Sharon D Clarke on Playing Scene-Stealing Psychic Oda Mae in London's Ghost

Sharon D Clarke has some of the best pipes in the business, as London audiences who have seen her in We Will Rock You, Hairspray, Once on This Island and Guys and Dolls can attest. The 46-year-old Londoner is currently bringing sass, bite and a capacious belt to the musical adaptation of Ghost, in which she has inherited the role of psychic Oda Mae Brown from Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg. The lively Clarke chatted with Broadway.com during previews of Matthew Warchus’ production, which opened on July 19 at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Was accepting the role of Oda Mae in Ghost a no-brainer?
Absolutely! I thought the writing was so fantastic; I was laughing so much at what they had done with Oda Mae. And then there I was at the workshop, working with [rock star composer] Dave Stewart and Bruce Joel Rubin, who wrote the movie and is such a darling, darling man. I just feel so pleased and honored to be a part of this.

Did you see [Ghost movie star] Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act when she was in London?
I really wanted to, but I think I was still in Hairspray. There have been rumors that she and Demi [Moore] might be coming over, and it would be great for us to see how they feel about it. On the other hand, this is a musical and a different genre; for us, it’s a completely different entity, one we’re all comfortable in. We’re very much not the film. What’s been nice, too, is that Matthew [Warchus, the director] left us to get our own characters together; he didn’t impose the characters on us. That’s been great for me, because everything just leaps off the page; it’s all there for you.

Is your Oda Mae patterned visually after Whoopi’s on film?
No, mine looks very different: Let’s just say that her sense of style leaves a little something to be desired [laughs]. On the other hand, she’s such an iconic character that you can’t start changing it just for the sake of doing so. One difference is that our show is set today—right now—so the characters have to make sense for today. I think of Oda Mae as a little bit askew: real, but askew.

What’s your take on the character in general?
As I see it, Sam [the title ghost, created on film by Patrick Swayze and now played by Richard Fleeshman] happens upon Oda Mae and releases this psychic gift that she has been mucking around with, and then she’s changed by the experience and by his love for Molly [Caissie Levy in the Demi Moore role]. How could you not be? Up to that point, Oda Mae has had this gift from her mother that she has used in a fraudulent way, and suddenly her entire outlook is transformed.

It sounds like the kind of show that could draw repeat business.
Funny you say that. We had a woman who came in yesterday and booked a ticket and then came back and booked 14 tickets after seeing the performance. When something like that happens, you think, we’re going to be all right! [Laughs.]

You’ve had experience with crowd pleasers, as an original cast member of the Queen musical We Will Rock You [now in its 10th year].
What’s amazing is that two weeks into that show’s run, we heard a rumor that we were getting our notice, and it seemed so awful that we might have to close. Then they put us up as part of the party for the Queen’s Jubilee [in 2002, marking 50 years of Elizabeth II’s reign] to see whether the show could speak for itself. There were Tony Vincent and Hannah Waddingham and Kerry Ellis singing the crap out of that music and making it our own. That was the turnaround, once people realized that We Will Rock You is a good, rollicking show and that it can play to people who aren’t particularly into theater.

You’ve done so much American musical theater in London. Have you ever lived or worked in the States?
No, though I did go over to see Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty when I was doing Once on This Island in 2009. I hadn’t been to the States since the late ’80s/early ’90s, and it was interesting to see how much New York had changed since 9/11. It felt much more community-led—I saw gay people, mixed-race couples, the lot—whereas before the city had felt to me much more pushy and very cliquey. When I went back, it felt as if that atrocity had brought people together.

Tell us how you tend to that remarkable voice of yours.
Thank you, though I did get nodules once in 1992, which really freaked me out, but I’d also been through a bad break-up at the time and my father had passed away. As long as I get sleep and I’ve got water, my voice tends to be all right. I tend not to get all precious about it.

None of this “not talking to anyone until show time” kind of thing?
If you hold tension or worry in your body, that affects your voice. I do what I do, and my voice knows it has to go with me!