Good dancing: Does it outweigh a tear-jerker story? "Ghost" is playing at the Peabody Opera House, a story of Love From Beyond among Gen X. It can't be Gen Y – they make jokes about how unfashionable it is to live in Brooklyn, and how inexpensive, too. Or maybe that's how they establish that this is a fantasy.
The first act offers all the cliches of New York life with the help of a big-screen backdrop that is used to more effect in the dance numbers. He's a banker, she's an artist, he works in Manhattan which is very busy and has lots of taxicabs, and so on. One keeps waiting for the 9/11 moment, briefly alluded to in a photo montage, because it's obvious someone had to die. It turns out to be something much more individual than that. In the second act, the play becomes more of a caper plot, which certainly helps. And so do a trio of women who run a psychic business in Harlem.
Lots of special effects which depend heavily on strobe lights' temporarily blinding us. The music is pretty unremarkable. Thankfully, the cast is almost enough to redeem the script. An understudy, Andrea Rouch, captivatingly sang the lead role of Molly on opening night. Steven Grant Douglas as the banker/ghost makes us understand he keeps forgetting he's dead. The subway ghost, Brandon Curry, stands out with his anger and physical charisma, and the three ladies at the psychic parlor, headed up by Carla R Stewart as the major medium, give it all they've got, especially with the dancing.
Kudos to Ashley Wallen for the game-saving choreography. Hugh Vanstone, the lighting director, deserves much of the credit for the magic seemign to appear, but there's credit to Paul Kieve, the illusionist who set up the magical effects and Jon Driscoll, vidoe and projection designer for that backdrop. Bruce Joel Rubin bears responsibility for the script and some of the lyrics, Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard for the music and the remainder of the lyrics. It was nice to hear snippets of "Unchained Melody" in the play, a welcome relief.
Ghost the Musical
through March 30
Peabody Opera House
1400 Market St.
314-622-2551