BWW Blog: Meet Liz Shivener of GHOST at Fulton Theatre

Hello Broadway world!

I'm Liz Shivener and I have the extreme good fortune of playing Molly Jensen in the new GHOST at the Fulton Theatre. The Fulton was approached by Theatrical Rights Worldwide to turn the MASSIVE Broadway/Tour production into a new, intimate chamber incarnation that will tour the UK.

If you saw the show in New York or on tour you will remember the huge spectacle that it was. My, oh, my, was it gorgeous. A man walked through a door for goodness sake! It was amazing! The problem with big budget amazingness is that it isn't accessible. Regional Theatres around this country and the world need to tell this beautiful story, but with a cast of more than twenty, an orchestra of more than 15 and ghosts flying around on the subway, they simply weren't able to do it. That's where we come in.

Under the direction of Marc Robin, a chamber cast of ten and an orchestra of six, assembled to present a trial workshop to Bruce Joel Rubin, Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart, the original writing team. (BTW, google these men. They are a huge deal). With their permission, our new production was born.

Let's be clear, we aren't reinventing the wheel; the wheel wasn't broken. Marc Robin's intent was to get back to the story Bruce created. If you recall the movie, it's really just about four people. The production that you can see here is just that; a play about the lives of four people, that just happens to have really badass music that comes and goes.

We opened Thursday, April 21st to a wonderfully responsive crowd, red carpets, rock legends and screenwriters. Jerry Zucker, the director of GHOST the film, was in attendance, as were the original New York producers. No pressure for an actress trying to create a name for herself, right? Wrong. I was lucky I didn't vomit. Beyond wanting a future for myself in this production, I want a future for this show on it's own. It's an amazing story about transcendental love, life after death and spirituality. The characters in this play are real people that just happen to be in larger than life circumstances. It is a beast to be a part of, and I couldn't be happier. More to come...