Another Departure from Film, sort of...

Last night I was escorted to Ghost: The Musical. Initially I was curious as to how they were going to make the 1990 classic into a Broadway musical with song and dance. I really enjoying going to shows like that- where you have to pay attention to the songs as they are telling the story- not just a great Disney movie with songs that compliment the story. Ghost did not disappoint. Had it been appropriate I would have danced along more than I did from my seat. The key to seeing shows like this is to go with people who will not be embarrassed when you do a little dancing and such, lucky for me I had a pretty great date for the show :)

I recently watched Ghost the movie in preparation for the musical. I wanted to see where the stage production followed the movie and where it differed. Plus there are things that are difficult to make come to life on stage but easier on film. Like the parts where Sam's ghost hand is unable to touch things and eventually he is able to go through a door- this is easy with movie magic- but I needed to see how they were going to trick me in front of my eyes. 

Well all this thinking about bringing the story to life on stage reminded me of when I saw Les Mis in the 7th grade. I was in the school choir and in both 7th and 8th grade we held fundraisers and took back our neighbor's pop cans in order to raise enough money to travel to see cool shows. Les Mis was my first stage production of Broadway caliber. We learned the story in choir then got on a chartered bus and headed to the Fisher Theater in Detroit. When Inspector Javert jumps off the bridge to commit suicide in the show, there were lights swirling to make the stage look like a pool of water and from my orchestra row seats I really thought he was jumping into water! The actor disappeared in a trap door in the stage and I was terribly impressed. I have a strong appreciation for the art that goes into set design and making stage productions work for the pure joy of us as audience members.  

Ghost did not disappoint in this regard. My favorite part was probably when they were on the subway train car and Sam is "talking" with the subway ghost. There was a series of translucent screens that had images of the train projected on to them and it realistically looked like the actors were on a subway car. There were also sweet movable set pieces so at one minute we had a sideways view of the subway car and then we were looking at it from the back end. The orientation switch was seamless and pretty cool. 

If you have seen the movie Ghost then you know what happens, the stage show does not deviate too much from the original story. Sam and Molly are our main characters and they love each other (or ditto each other if you prefer). Sam is murdered and we find out it is part of a plot because his friend Carl is in debt deep with what I think are mobsters and Carl needs Sam's access to accounts at the bank. Sam does not "cross over" and we see him learn how to be a ghost and solve his murder. He protects Molly and we can feel that loss and grief through the story as well. I was struck in rewatching the movie and now seeing the musical how genuine I felt Molly's grief to be after experiencing my own loss. 

Adding songs really did add to the experience- Oda Mae Brown's character was really emphasized with song. As impressed as I was with the set and the moving parts traveling through the show, I was even more impressed with that actor and her performance. Pure joy. Whoopi should be very proud. Overall I recommend Ghost: the Musical and would encourage at the very least a little bit of youtubing to hear their versions of Unchained Melody and With You.