Tuesday night was the opening for the U.S. Tour of “Ghost The Musical” at the Peabody Opera House, and it was packed. The musical was written by Bruce Joel Rubin, who was also responsible for writing “Ghost” the movie that originally hit theaters in 1990.
In the show there was a wonderful use of technology that brought almost a magical element to the stage. The backdrop consisted of several screens that changed with each scene, along with a few structural items. This was particularly useful during scenes featuring the subway or the city the background had silhouettes of people moving, thus giving the impression that the actors were walking through a city.
In the first subway scene, the screens showed the subway moving from several perspectives. This allowed the audience to feel as though they were actually at the subway station and not in a theater. The special effects were also used to create the ghost world in which the actors walked through walls, moved objects and even moved on to either heaven or hell.
The stars of the musical were Katie Postonik and Steven Grant Douglas, who played Molly Jensen and Sam Wheat, respectively. On stage their voices matched perfectly, making their duets “With You” and “Unchained Melody” a true delight to hear. The difficulty in giving such passionate performances each night was shared by Postonik, who said, “The hardest part of this show was the emotional challenge of losing the love of your life at every performance.”
Carla R. Stewart, who played Oda Mae Brown, brought so much talent to the show. She filled every scene with energy and provided a humorous outlet to a serious plot. Her singing was on point and she created a different atmosphere when talking with the ghosts versus the people, which added significant depth to the show.
Her performance in the bank scene was wonderful and her solo “I’m Out of Here” truly showcased her talent.
The musical was fast paced and things happened very quickly. The background dancers were great in building the atmosphere and in helping with the scenes that included body switches, for instance when Sam died and his ghost was separated from his body. These body switches happened so quickly that it was a mystery how they were even possible.
Postonik left us with advice for people wanting to pursue a career in musical theater. “In musical theater, you have to really strong believe in yourself and never take no for an answer. There will be a lot of auditions so you just need to be positive. And finally, the key is persistence.”