(AD – PRESS NIGHT) GHOST THE MUSICAL UK TOUR REVIEW
TUESDAY 29TH APRIL 2025 @ 7.30PM
HULL NEW THEATRE
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Tuesday night saw me attending another Hull press night, this time for a musical that’s new to me. Based on the film from 35 years ago, it tells the story of a couple as one dies and the other is left in the real world in danger. Here’s my Ghost the Musical UK tour review at Hull New Theatre.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
I might be a 90s baby, but I’ve actually never seen the original movie. I’m not crazy about all those romance movies from back in the day, but I’m always intrigued by a film-to-stage adaptation, regardless of if I’ve seen the film or not. There’s been a rise in these musicals as of late, some better than others, but I was going on completely blind to this musical. Obviously, I know the song Unchained Melody (it reminds me of Gareth Gates IYKYK) and that’s all I knew!
THE CAST
This cast is nothing short of exceptional. Rebekah Lowings is our leading lady for the show as Molly Jenson, and wow, she has powerhouse vocals. Her rendition of With You in the first act is spectacular, and her emotions feel real and raw throughout the show.
Josh St Clair, as her other half, Sam Wheat, has an incredible stage presence. Again, his vocals are off the charts, and his range is outstanding. Some of these songs are very vocally challenging, especially for the male lead, and he knocks it out of the park. The chemistry between him and Lowings feels like a genuine connection on stage.
Jacqui Dubois as Oda Mae Brown is our comedic character in the production. However, take nothing away from her voice because that’s incredible too. The story is pretty dark, so having this character in the show adds some much-needed humour. Whilst it might be a love story, there are plenty of scenes between her and Sam as a ghost, and Dubois and St Clair again have a great chemistry.
For our villain in the story (although not initially), James Mateo-Salt plays Carl Bruner, Sam’s supposed best friend who (spoiler alert) tries to have him killed. Mateo-Salt was booed during the bows, meaning he did a great job! I have to say, from not only his look but also his voice, he gave me MAJOR Jeremy Jordan vibes. That’s the highest of compliments from me!
THE PRODUCTION
This is where the negatives outweigh the positives for me. Firstly, the score of a musical is usually the main reason that I love a show. However, other than a couple of songs, the entire score falls flat for me. Whilst it does showcase some incredible vocals and the orchestra does a great job, I didn’t find many of the songs particularly memorable. It also felt like every song of the two leads was just a powerhouse ballad of who can reach the highest notes.
The issues with sound at Hull New Theatre continue, as it was just too loud for me. Most of the females’ microphones were too loud that it made their vocals sound screechy at times. The mens’ mics were often too low, so it was hard to hear both St Clair and Mateo-Salt, especially during duets and trios with Lowings.
The set design had a lot of moving pieces, sometimes too many. Sometimes, in Molly and Sam’s flat, there would be a backdrop of windows, whereas it wouldn’t be there for other scenes. You could often see the ensemble moving props in the background during a scene, which I found off-putting. The ensemble also felt massively underused, with some odd choreography choices throughout.
The main issue for me was just the plot in general. The dialogue was okay but it just didn’t flow like a musical should for me. Again, the cast do their best with a sub-par script. I found the whole musical pretty tricky to follow in the first act. For example, Sam died, was visited by a hospital ghost and then all of sudden, we’re meeting a medium for a super, upbeat number.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you couldn’t tell already, I don’t think it’s a musical I’d return to see. However, despite its many flaws, I thought the cast were incredible with what they have. It really showed off Lowings and St Clair’s impressive vocals but fell flat in just about every other area. Maybe it would work best in a concert-style setting, rather than a full-blown musical.
The 2024/25 tour is coming to an end, but you can catch it at Hull New Theatre until the end of the week. If you enjoyed this Ghost the Musical UK tour review, you can catch my other theatre reviews here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok too.
