Ghost The Musical begins W/E run at the Piccadilly Theatre in June 2011
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
IT HAS now been confirmed that Ghost The Musical will begin its West End run at the Piccadilly Theatre on June 22, 2011.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, September 23, 2010, with booking open for performances until January 28, 2012.
It was only yesterday (September 16) that the musical Grease posted closing notices at the Piccadilly Theatre.
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Previously Posted: Ghost The Musical will premiere at the Opera House, Manchester (March 28 to May 14, 2011) prior to a West End run, which has now been confirmed for summer 2011.
Adapted for stage by Academy Award-winning Bruce Joel Rubin, who wrote the screenplay for the original 1990 film, the new musical version of Ghost will be directed by Matthew Warchus and have music and lyrics by Grammy award-winning Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard.
It will also have set and costumes designs by Rob Howell, musical supervision and arrangements by Christopher Nightingale, illusions by Paul Kieve, lighting by Hugh Vanstone and sound by Simon Baker.
Ghost is a timeless fantasy about the power of love. Walking back to their apartment one night, Sam and Molly are mugged. Sam dies and is trapped as a ghost between this world and the next, unable to leave Molly who he learns is in grave danger. With the help of a phony storefront psychic, Oda Mae Brown, Sam tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving and protecting her.
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film of 1990, Ghost won numerous awards worldwide and is one of the highest grossing films in the UK. Directed by Jerry Zucker, it starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg, who won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film’s second Oscar – for Best Original Screenplay – went to Bruce Joel Rubin.
The film’s iconic love scene at a potter’s wheel was famously performed to The Righteous Brother’s Unchained Melody, which will also feature in the new musical version.
As well as Ghost, Bruce Joel Rubin‘s screenplays include Jacob’s Ladder, Deep Impact, Stuart Little 2, The Last Mimzy and, most recently, The Time Traveller’s Wife.
In 1999, Dave Stewart, along with his Eurythmics partner Annie Lennox, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brit Awards, having sold over 75 million albums with hits such as Here Comes The Rain Again, Who’s That Girl, Would I Lie To You, Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves (with Aretha Franklin) and Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
Stewart recently released Dave Stewart Songbook, Vol. 1, which includes hits with Tom Petty (Don’t Come Around Here No More), Mick Jagger (Old Habits Die Hard) which won a Golden Globe for Best Song in the film Alfie, and Celine Dion (Taking Chances).
One of Glen Ballard‘s biggest successes involved chart-topping, multi platinum album Jagged Little Pill, which he co-wrote and produced for Alanis Morissette. It sold 33 million copies worldwide, won four Grammys – including Album of the Year – and was named Best Album of the Decade (1990s) by Billboard magazine.
Ballard has most recently had success writing hit songs for film, including the Grammy Award-winning and Oscar nominated Believe for Polar Express, Ordinary Miracle for Charlotte’s Web, and A Hero Comes Home for Beowulf.
Matthew Warchus‘ many award-winning theatre credits include The Norman Conquests, Boeing-Boeing, God of Carnage, Art and Follies, all of which he directed in the West End and on Broadway. And as well as numerous productions for the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the Donmar Warehouse, his credits include the musicals Tell Me on a Sunday, Our House, The Lord of the Rings and the forthcoming Matilda. His production of La Bête is currently running at the Comedy Theatre prior to a Broadway transfer.
Illusionist Paul Kieve‘s many theatre credits include The Lord of the Rings and The Witches of Eastwick (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Our House (Cambridge Theatre), Theatre of Blood (National Theatre), Scrooge (London Palladium), The Invisible Man (Theatre Royal Stratford East and West End) and Improbable Theatre Company’s Cinderella (Lyric Hammersmith). On film his work includes Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
As well as extensive opera and dance credits, Kieve is a consultant to Derren Brown and David Copperfield and a member of the Magic Circle.
Casting and further details for the West End run of Ghost The Musical will be announced shortly.