Ghost The Musical is a musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 with book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin

Bruce Joel Rubin

Bruce Joel Rubin is a screenwriter best known for the supernatural romance, Ghost for which he won the 1991 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay...

 and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart

David A. Stewart

David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...

 and Glen Ballard

Glen Ballard

Glen Ballard is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill , which won Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album", and "Album of the Year" amongst others, and is ranked by the Rolling Stone amongst The 500 Greatest Albums of...

.

Based on the hit 1990 romantic drama film

Ghost (film)

Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...

 of the same name, the musical had its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House

Manchester Opera House

The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth...

 in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. The new musical then transferred the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 and opened on 19 July 2011.

The plot centres on lovers Sam and Molly, who are attacked as they are returning to their apartment. When Sam dies he becomes caught between the real world and the next. Molly is in danger and Sam cannot leave her. A medium, Oda Mae Brown, helps Sam to get in touch with Molly to warn her.

Manchester (2011)

The musical had its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House

Manchester Opera House

The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth...

, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with performances beginning March 28, 2011 and running through May 14, 2011. It was directed by Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

-winning director Matthew Warchus

Matthew Warchus

-Life:Warchus studied music and drama at Bristol University. He has directed for the National Youth Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera and in the West...

, with set and costume design by Rob Howell, choreography by Ashley Wallen

Ashley Wallen

Ashley Wallen is an Australian choreographer and has worked with stars such as The Sugababes, Kylie Minogue, Will Young and Mariah Carey.He was the resident dance captain on The X Factor and will appear as a panelist for Arlene Phillips on BBC One's DanceX....

, musical supervision and arrangements by Christopher Nightingale, illusions by Paul Kieve

Paul Kieve

Paul Kieve is an English professional illusionist and whose consulting work for both stage and screen has contributed to changing how magical special effects in productions are approached...

, lighting by Hugh Vanstone

Hugh Vanstone

Hugh Vanstone is a leading British lighting designer whose freelance career began in 1991. He won the 1999, 2001 and 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design and was nominated for a Tony Award in 2005 and 2009...

, sound design by Bobby Aitken and projection design by Jon Driscoll

Cast members include Richard Fleeshman

Richard Fleeshman

Richard Jonathan Fleeshman is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His television career began as a twelve year old, playing Craig Harris for four years in Coronation Street and most recently "All The Small Things"...

 as Sam Wheat, Caissie Levy

Caissie Levy

Caissie Shira Reiser , known professionally as Caissie Levy, is a Canadian stage actress and singer.-Early Life:...

 as Molly Jensen, Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown and Andrew Langtree

Andrew Langtree

-Biography:Andrew Langtree is a stage and screen actor, born 1977, St Helens, Merseyside. In 1998, he graduated amongst the first alumni of Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts...

 as Carl Bruner.

West End (2011-)

The musical began previews at the Piccadilly Theatre

Piccadilly Theatre

The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 from June 22, 2011. The official opening night gala performance took place July 19, 2011. Levy and all other cast members returned from the Manchester run.

Reviews for the production have since been mixed, although the special effects have been almost universally praised by critics for their ingenuity and skill.

Broadway (2012-)

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...

 will be home to the Broadway transfer production of Ghost the Musical. The production will begin previews on the 15th March 2012, ahead of a April 23, 2012 opening night. An on-sale ticket date will be announced shortly.

Melbourne (2013-)

A season in Melbourne, Australia has just been announced, set to open in Melbourne in 2013.

Musical numbers

In November 2010, four original songs from the musical were made available online from recording sessions at the Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...

 and the Manchester Exchange Theatre.

The event was recorded and exclusively screened for fans on Ghost the Musicals Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 Page on 26 November, 2010. The screenings were called 'Live & Unchained: The Facebook Sessions' and gave the world the first chance to hear the original songs. The whole footage is now available on Youtube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.
The original cast album was released via iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 on July 17, 2011.
Act I

• Overture
• "Here Right Now" – Sam and Molly
• "Unchained Melody" – Sam
• "More" – Sam, Carl, Ensemble
• "Three Little Words" – Sam and Molly
• "Sam's Murder" – Sam, Molly and Willy
• "Ball of Wax" – Sam, Hospital Ghost and Ensemble
• "I Can't Breathe" – Sam
• "Are You a Believer?" – Clara, Louise, Mrs Santiago and Oda Mae
• "With You" – Molly
• "Suspend My Disbelief" / "I Had a Life" – Molly, Carl, Sam and Ensemble

Act II

• "Rain" / "Hold On" – Molly, Sam and Ensemble
• "Life Turns On a Dime" – Carl, Molly and Sam
• "Focus" – Subway Ghost
• "Talkin' 'Bout a Miracle" – Ensemble
• "Nothing Stops Another Day" – Molly
• "I'm Outta Here" – Oda Mae, Ensemble
• "Unchained Melody" (Dance) / "The Love Inside" – Sam and Molly

Principal roles and cast members

Character	Original West End actor	Original Broadway actor
Sam Wheat	Richard Fleeshman Richard Fleeshman Richard Jonathan Fleeshman is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His television career began as a twelve year old, playing Craig Harris for four years in Coronation Street and most recently "All The Small Things"...	Richard Fleeshman
Molly Jensen	Caissie Levy Caissie Levy Caissie Shira Reiser , known professionally as Caissie Levy, is a Canadian stage actress and singer.-Early Life:...	Caissie Levy
Oda Mae Brown	Sharon D. Clarke	Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Carl Bruner	Andrew Langtree Andrew Langtree -Biography:Andrew Langtree is a stage and screen actor, born 1977, St Helens, Merseyside. In 1998, he graduated amongst the first alumni of Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts...	Bryce Pinkham
Willie Lopez	Ivan De Freitas
Subway Ghost	Adebayo Bolaji
Hospital Ghost	Mark Pearce Mark Pearce Mark Pearce is an English actor, born in Coventry in 1976.At the age of 12 Mark made his professional stage debut in ‘Cinderella’ at Belgrade TheatreCoventry, directed by Iain Lauchlan.He went onto to study English and Drama at University College of St...
Clara	Lisa Davina Phillip Lisa Davina Phillip Lisa Davina Phillip is a British actress and singer.Phillip began acting in her early teens, when she appeared in various productions for local theatre group Second Wave Centre For Youth Arts...
Louise	Jenny Fitzpatrick