Ghost the musical

Ghost at the Piccadilly theatre
As a birthday present I went to see ghost the musical last Friday. I’ve been in love with the film for years and was desperate to see it before Richard Fleeshman stopped playing Sam. I was mostly curious to see how they could possibly make such a classic film a musical and as to how some of the effects would be carried out.
One thing I noticed straight away was how they kept it as close to the film as possible. Id clearly watched the film to much when I noticed big parts of the script were exactly the same. I thought this was very good even the set and costumes were as close to the ones in the film as is possible on a stage. I did think the very first song felt weird though. I think this was only because so far it had been so close to the film, and because I’d seen the film way too much, it just seemed a bit cringey and out of place to start with. But once I managed to stop comparing it to the film I think the songs made it all so much more enjoyable to watch.
The effects were amazing! When Sam (Richard Fleeshman) dies the way another body is there instantly to replace his when he runs into his ghost form was flawlessly carried out. All through the performance the ‘ghosts’ all had a slight blue tinge to them which was very effective in letting the audience distinguish between what actors we were meant to be seeing as alive and dead. Also the sections of the show carried out on the train station were extraordinary. The ghost of the train appeared to have the power to make people around him float along with their processions. The first time this happened I think the whole audience had a moment of ‘wow’. Then the next time this floating people thing happened I was determine to find out how it was done. So it very cleverly turns out that people dressed in black from head to toe performed balances and lifts with the actors which in contrast were all dressed in very bright clothes. And they were simply lifting the props to give the floating effect. The darkness of the current set and the low lighting when this happens means that unless (like me) you are purposely looking around desperate to find out how this was happening you would have no idea. When I realised my mum hadn’t sussed it I was quite pleased with my detective work and then the final time this happened she noticed the odd hand shape as well.
All the actors were fantastic but Oda May made the show. She was perfect! Following in the footsteps of Whoopi Goldberg must’ve been terrifying but in my opinion this actress was funnier, I couldn’t say why but just something about her and her natural flare for this character made her stand out a lot more than any other performer. Her voice was so powerful that it was impossible not to admire her.
I would recommend this musical to anyone i'm so glad I finally got to go and watch it!