"Ghost the Musical," at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater Generally speaking, I don't believe in ghosts. But I'm convinced that the spirits of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne have taken up temporary residence in the wings of the Broadway theater that bears their names, where the new musical adapted from the popular movie "Ghost" opened on Monday night. Toward the close of Thursday night's performance of this thrill-free singing theme-park ride, the sound of grinding metal echoed through the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. The complicated machinery of the moving sets stopped moving, and the curtain was brought down for almost a half-hour while a technical glitch was solved. Surely the ghosts of the foremost acting couple of the Broadway theater in the 20th century had been roused from their posthumous slumbers to make a little mischief, aghast at the dreary digital spectacle taking place on the boards they once nobly trod. "Ghost," with a book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin, who (unbelievably) won an Oscar for the movie's screenplay; and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart (of the fab 1980s synth-pop duo the Eurythmics - say it ain't so!) and Glen Ballard, may not be the very worst musical ever made from a movie. I might give that palm to either "Dirty Dancing" or "Fame," neither of which has yet made it to Broadway. Thank the theater gods for small blessings. But it is just as flavorless and lacking in dramatic vitality as many that have come before. Directed by the gifted Matthew Warchus, presumably in search of the big money that only big musicals can provide, the show relies mostly on elaborate video imagery, modestly ingenious special effects and the familiarity of its ectoplasmic romance to entertain. There is also, of course, the comic relief provided by the brash, sassy Da'Vine Joy Randolph in the role of the brash, sassy psychic played in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg, who also (unbelievably) won an Oscar for her performance. Recreating the roles they originated in the London production that opened last year, Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy play the gilded young couple portrayed by Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the 1990 movie. Molly is a sculptor who wants to hear those three little words; Sam is a banker who has trouble spitting them out. A brutal twist of fate separates them when Sam is killed, apparently in a mugging. But while Sam has shuffled off this mortal coil, he has not departed the earth entirely. His spirit remains in limbo, able to move about the world but saddled with the usual ghostly handicap of invisibility. He is also inaudible to all but the psychic Oda Mae Brown (Ms. Randolph), whom he enlists to act as his proxy in a battle to protect his love from the nefarious plottings of his erstwhile best friend, Carl (Bryce Pinkham), and the thug (Michael Balderrama) he's in cahoots with. Well, you probably know the story, anyway. It is embroidered in the musical by a series of innocuous, forgettable pop songs, mostly love ballads in which Sam and Molly exchange endearments while they are both alive, and yearn for each other when death splits them apart. The lyrics are rudimentary: "How can it be/It must be true/This thing I feel/I know it's you," Molly sings when she is convinced that Sam's spirit is still hovering around. The melodies are pleasant but just as bland. The musical highlights, at least in terms of audience-rousing energy, belong to Ms. Randolph's Oda Mae, who is given the boilerplate Generic Gospel Number in Act I, as she and two assistants raise the roof to scam a potential client. She also gets a splashy disco anthem in Act II, when she finds herself briefly in possession of a $10 million check and cavorts atop a stack of Louis Vuitton-ish luggage, as cartoon images of luxury living dance across the video wallpaper of the set. That video wallpaper plays a major role in the production, with Sam and Molly's love scene blown up to Times Square billboard scale, and images of busy New Yorkers caroming around the streets amplifying the formless gyrations of Ashley Wallen's choreography. Nifty special effects by Paul Kieve are used to show how Sam learns (from a rapping ghost he meets in the subway, in the show's one truly risible number) to break through the life-death barrier and make objects move. These high-tech flourishes lend the show the feel of one of those sensory-bath, movie-inspired rides at the Universal Studios and Disney theme parks. But the thrill is fairly minimal, since the seats in the Lunt-Fontanne can't make like a roller coaster and jolt us around, addling our brains to the point of forgetting the plodding apparatus of the story. As the cranky Oda Mae, half-disgusted to discover that she actually possesses the psychic powers she has been faking, Ms. Randolph provides some real pleasure with her tart delivery of a few laugh lines lifted straight from the movie. Ms. Levy has a strong, appealing pop voice, as does Mr. Fleeshman, who also looks quite fetching in the blue spotlight that follows him around to signal his otherworldliness. But you quickly grow weary of Sam's obtuseness about the rules of the post-mortem game. Long after a friendly fellow ghost (Lance Roberts) has laid down the law about the separation between the living and the dead, Sam can't seem to get it into his head that people can't hear him. He keeps angrily chasing around the stage, shouting things like, "Molly, get out!" and "Molly, don't listen to him!" Clearly death does not do much to improve I.Q. We can only hope there are no SATs in heaven. Ghost the Musical Book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin, based on the Paramount Pictures film written by Mr. Rubin; music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard; directed by Matthew Warchus; designed by Rob Howell; choreography by Ashley Wallen; lighting by Hugh Vanstone; illusions by Paul Kieve; sound by Bobby Aitken; musical supervisor, arranger and orchestrator, Christopher Nightingale; projections and video by Jon Driscoll; general management, Bespoke Theatricals; production management, Aurora Productions; musical director, David Holcenberg; associate director, Thomas Caruso; additional movement sequences by Liam Steel. Presented by Colin Ingram, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Donovan Mannato, MJE Productions, Patricia Lambrecht and Adam Silberman, in association with Coppel/Watt/Withers/Bewick, Fin Gray/Michael Melnick, Mayerson/Gould Hauser/Tysoe, Richard Chaifetz and Jill Chaifetz, Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Land Line Productions, Gilbert Productions/Marion/Shahar and Fresh Glory Productions/Bruce Carnegie-Brown, by special arrangement with Paramount Pictures. At the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, Manhattan; (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes. WITH: Richard Fleeshman (Sam Wheat), Caissie Levy (Molly Jensen), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Oda Mae Brown), Bryce Pinkham (Carl Bruner), Michael Balderrama (Willie Lopez) and Lance Roberts (Hospital Ghost).