Ghost the Musical at the Regent Theatre - Review

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Sat 06 Feb 2016 - Sun 13 Mar 2016

The Broadway and West End hit Ghost The Musical , adapted from the Academy Award- winning film, stars Rob Mills as Sam Wheat, Jemma Rix as Molly Jensen, Alex Rathgeber as Carl Bruner and introduces remarkable British theatrical and television actress Wendy Mae Brown as Oda Mae Brown.



Translating a movie to a successful stage musical is a huge task, and in this case a not entirely successful one. The need for a chorus of singers and dancers for the big numbers is unavoidable, but the whole be-suited-New-Yorkers-in-a-hurry thing was a tad overdone by show's end.


The performances of the two leads was workmanlike but the standout performance by a country mile was that of Wendy Mae Brown as the disconcertingly similarly-named Oda Mae Brown. Her over-the-top portrayal of the dodgy psychic with a heart of gold provided much-needed comic relief despite the stereotyping.


The movie/stage segue was reinforced at the start by the use of film footage to emphasise the onstage action, and not in any subtle way. However, the use of computer-generated graphics to enhance the ghostly special effects, especially in the subway scenes, was sublime.


On opening night the sound production was in need of improvement but the (largely invited) audience was a forgiving one if a standing ovation is anything to go by.

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!date 06/02/2016 -- 13/03/2016
%wnmelbourne