tue 05/11/2024

Ghost the Musical, Piccadilly Theatre | reviews, news & interviews

Ghost the Musical, Piccadilly Theatre

Ghost the Musical, Piccadilly Theatre

Latest screen-to-stage transfer is slickly produced tosh

Love and death: Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in 'Ghost the Musical'Sean Ebsworth Barnes

Death means learning to say "I love you" in the woozy world of Ghost, the 1990 film that has become a breathlessly vapid musical sure to keep hen parties happy for some while to come (especially now that Dirty Dancing has closed and Flashdance barely got going). The material is cheesy, often defiantly so, and it's here been polished to a high sheen by the director Matthew Warchus and a design team who pull out all the stops in order to snap to attention even the most ADD-afflicted in the house.

Death means learning to say "I love you" in the woozy world of Ghost, the 1990 film that has become a breathlessly vapid musical sure to keep hen parties happy for some while to come (especially now that Dirty Dancing has closed and Flashdance barely got going). The material is cheesy, often defiantly so, and it's here been polished to a high sheen by the director Matthew Warchus and a design team who pull out all the stops in order to snap to attention even the most ADD-afflicted in the house.

rating

Editor Rating: 
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

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I saw Ghost last night at London's Piccadilly theatre for it;'s opening night performance. Having also seen a preview showing 2 weeks ago the minor niggles have been worked out and the show was great. Taking a blockbuster film to the stage is always going to draw comparisons with the film but for me, and maybe its because I am a theatre lover, the stage version is the better one. Go see it, the special effects are amazing! http://www.ghostthemusicallondon.com

Surely the primary reason one should go to a musical is not the special effects, but for its music/lyrics content - both of which were decidedly below par in Ghost? It is, as the review pointed out, basically a five-hander with dances added merely because choreography is regarded as essential to many musicals' appeal. It was,perhaps, unfortunate that mention was made (in the glossy £7 programme) of Carousel which wipes the floor with Ghost at every level. After all, you can't whistle a special effect...

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