What happens when you’re in love with a ghost?
Katie Postotnik stars as Molly Jensen in the national tour of “Ghost the Musical,” about the relationship of Molly and Sam Wheat, played by Steven Grant Douglas, who tries to communicate with her after his tragic death.
The show, based on the 90s film starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, is coming to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts April 29 through May 11.
“The emotional journey [Molly] goes on is a rollercoaster throughout the show, and it’s a challenge and a great role to perform every day,” said Postotnik.
Postotnik grew up in Greenville, Wis. and after acting at 10-years-old in an ensemble cast with her brother, she fell in love with performing. She studied musical theatre at Oklahoma City University and moved to New York City after graduating.
She starred in the national tour of “Rock of Ages” before attending an open casting call for “Ghost.” She got a call back, but had already planned a trip with friends, so, instead of going, she decided to make a video.
“I was like, I’m just going to make a video really quick,” said Postotnik. “I know the material. I really want to play this part, so I made a video really quickly with some of my friends, sent it in, and didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks.”
She submitted the video before even learning a few weeks later that the casting directors were indeed accepting video submissions. After that, she landed an appointment, and booked the role. The cast rehearsed for a month in New York City before heading out on tour in September.
In the musical, her character Jensen, a twenty-something artist, has to deal with losing the love of her life.
“She’s fallen in love with this banker and they’re starting their life together, and she thinks she wants to spend the rest of her life with him,” said Postotnik. “Then he is mugged on the street with her and Sam dies, and through the show it’s like her struggle dealing with that.”
Postotnik said director Matthew Warchus told her and Douglas, her onstage love interest, to hang out and become real-life friends to form that emotional connection.
“Steven and I, throughout the show, have developed a great friendship and a great comfort ability level with each other,” said Postotnik.
She hopes viewers remember that this adaption of the movie won’t be exactly like the film.
“I think what you have to remember as an actress, and what I tell myself, is that it’s not the movie, it’s a version of it,” said Postotnik. “So it’s my interpretation of the role Molly, not like Demi Moore. The same emotional journey is there; it’s just my version of it.”
Though Postotnik is a brunette, she sports a blonde wig in the show, and said Moore’s short haircut wouldn’t holdup today.
“When they were creating the show, I think one thing they looked at was that the set of the show is really dark, like a lot of black, and a blonde wig pops out. She is the only blonde in the entire show, so you can always find her in a crowd.”
Postotnik said the show is full of special effects to captivate Sam’s presence as a ghost. There are five projectors and two video screen walls that move up and down with doors that open, and are see-through.
“The lights are placed just a little bit apart so we can have video playing on the front of them and then there can be action behind them, which is really neat for scenes like the subway scene where you can have the subway far in front and then people behind in the subway.”
She said Molly is relatable to anyone.
“If you lost someone you love, you can sympathize with her and definitely feel for what she’s going through throughout the show, and I think I really connect with her on that.”
She said it’s difficult to put herself in the emotional mindset that her character experiences, especially since her grandmother passed away a few weeks ago.
“I think it’s really difficult, but the show must go on and I think you have to find a place where I can do the show and leave the show, like leave it all onstage.”
One of her favorite scenes in the show is the opening scene of act two.
“There’s umbrellas that come from the ceiling and it’s raining and its epic, and I get to belt really loudly,” she said. “And I really like the very end of the show because it’s really intimate.”
She thinks the show will be great for people who enjoyed the film, and people who have never seen it before.
“It’s a really touching love story and it also has comedy and suspense,” said Postotnik. “The technical aspect of the show is so advanced and I think it’s something everyone should see just to see what direction Broadway is going in with this new technology is really neat.”
