarke on stage. Wendy has recently starred as Hattie in Kiss Me Kate at the Old Vic and Chichester whilst other credits include Little Shop Of Horrors, Mamma Mia! and Porgy And Bess. 

"We've only just started the tour but the Welsh audiences have been great actually, apparently they can be quite critical but they're loving it! The Wales Millennium Centre has been a great place to open the show, it's such a technical production and they've had the workshop space to make any changes where needed. The rest of the tour is quite exciting, we get to perform at some great venues like Wimbledon and Wolverhampton which I haven't performed in for years!"

"The show is quite technical and that side of the production has been improved for the tour. We have a few members of the cast who were in the London production who say things work a lot slicker now. Unfortunately I never got to see the show when it was at the Piccadilly Theatre, but the film I must have lost count how many times I've seen that. Oda Mae Brown was always one of those characters that I'd watch and think "oooh, I'd love to do that role". As a black actress there are only certain roles you can do, this being a great one, but of course there was never the opportunity - I never thought they'd make a musical out of it! I missed out on auditioning for the original production but when the tour came around I just had to go for it - and here I am, Wendy Mae Brown playing Oda Mae Brown - there must be someone up there making it happen for me!"

Wendy as Oda Mae with Karlene Wray (Clara) and Keisha Atwell (Louise)

"Not all the critics were so kind to Ghost in London and I think the show has a better place on tour. People in London experience theatre quite differently and with a different  attitude and I think the regional audience will just enjoy it."

"I'm having the best time on stage. Oda Mae steals all of the laughs, she's comedy character which believe me is needed because at times it's quite depressing, with all the death... My favourite part of the show has to be my song I'm Outta Here. I look utterly ridiculous but everyone just has so much fun in that number. It's quite difficult though, not only have I got a giant bird on my head, but I've got sunglasses on, a fur coat and I'm climbing over boxes - I'm constantly trying to avoid falling over!"

"That's not the only difficulty I've found... what else is quite a challenge is the fact that Oda Mae can't see Sam (Stewart Clarke), she can only hear him and so I have to try not to look at him. I remember in one the first shows I was just gawping right at him for quite some time thinking "gosh he's gorgeous!" and then I realised I can't see him!" 

Get tickets to see Wendy as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost The Musical, now touring across the UK. Ghost haunts Wolverhampton at the Grand Theatre from 4th - 15th June. Get tickets here. 

GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Behind The Scenes

After it's world premiere at the Manchester Opera House in 2011, Ghost The Musical has since wowed audiences in the West End and on Broadway. The original London staging will be sent across the globe for use on the Korean production due to open later this year. For the UK tour, a complete re-design (which is no way a scale down) travels the length and breadth of the country in 10 articulated lorries.

A team of over 110 riggers, engineers, electricians, carpenters, crew, prop makers, costume and wig staff, designers and production supervisors worked in shifts over 96 consecutive hours prior to the technical rehearsals at the tours opening venue - The Wales Millennium Centre. The get-in for the show takes approximately 50 hours just to set everything up in each venue and 10 hours to get back out.

A ghost's eye view! Image: Ghost The Musical

The truss suspended from the venue's grid can be seen on the photo above and weighs just over 21 tonnes. There are 86 intelligent lights in the rig which by the time of Oda Mae Brown's song I'm Outta Here are lowered into full view of the audience and blast out in every imaginable colour. 

Just as the set did in the original production, the tour features LED video screen walls that make up a significant part of the shows set. There are 7 automated video walls that are made up of 172,176 LED pixels in total. 17 computers control all of the set, lighting, sound and effects. Monitor screens backstage show the stage in black and white, colour and from all angles to ensure that the illusions can be successfully executed - there is very little margin for error. 

The stage is through there... somewhere!

In addition to all of that there are 5 projectors that are rigged front of house. Images of Sam and Molly are projected all over the stage area and every possible lead performer and understudy combination of Sams and Mollys have to be photographed and filmed together. Even the finest details on the show are carefully considered. All of the driving licenses and passports, record files have photos of the actual cast member playing the role on them, and change with each understudy. All of the sheets of paper in the show are American sized and all of the props were sourced and brought over from America. The vending machine in the Subway scene is full of authentic American candy. Props such as the polystyrene coffee cups are filled with expanding foam to make them last the duration of the tour. 

There are a total of 58 wigs used during the show that are washed, set and maintained by 3 members of the wig department. There are 65 quick costume changes and most of these take place in a Wardrobe Quick Change area at the back of the stage. In this area costumes such as Oda Mae's hideous pink leopard print suit are hung and ready to be fitted - the skirt is hung inside out for speed. The fastest quick change is only 6 seconds! The wigs table is carefully laid out in this area too and includes Sisters Clara and Louise, the Subway Ghost and many of the period costumed ghosts. In total there are 217 costumes in the show and 112 pairs of shoes. 

