Not only does the musical feature The Righteous Brothers’ iconic song “Unchained Melody,” but it also boasts a large 23-member cast. PC: AHSPA Facebook Page
Audiences rush to Theater 70 to watch this supernatural romantic drama
Neha Muppidi
Staff Writer
Directed by Drama teacher Troy River, American High School Performing Arts’s spring musical, “Ghost the Musical,” hit the stage on Thursday, March 30, 2017. It opened with record numbers and positive reviews.
Adapted from the hit film Ghost, the musical follows young couple Sam Wheat (senior Marcus Bautista) and Molly Jensen (senior Natalie Dunn) who meet with an accident which leads to Sam’s sudden death. Trapped between the real world and the supernatural world, Sam learns that Molly is in danger and refuses to leave her side. With the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown (senior Gabriella Bontempo), Sam tries to protect Molly and avenge his death.
“This story is different [from past productions] because it has a very different tone,” Stage Manager Lynda Horvath (11) said. “It is romantic and heart-wrenching, [but also] hilarious throughout.”
This musical brought many fresh faces to the stage. To many cast members, the opportunity to form close bonds with each other was one of the most rewarding and memorable parts of the production.
“I loved working with a big cast [because] everyone was so accepting of each other,” Dunn said. “We all were from different classes and friend groups but we formed one big family, and we’ll remember these people forever because of this experience.”
Likewise, students from the audience’s side found the musical just as worthwhile to watch. Despite the plethora of cast members and unique energies throughout the show, certain characters definitely stood out.
“My favorite character was Oda Mae,” Aarav Gupta (10) said. “She cracked me up whenever she came on stage and I loved whenever she would interact with Sam.”
Moreover, the many musical numbers from the show became extremely popular among the audience, and certain songs resided with students even after the show.
“I was so excited when ‘Unchained Melody’ started because it’s one of my favorite songs,” Sania Singh (9) said. “I thought it was used beautifully in the musical and it was stuck in my head for days after I saw the show.”
Aside from students, even members of the general audience felt that the musical exceeded expectations and was worth watching.
“I am normally not interested in supernatural types of stories or musicals,” parent Prateek Shah said. “So I was surprised that the show was so enjoyable to me. The story was not over-the-top like I expected, and the songs were very well-integrated into the plot.”
Overall, “Ghost the Musical” received tremendous amounts of positive feedback. This supernatural love story tugged at the audience’s heartstrings while still managing to bring out smiles and laughter.
“Everyone who performed did amazing,” Ricky Chu (11) said. “The acting and singing was amazing, and I could definitely see that the cast and crew was really talented and worked super hard to make [this] production the success that it was.”
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