PERRY — I go out of my way to seek new to me theatre, so when Heritage Theatre announced they would be producing Ghost the Musical, based on the 1990 movie of the same name, I knew I had to be in attendance. With music and lyrics by David Stewart and Glen Ballard, and a book and additional lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin, the production directed at Heritage by Bree and W. Derek Hendricks, follows the story of Sam (Luke Merkley) and Molly (Hannah Atkinson) a couple deeply in love who are struck by tragedy at Sam’s untimely death.
For a full theatre experience, I love to read the director’s note of a playbill. When the director chooses to include a note, it can give insight into reasons for choices in the show, and why the story is told in a certain way. Because the theatre world in Northern Utah is small, it is often impossible for me to come to a production and not know someone in the cast and crew. In 2019-2020 I was in a production of Nunsense with Bree Hendricks, and shortly thereafter Derek Hendricks got very ill and almost lost his life, an incident referenced in the director’s note from the playbill. Having tears before the show even started was a surprise on this night, yet it guided the evening of entertainment in beautiful ways.
Ghost the Musical is not often done, likely for many reasons. It is not my new favorite show. However, to quote from one of my favorite therapeutic methods, it is the process, not perfection, that made this show worth viewing. This process of creating theatre, here seen with the Hendrick’s directorial choices, is one of the best parts of community theatre. I did not leave with new favorite songs or stories, but I did leave with a renewed sense of love and purpose, and a joy for healing from trauma that comes through the performing arts. The Heritage stage is very small, yet the set design by D. Hendricks was both intriguing and gave the stage a lot of surprising depth. The addition of an LED screen with NYC scene backgrounds and one great scene in the hospital added a lot to the ambiance of the show. The music direction by Emily Kawa was very strong, and while the music itself did not feel as memorable as other shows, I felt the vocals were strong and on point.
As for the players, there were some real standouts. Hannah Atkinson as Molly was a shining star. I was really impressed with her ability to show the depth of character in going through the challenges of grief from losing a loved one, and the confusion and desperation that follows. When Molly gets upset about her belief that Sam may actually have come back, the reality behind Atkinson’s acting shows not only her strong acting capability, but also the connection from the Hendrick’s direction and the overarching theme that they brought from their personal experience as a couple. Had I seen this show with another company where I did not have a connection with the director’s story, and the note from them in the playbill, I may not have connected on such a visceral level.
The character of Oda Mae Brown, played by Jazmine Peterson, was delightful and quirky in a way that is necessary for such a character. What I most enjoyed about this character, in addition to Peterson’s obvious strong vocals, was Peterson’s impressive skills when Oda Mae allowed the ghost characters to possess her. This is something I had not honestly thought of as a skill in the acting world until this night, and yet Peterson’s ability to embody new mannerisms and persona in a split second, and then quickly snap out of it and react with such discomfort about what happened was very well done. Luke Merkley as Sam was strong in his frustration and anger at the loss of his life and betrayal of his situation, but I would have liked to see a bit more of a softer side. Sam Bakker as the villain of the story, Carl, does a good job of keeping the audience on its toes, and the rest of the characters and ensemble also build the story well.
There were some opening night technical difficulties, some missed lines and missed notes that are expected in a community theatre and a show that is new and rather unknown. Yet I go back to the idea of process not perfection. The process of creating a story that helps the directors heal from a difficult trauma which happened during a time when many people went through trauma, and then the audience can also see and view and heal that same trauma. Many of us have lost people in the last few years, and many have lost people before we were ready. Using the art of community theatre to make that connection, while imperfect, made the process haunting and beautiful.
