So show of hands - who knew they made this movie into a musical? They make everything into a musical nowadays it seems. But I do love this movie, so I went to see it recently while the tour was in L.A. I had listened to the soundtrack before and wasn't very impressed and sadly I still felt the same after watching this.
The show sticks pretty close to the film, as far as I can remember. It even uses the same lines at times. But the music is so bland to me. It's overpowering rock which overwhelms the vocals at times. It was hard to hear what they were saying. And with the music so unmemorable, it's unfortunate that the show script didn't reinvent the story somehow to make it stand out. I normally like adaptations that are close to the source material, but this show needed something more to enhance it.
There are a couple fantastic things about this show however. One is the effects. The ghost effects, as well as the multimedia screen that helped with background and setting. People seemed to levitate, things seemed to fly around, and they were able to show Sam walking into the light. It was all so beautifully done. I was very caught up in trying to figure out exactly how each effect was executed! I also really enjoyed how they showed Sam's death - one minute he's struggling with the mugger, the next he's on the floor dead, and Sam the ghost is walking around. A dummy was obviously used, but very seamlessly.
The second fantastic thing about this show is Oda Mae Brown, the psychic. That character is the best and must be so much fun to play! She brightens every scene she is in, and if they could have worked her character more into the show, it would have been the right decision.
I feel like Ghost is more of an intimate love story, but this musical really made a spectacle of the whole thing and it just didn't fit. It's a tragic love story, but an approach like with the musical Once instead of the power rock ballads might have been a better fit for the story. I'm glad I was able to see it though, and was super happy Oda Mae Brown was there to liven up the story!
