Ghost The Musical – Review – Hull New Theatre

By Rachel Howard, April 2025

Musicals based on films are notoriously hit and miss. They pull in a crowd based on a well-loved story, but translating the magic of film onto a live stage can be a tricky business. And meeting the high expectations of a crowd, who probably already know how the story ends, can be even trickier.

With this in mind, I try to set my expectations relatively low as I take my seat for the opening night of Ghost The Musical at Hull New Theatre. But low expectations do not appear to be a common theme, as the auditorium fills to near capacity on this sunny Tuesday evening. Ghost clearly has a special place in the hearts of Hullensians!

Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg brought Ghost to the silver screen in 1990. The supernatural romance, directed by Jerry Zucker, tells the story of a young New York couple, Sam Wheat (Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Moore), whose lives are ripped apart when Sam is murdered. Finding himself stuck between Heaven and Earth, Sam’s ghost goes on a mission to save Molly from the person who killed him – with more than a little help from psychic Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg).

Tonight, our main players have some big boots to fill, but fill them they do! Heading up the cast are Josh St Clair as Sam, Rebekah Lowings as Molly and Jacqui Dubois as Oda Mae. St Claire and Lowings shine as the young couple – head over heels in love and planning for the future until the unthinkable happens. Their chemistry, both Earth-side and Heavenly, is sizzling, and more than a match for the legendary Swayze and Moore. Both portray the characters with honesty, grit and passion, and we, the audience, quickly fall under their spell. Both actors sing their hearts out, providing a beautiful mix of power and vulnerability as they deal with loss, revenge, anger and confusion.

“A sight to behold”

Bringing some much needed humour is Jacqui Dubois as Oda Mae Brown. And wow – what a fantastic bit of casting! Dubois gives Whoopi Goldberg a run for her money as the loud, sassy and brash psychic, employed by Sam to communicate with Molly in order to protect her. Dubois has the characterisation of Oda Mae down pat. The walk, the mannerisms, the side eye – it’s all there, and the audience loves it, erupting into laughter time and time again. Special mention must be given to Head of Wardrobe, Lottie Kerry, for the fabulous and outrageous outfits donned by Oda Mae. Colourful and flamboyant, they match her personality perfectly.

Supporting our three leads are James Mateo-Salt as Sam’s work colleague Carl Bruner; Jules Brown as the killer Willie Lopez; Tim Maxwell-Clarke as the hospital ghost; and Garry Lee as the subway ghost. Ah yes, the infamous subway ghost… as a youngster watching Ghost for the first time, this was a terrifying scene, and one that still gives me the creeps even now, 35 years later.

The formidable subway ghost is trapped on the New York subway, stuck between Earth and Hell. He aggressively defends his train, using his deepest, darkest rage and fury to violently interact with the living. I was unsure how this scene would translate to the stage, but I needn’t have worried. Garry Lee plays the role of the ghost chillingly well. He’s loud and intimidating, and the special lighting effects used for the subway train are a sight to behold. It’s one of my favourite scenes in the show, despite cowering slightly in my seat!

Tim Maxwell-Clarke may only have a small role as the hospital ghost, but his performance of the song ‘You Gotta Let Go Now’ is another standout moment. An upbeat number all about letting go of life – sounds an odd combination perhaps, but it works, and whatever your thoughts on life after death, it certainly gets you thinking.

“Smouldering passion”

Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, alongside Bruce Joel Rubin and Glen Ballard, wrote the lyrics for the show, and there’s definitely a few good numbers. But there will only ever be one song associated with Ghost, and that is of course ‘Unchained Melody’, most notably recorded by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. As you would expect, it features a number of times throughout the production, most memorably in the pottery scene – some might say one of the most iconic moments in modern-day cinema! Nothing is held back for the stage version – smouldering passion, phallic pottery (!), and a rather intimate moment that receives a few whoops and whistles from the audience – it’s all brilliant stuff, and goes towards this being a triumphant example of a film-based musical.

If I had to find any fault, I must admit to finding the first 20 minutes a little cheesy. If you’re a die hard musical-theatre fan, it may not bother you, but I found a few of the early songs a little forced – seemingly added for the sake of it rather than to enhance the story. The first half also suffered with some sound issues, the levels on both the live orchestra and the microphones seemed a little off, resulting in some piercingly loud moments, followed by some muffled dialogue, but this was rectified for the second half, which was all together a better act.

Which leads me to the final scene, where I must name check the Lighting Director, Nick Richings. Portraying the transition of a ghost to Heaven must be one of the harder challenges he’s taken on, but he succeeds brilliantly. The light leading the way to Heaven, the stars encompassing the stage before wrapping around the audience, coupled with the pure emotion of watching Molly and Sam leave each other for a final time, it’s an ending absolutely worthy of the film. There’s not a dry eye in the house as we stand to applaud a great night’s entertainment.

As we leave the auditorium, I hear a number of people waxing lyrical about the show: “I loved it!”, “Wasn’t it great!”, “I really enjoyed it!”. As for me? In the words of Sam Wheat himself… “Ditto”.

‘Ghost the Musical’ is at Hull New Theatre until 3rd May
images: Alastair Muir

Rachel Howard( Writer )

After studying English at university and having a lifelong love of writing, Rachel, a full-time editor, came to On Yorkshire in 2017 where she started off reviewing theatre productions in and around the East Yorkshire area. That love of theatre soon expanded into hotels, restaurants and travel, not to mention becoming one of On Yorkshire’s resident beauty editors, reviewing the latest products, spas and treatments. Rachel loves to sample the very best Yorkshire and the UK have to offer in order to bring you the low down on the high life!

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