BWW Reviews: BEETLE-JUICED Triumphs at the Great American Playhouse

In this day of digital everything and all images being preserved on film, when we see something extraordinary, our minds often leap to the idea of "sharing" the experience via Facebook, Twitter or even that old-fashioned medium, email. During last night's performance of Beetle-Juiced at The Great American Playhouse, I found my mind doing just that. There are so many moments I wanted to share via Youtube video.

Sean MacArthur has done it again. Pulling some of our favorite characters from pop-culture, giving them new context and the silliest imaginable dialogue, MacArthur created and directs the terrific show playing through November 15th at the GAP. MacArthur is appealingly repulsive as the title character. You can practically smell him, he looks hideiously filthy and rank in Lynne Petty and Amy Gurr's ideal costume. His makeup is excellent - his hands look as if covered in mange.

Jennifer Ackerley Lawrence and Brian Paradis played Roger and Susan Baldwin (lots of celebrity references that we'll recognize from the film) as a young, melodramatic ghostly twosome navigating the unfamiliar netherworld. They're charming.

Amy Dehaven plays a kind of Maleficent/Cruella Deville hybrid that is superb. As always, DeHaven commits to every millisecond, making her difficult not to watch, even when she is on the periphery of a scene. Her graceful caricature in Beetle-Juiced is downright Hirschfeldian. In the Fractured Fairy Tale Olio, she moves through a captivating array of characters, topped off with a delightful Mary Poppins. True to form, her singing and movement are marvelous.

Jacinda Rose Swinehart lives up to her reputation as a world-class scene-stealer in a hilarious portrait of a kind of administrator of purgatorial enterprise. She is a loveable battle-axe, a Yonkers grandmother, her language peppered with Yiddish invectives. Her bright white wig slides around on her head, her wonderful face punctuated with jolly red horned rims, Swinehart has created a physicality that is unforgettably entertaining. Her astonishing voice, as ever, threatens to bring down the rafters.

Nick Sievert play Otto, an interior designer in a banana colored leisure suit and a variety of ridiculous wigs. He postures and mugs and you simply can't help loving him, even though he's the bad-guy sidekick of DeHaven's evil Diva. Sievert is a consummate performer, always committing above and beyond the call of duty. In the Olio, his fairy godmother is priceless.

As Charles, the patriarch of the Fairmont family (the homeowners haunted by the dear young Baldwin's), Michael Claridge is splendid. He plays the ambitious, dull-witted character with excellent timing, and his physical presence is just right. As usual, I found myself wishing I could see him in something akin to Long Day's Journey Into Night, or An Enemy of the People. He is an outstanding actor.

In two roles - both the living, eccentric daughter of Beetlejuice and her mother, his now purgatorial bride, Amanda Valenzuela is glorious. She carries with aplomb the maturity of the elder and the juvenility of the younger. Valenzuela, a senior in high school, is eye candy. Statuesque, strikingly beautiful and inordinately talented, she is mesmerizing.

As Timothy Fairmont, the son and heir to the home and fortune, Randy McDonald is his usual superlative self. The nineteen-year-old triple threat lights up the stage with his portrayal of the Taekwondo addicted nerdy teenager. In the Olio, his Hip-Hop Big Bad Wolf will knock your socks off. Seriously. Pin your socks to your shoes, folks. He's amazing.

The costumes are terrific, as they always are at the GAP. Brian McGinn's scenic design is elegant and spare, leaving the space clear for the many dance numbers and chaotic group scenes. Michael Claridge's projections give the stage depth and illumination, making the performance more magical.

Nancy LaViola's choreography is whimsical and silly and all the performers do a fine job of implementing it. One of the most engaging points of the GAP's shows is that at any time, any of the actors in any of their characters may become backup singers. It is great fun to see intergenerational actors in all manner of zany costume stepping into unison background movement, a la the Pips. In this case, the ensemble breaks into a spectacular tap number during the evening's crescendo.

Mike R. Padilla is the magnificent musical director, arranger, pianist and master of ceremonies. He has a great voice too and does a tear-inducing rendition of When You Wish Upon a Star. During the pre-show and intermission, Padilla plays songs from the Gay Nineties (songs that we all know, even though they're 120 years old! What is that about?!!) and encourages the audience to sing along, which we do, with enthusiasm.

There is no flash photography allowed, or video taping and no streaming on the website. So you have to go to the show in person, and you'll want to get those tickets asap, because as autumn falls on southern Arizona and the spookiest season of the year sets in, Beetle-Juiced will surely sell out. If I were you, I'd reserve my seats now.

Tickets and information: 520.512.5145 greatamericanplayhouse.com.

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