Ghost in Concert - Adelphi

Can someone send me the link please

Yes, this is certainly a major discount rather than seat filling.

Still one of the worst things I’ve ever seen ( well Back To The Future ) might just top it. I still have nightmares about that wig that poor woman had to wear during it’s original London run

With the prices they charged having one of the actors read lines from an iPad is just embarrassing

Saw this tonight and enjoyed it immensely.

Thankfully, and you can't take it for granted with these things, the sound was great.

The romantic bits were my favourite (due to two fantastic leads acing it, I had a lot of tears in my eyes), then the projections, which were astonishingly evocative, persistent and cinematic for a one-and-done concert, but the comedy bits were muted by the distraction of watching Moya Angela's Oda Mae constantly referring to the book on an iPad (her "I'm Outta Here" went down gangbusters due to her finally putting the ipad in her purse lol).

Glen Ballard, seated mid stalls near the Seadon-Young family (someone told Mama Seadon-Young she must be mega-talented for having such talented sons, but she categorically denied it lol), took to the stage at the end to admit he was crying through the whole thing, and I got emotional all over again.

Some spoilers follow.

The projections were omnipresent: soaring through a rendered New York Cityscape from the go towards the title display, "Ghost in Concert," then dollying backwards as historic photographic images of the show's history exploded outwards from the credits, including a prominent one of Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in an embrace, the projections included not only cityscapes, but also silhouettes of dancers, James Bond credit-style, which the stage dancers danced in sync with, as well as the ticker-tape numbers projections similar to the original production, as well as some pretty raunchy sexy images featuring arms stroking naked torsos and a bare bum, prompting gasps lol.

Anyhow, those projections suggested that tonight was a massive labour of love, as they went far beyond what you expect from a one-and-done concert gig!

This high bar was easily met and surpassed by the gorgeous romanticism of the two leads: with Lucie Jones giving us just the mix of winning vulnerability and determined feistiness that makes her such an affecting leading lady, complete with sensitive swelling heartbreaking belt; and Oliver Tompsett finally (was it 14 years ago he did the workshop?) getting to tease, tantalise and then tear into the ballads with his tender tenor, that tenderness especially touching as he said "I love you" to Molly the final time.

Moya Angela seemed like she was going to be terrific when she stormed through "Are you a Believer," receiving the comedy and soul baton from her amazing hype women (especially the rousingly raucous Lisa Davina Phillip reprising her role from the original production). But hereafter, her comedy bits constantly fell short due to her reading the book from her iPad, her finger constantly visibly distractingly scrolling for the next line, dividing the audience's attention between jokes and page-turning. She got her mojo back only when she ditched the iPad into her purse.

With the comedy character's comedy tamped down due to divided attention, it fell to Oliver Tompsett's Sam to deliver the biggest laugh of the evening, which came just before he performed "Unchained Melody" for the first time - Lucie Jones's Molly had said "I love you" and he had pissed her off by responding "ditto," so he goes for his guitar to cheer her up with a song, whereupon she reacts defensively, saying "don't even try, it's not gonna work," whereupon he agrees "no it's not working because this is the CONCERT VERSION" and he grabs the mike stand (which is certainly NOT going to work as a guitar) and everyone laughs and Tompsett abandons the fourth wall to slide into a gorgeous flirtatious romantic "Unchained Melody."

David Seadon-Young did his Mama proud, an exceptional villain, more likeable than other iterations of this character I've seen, but all the more hatefully creepy for putting on a likeable front, and singing up a storm, especially in the triumphant trio songs, when sharing the stage with the two protagonists.

All in all, the dancing ensemble, the superb projections, the central trio and two songs by Oda Mae were exceptional, but that endless distracting iPad scrolling drags my rating down to 4 stars.

I’ve not fact-checked the names but I thought the actress playing Oda-Mae was the original Broadway cast member of the same role?

Regardless - unacceptable.

I didn’t really have any idea what to expect going in. I’ve never seen the film, nor seen any of the previous stage productions but, for the most part, I found it an enjoyable watch.

Obviously Dave Stewart is involved in this as a creator and it did put in mind of his other musical theatre work, The Time Traveller’s Wife, in tone. Together with Glen Ballard (someone I greatly appreciate given his stellar work with No Doubt), Stewart has written a handful of pretty solid numbers. Nothing I’m likely to listen to in the coming days but enjoyable in the moment for sure.

I enjoyed the projections. It did feel like they went the extra mile to make this a special night for fans of the show. However, it did often feel like the silhouetted figures on the screen were giving more enthusiastic choreography than the ensemble on stage.

As I say, I’m not familiar with the story. Like TTTW, it is a compelling love story that gets a bit silly and kitsch in places. I’d probably watch the film out of intrigue now though.

My main motivation for attending this concert was Lucie Jones in the leading role as Molly. Fresh from The Baker’s Wife in the confined space of the Menier, her voice filled the Adelphi and earned her a rapturous reception. Oliver Tompsett gave an excellent performance as the ghostly Sam.

Moya Angela was charismatic and lots of fun as Oda Mae - being on book, notwithstanding - and I thought David Seadon-Young was a standout as Carl. Overall, the company did the material proud.

It’s not a show I’d see over and over but it was an enjoyable evening. It was nice to see Ballard give a short speech during the bows at the end too.

Three stars.

I was also there last night, having picked up a very discounted ticket on Monday (no matter how much I love the show and Lucie and Oli, what were they thinking with those prices!?). I loved the original London production and saw it quite a few times, I also saw the first UK tour once but can't remember much of the changes they made for that so my comparisons were based on the original production mainly.

This was the first 'in Concert' I've been to (apart from the multiple versions of the Les Mis one), so went in with relatively low expectations production value wise.

The video content was all from the Original production, and it really helped make it feel like more than just a concert performance of the show. The whole thing was semi-staged with choreography, costumes etc. They made full use of the awesome BTTF lighting rig and PA system. There was the odd sound level issue but really nothing to complain about in my opinion, one or two dropped lines but I've heard way worse in long running shows and also going by reviews of other 'in concert' shows on here, the lighting and sound can often be all over the place, this was really slick in my opinion.

Lucy and Oliver were so great, I could both happily listen to them sing the phonebook and they both acted this wonderfully. Moya Angela despite using a prompt tablet throughout her spoken parts, was a delight and made it work. It was lovely to see Jenny Fitzpatrick and Lisa Davina Phillip reprising their roles from the original London cast. David Seadon-Young was also impressive.

The audience were a bit strange at times, some whooping during some big notes which is my absolute worst but they didn't effect my enjoyment of the evening.


Overall, a very enjoyable evening.

Given that almost everybody on here who WAS there has mentioned it, I don't think that's necessarily true.

Yep, it weirdly just worked for the character, it didn't bother me. All of her scenes/numbers went down a storm.

This was where my thoughts were laying too. 

Having been there last night (very positive review written above) I'm sort of on the fence about Oda-Mae being on book. Yes, in some ways it does seem rather amateur and disappointing for a West End concert with very high ticket prices (I'd love to know how many people paid full price, I certainly didn't) but for me, because she performed with so much character, and also sang really well, all in all it didn't really bother me. Perhaps if Lucie and Oliver hadn't been as outstanding as they were, and if the staging/lighting hadn't been as professional and slick, it may have bothered me more. I've been to a few of these concerts which were extremely disappointing due to seeming under-rehearsed and with numerous sound issues. This was better than most of them.