BWW Blog: Annalise Prentiss - GHOST THE MUSICAL

I recently had the pleasure of seeing my friend Gabrielle Dixon perform on the Fulton Stage in Ghost the Musical. Gabby and I have been in Hairspray before where she played Motormouth Maybelle, and I played Lil' Inez. It's always a joy and so much fun to support your friends in a show. In Ghost the Musical, the part of Oda Mae Brown (played in the movie by the famous comedian, Whoopi Goldberg) is portrayed brilliantly by E. Faye Butler. A few days ago, Ms. Butler's understudy, Janelle McDermoth who normally plays Clara, went on as Oda Mae which meant that my friend Gabby had the chance to play Clara, Oda Mae's sister.

After its movie success, Ghost went on to become Ghost the Musical. The musical premiered in March of 2011 at the Manchester Opera House in Manchester. From what I understand, the production featured an extremely large ensemble and orchestra. This certainly was not a show that local, or even regional theatres, could produce due to the high cost. Fortunately, the creators, with assistance from Marc Robin and his Fulton production team, decided to recreate the musical using a smaller cast and chamber ensemble. Creators were able to pare down the musical to only feature the main characters of the story, but still be able to produce the same love story we all know and love.

The cast features Liz Shivener as Molly Jenson and Gregg Goodbrod as Sam Wheat. Mike Backes performs the role of Carl Bruner and other "bad guy", Willie Lopez, is played by Caesar F. Barajas. Of course, then, there is the small ensemble and other supporting characters who take the show to the next level. You can catch Ghost the Musical at The Fulton Theatre through May 14. Tickets are available at http://www.thefulton.org/. Ghost the Musical is a very intense, yet exhilarating performance that just makes you want to applaud forever. Trust me, I have already seen it twice, and I plan to go again. Oh, and I'll make sure I pay in "tens and twenties!"