ONE of the best-loved films of all time has been adapted as a hit musical, which is coming to Bath Theatre Royal from Tuesday 19th to Saturday 23rd November. Ghost the Musical has been a huge success around the world, capturing all the romance and magic of the film, which starred Demi Moore, the late Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg.

The musical features The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody alongside music and lyrics by multi-Brit Award-winner Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin, based on his Oscar winning screenplay.

Walking back to their apartment late one night, a tragic encounter results in Sam being murdered and his girlfriend Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. With the help of Oda Mae Brown, a phony storefront psychic, Sam, trapped between this world and the next, tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger.

The cast is led by Rebekah Lowings (The Sound of Music) and Jacqui Dubois (People, Places and Things) who reprise their roles as Molly Jenson and Oda Mae Brown respectively. Josh St. Clair (Frozen) stars as Sam Wheat and James Mateo-Salt (Bonnie and Clyde) stars as Carl Bruner. Joining them is one of the UK’s best loved entertainers, Les Dennis playing Hospital Ghost and Lionel Ferguson.

The cast is completed by Jules Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) who reprises the role of Willie Lopez; Tanisha Butterfield (Sister Act The Musical) as Clara; Molly Cleere (Mamma Mia! The Party) as Mrs. Santiago/Bank Officer; Garry Lee (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) as Subway Ghost, and Gabrielle Cummins (Annie) as Officer Wallace. Keiahna Jackson-Jones, who plays Louise, and Olivia-Rose Deer, who plays the roles of Susan and Ortisha, have made their professional stage debuts in this touring production; Wade Lewin (The Lion King) plays Orlando; Jamie Pritchard (Les Misérables) appears as Detective Biederman, and Joe Readman (Grease The Musical) performs in the ensemble.

The film Ghost was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won an Oscar for screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin who has adapted his screenplay for this musical. Premiering in Manchester in 2011, the show has played sell out seasons in the West End and on Broadway, as well as numerous international tours. Ghost The Musical is directed by Bob Tomson.

Photographs by Alastair Muir