Review and pictures: Ghost - The Musical, New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
There are only two words that readers, theatre-goers and music lovers will want to see in this review – Sarah Harding.
The former Girls Aloud singer is the reason this production has been hitting the headlines, and sadly not in a very good way. While she was a member of one of the most successful girl bands of this generation, and therefore likely to get plenty of bums on seats, her acting abilities have been called into question.
Indeed she has been frankly savaged by critics and on social media for, initially, her stint on Coronation Street and lately for her role as Molly in this production.
So let's address the elephant in the room. Is she that bad? Well no, she's not THAT bad. This is Ghost the MUSICAL and she does have a beautiful voice. Three Little Words, her duet with Sam played by Andy Moss, is stirring, her solo number With You is a lovely, touching ballad and she performs a moving version of Unchained Melody, again with 'Sam'.
Her portrayal of Molly, however, is very limited – and inexplicably breathless. Her scenes of grief and loss lack depth or emotion, her accent is inconsistent and she delivers possibly the least convincing 'slap' I have ever seen on stage.
"People are finally going to see that there's a softer side to me they haven't seen before," she said in a recent interview. Somebody forgot to tell the singer she is supposed to be acting on stage!
Still, there does seem to be some chemistry on stage with former Hollyoaks star Moss who plays the love of her life, cruelly murdered in what appears to be a street robbery but which turns out to be something much more sinister.
Moss portrays a very likeable, contented and fun-loving Sam which makes his sudden death the more tragic for the audience. Then, as Ghost Sam, he demonstrates a rollercoaster of emotions from confusion, frustration, turmoil, loss and determination. He has a nice, if not terribly strong, voice.
But he really shines in his scenes with the real star of the show – Oda Mae Brown played by Jacqui Dubois. This was the role immortalised in the 1990 film by the unparalleled Whoopi Goldberg and demands a strong, charismatic and humorous actress.
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Dubois is all of the above and can turn out a pretty fantastic tune too. She plays the medium that Sam turns to in his desperate attempts to warn Molly that there is more to his murder than meets the eye and she is in danger. There is a lot of fun in the interraction between Sam and Oda Mae as she easily steals the show. She alone is reason to watch this production.
There are some good supporting actors too. Sam Ferriday oozes sleaze, cheese and intrigue in his role as Sams friend Carl. The subway ghost played by Garry Lee Netley is spine-tinglingly scary while the hospital ghost, played by James Earl Adair, is a tension relieving high spot with his musical number You Gotta Let Go Now.
There are some clever effects such as out-of-body experiences, objects moving around by themselves, passengers floating around on the subway and the transition to Heaven or Below of the newly-dead.
For the record, the famous pottery scene performed to the Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody is not the slightest bit sexy or sensual but it is quite funny and part of me thinks that is appropriate for a carefree yet complex character who can only bring himself to utter ditto.
Runs until Saturday.
By Diane Davies
