A young man fails to tell his girlfriend he loves her until he is dead; some people may feel that this is leaving it a teeny-weeny bit late. He was murdered by a Puerto Rican mugger and is stuck between two worlds. He spends his time trying to stop her also being murdered.
Ghost, the film, a lightweight murder story, alternating comedy and suspense with just a dash of pain and anguish, was an unexpected blockbuster in 1990 and is still fondly remembered for the pottery lesson. Repeated on stage in miniature it has no effect whatsoever. The image needs to be photographed and blown up to fill the whole stage.
Bruce Joel Robin who wrote the original screenplay has written the book for the musical. Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy are bland casting for the roles played by Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard’s unmemorable and over-amplified ballads hold up the story The things everybody will be talking about when they leave the theatre are designer Jon Driscoll’s video projections and illusionist Paul Kieve’s ghostly trickery. The only actor not to be dwarfed by Matthew Warchus’s production is Sharon D Clarke who has a big personality, a big voice and two big numbers. She plays the fake medium who finds she really does have the gift and doesn’t like it. The role, created by Whoopi Goldberg, always was a musical comedy turn. The last time there was a ghost play at the Piccadilly was during World War 2. Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit opened in 1941 and ran for 1,997 performances.