I watched a fair amount of musical films growing up. My grandmother was a big fan of them and because of that I was exposed to them fairly often. In fact I think I could still sing along to most of the songs from The Sound of Music.

When I was invited to Broadway in Cincinnati’s season opener of Ghost The Musical last Tuesday, I decided to give it a try despite never seeing the Oscar-winning movie that it is based on. I did read the story from the musical’s website, so I had a very general understanding of the plot, but I was still surprised when the major events all took place.

The musical features an original pop score from multiple Grammy Award-winners Dave Stewart, one half of the 80s pop duo the Eurythmics, and Glen Ballard, co-writer with Alanis Morissette on the multi-platinum album Jagged Little Pill, among many other notable credits and collaborations. Adapted from the hit film by its Academy Award-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin, Ghost the Musical follows Sam and Molly, a young couple whose connection takes a shocking turn after Sam’s untimely death. Trapped between two worlds, Sam refuses to leave Molly when he learns she is in grave danger. Desperate to communicate with her, he turns to a storefront psychic who helps him protect Molly and avenge his death.

Ghost The Musical

Aside from the great singing performances and creative acting from the cast, I was most impressed by the visual effects on the stage. Rather than relying solely on a physical backdrop, many of the scenes were created on giant LED screens that allowed the ghostly characters to fly through doors and appear to board and even ride on moving subway cars. I was very impressed with Ghost The Musical and would recommend it even if you have never seen the movie. Performances run through October 6th at the Aronoff.