The view from the wings of downstage right.

As big as the production may be, the stage performance area is actually quite intimate and a purple floor surface is laid down over the existing stage. The stage floor features tracks in which pallets move across with pieces of set on, such as desks and sofas. In the London production there were moving conveyer-belt tracks and pieces of set that came up through the stage floor, but for the tour it's all reconfigured to come on seamlessly from above or from the wings.  

Combining every element of the show, it is clear to see the enormity of the production's scale. It is quite possible that Ghost The Musical is the most technically complex production to ever tour the United Kingdom. 

Just one final image, if you thought the wires at the back of your TV were complicated.... 

GHOST THE MUSICAL (UK Tour) Cast Announcement

GHOST THE MUSICAL ANNOUNCES UK TOUR CAST

Yesterday rehearsals for the 2013 UK Tour of Ghost The Musical began in London and sparked the announcement of the brand new cast.

When Ghost opened in Manchester and subsequently transferred to London, Coronation Street heartthrob Richard Fleeshman (Sam) and Caissie Levy (Molly) received high praise and took the show to Broadway. Sharon D. Clarke (Oda Mae Brown) stayed with the production until it closed in London in October 2012.

For the 2013 UK Tour, Stewart Clarke (Loserville) will be stepping into the role of Sam Wheat, made famous in the film by Patrick Swayze. Molly Jensen will be played by Rebecca Trehearn who understudied the role in London at the Piccadilly Theatre and the coincidently named Wendy Mae Brown (Porgy And Bess) will be the phoney psychic Oda Mae Brown.

David Roberts will play Carl and Stevie Hutchinson joins as the Subway Ghost. Oda Mae's Sisters will be played by Karlene Wray (Clara) and Keisha Atwell (Louise). Reprising his role from the London production Ivan De Freitas will be Willie Lopez.

Ensemble members include Michael Cortez, Bradley Jaden, Luke Wilson, Gregor Stewart, Nick Hayes, Maeve Byrne, Amy West, Kimmy Edwards, Gabriela Garcia and Amy Webb.

Swings are Livvy Evans, Michael Stewart, Robert Knight and Jaye Juliette Elster.

Also revealed is that the set has been redesigned since the Manchester/London production and the tour will feature brand new illusions.

Ghost The Musical makes its Midlands premiere at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in June.

CLICK TO BOOK HERE

GHOST THE MUSICAL (Piccadilly Theatre) May 2012

This was my third visit to Ghost The Musical. I think it's worth reviewing at this point as the show has undergone it's first cast change. Since opening in Manchester and transferring to London last year this April saw Richard Fleeshman (Sam) and Caissie Levy (Molly) transfer to the Broadway production. Mark Evans and Siobhan Dillon replaced them in London in January and the new ensemble in February.

Evans and Dillon are suitable replacements to Fleeshman and Levy, both of whom bring their own style to the roles. I found that both of new leads provide a more "musical theatre" tone to the songs than the rockier originals. But this is musical theatre and so it still works. 

The jewel of this whole production is Sharon D. Clarke as the psychic Oda Mae Brown. In the role made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1990 film, Sharon D. Clarke manages to bring her own crazy characterisation to the stage. Her powerhouse vocals are enough to blow the roof off and both of her songs prove the much-needed comic relief to the show.

Understudying the part of Carl Bruner in replacement of Andrew Langtree was Paul Ayres. He gave us a great portrayal of Sam's 'best friend' and really captured the sinister twist in character with perfection.

Another performance worthy of note is Lisa Davina Phillip who provides comedy gold as Oda Mae's sister Clara. 

The illusions are expectably less exciting after a third viewing. The walking through doors and appearing from nowhere still work well. The letter opening also remains a point of amazement. The scene in which Carl is being punched and shoved by the invisible Sam is a little sloppy in that the workings of some of the 'illusions' are left on show to the audience. Also the lighting reveals the 'secret' as to how characters float away once dead. 

Ghost remains a spectacularly impressive show and one definitely worth seeing, even if for the set and illusions alone. Anything Sharon D. Clarke is in is always worth the money. 

Booking until 20th April 2013. Monday - Saturday 7:30pm, Thursday & Saturday 2:30pm. 

Tickets: £67.50, £45, £25 (Premium Seats £85) (Dayseats available Monday - Thursday performances at £25 on the day of performance at the box office.)

Website: http://www.ghostthemusical.com

(With Sharon D. Clarke after the performance)