The supernatural power of love will take Australia by storm when the Broadway and West End hit Ghost The Musical, adapted from the Academy Award-winning film, premieres in Australia in Adelaide on 7 January 2016 as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s 2016 season before touring nationally.
Adelaide Festival Centre’s CEO and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier said: “Kicking off our season with Ghost The Musical sets the scene for a year of world-class offerings at Adelaide Festival Centre in 2016. This show stormed both the West End and Broadway and now Adelaide plays host to the first ever Australian production of this blockbuster. To have a show of this calibre opening here in January spring boards us into a fantastic year ahead.”
Set in modern day New York City, Ghost The Musical is a timeless fantasy about the power of love. Walking back to their apartment one night after a romantic dinner, Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen are mugged, leaving Sam dead on a dark street. Sam is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next and unable to leave Molly, whom he learns is in grave danger. With the help of Oda Mae Brown, a phony storefront psychic, Sam tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving and protecting her.
Ghost The Musical is directed by Tony Award-winner Matthew Warchus who has most recently brought Matilda to the stage in Australia as well as other hits (God of Carnage, The Norman Conquests, Boeing-Boeing) and choreographed by Ashley Wallen (The X Factor, Kylie Minogue, Seal, Madonna’s film WE). Illusions are created by leading stage and film illusionist Paul Kieve (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Matilda the Musical).
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film in 1990, Ghost became a blockbuster hit and an instant classic, winning numerous awards worldwide. The film starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg and was directed by Jerry Zucker. Bruce Joel Rubin’s script won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Whoopi Goldberg won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of psychic Oda Mae Brown.
The musical features book and lyrics by Academy Award winner Bruce Joel Rubin and original music and lyrics by a team of Grammy Award-winners, including Dave Stewart (half of the multi-Grammy Award-winning Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror, Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill). The score also includes the iconic song Unchained Melody, written by Hy Zaret and Alex North and famously performed in the film by The Righteous Brothers.
Employing special effects never before seen in an on-stage musical, Ghost The Musical features an incredible array of illusions – Sam, as a ghost, walks through a solid door, inanimate objects take on a life of their own while spirits ascend to the heavens and subway passengers are thrown in the air and people disappear and reappear right before your eyes.
Ghost The Musical premiered in Manchester in 2011 before transferring to the West End and later Broadway. It has been enjoyed by over a million people worldwide and nominated for numerous awards including five Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards.
Venue: Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Dates: Thursday 7 January to Sunday 31 January, 2016
Times: Evenings: Tuesday 7pm, Wednesday to Saturday 8pm
Matinees: Wednesday 1pm, Saturday 2pm, Sunday 3pm
(Sunday 31 Jan 1pm & 6pm)
Prices: Adults from $74.90 to $129.90, Concession from $64.90 to $99.90, Groups 6+ from $84.90
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Bookings: BASS 131 246 or bass.net.au