It's showtime, folks! The ghost-with-the-most makes his Broadway return in this edgy and irreverent musical comedy based on Tim Burton's dearly beloved film. BEETLEJUICE tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a demon with a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter unleashes a (Nether)world of pandemonium, and the biggest sandworm Broadway has ever seen.
Thirty-five years after its film debut, the classic Tim Burton Halloween comedy Beetlejuice has been reimagined, first set loose like a demon as a 2019 Broadway musical (score by Eddie Perfect, book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, and directed by Alex Timbers), and now playing at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. My inner goth jumped at the chance to see how it would hold up to audiences today. Not surprisingly, the cult favorite brought out the cosplay fans. Children, drag queens, and would-be demons arrived in their signature black-and-white garb with matching green hair. One child seated next to us proudly displayed her Handbook for the Recently Deceased bag. Yet the play isn’t entirely child-friendly, so think twice before bringing anyone under tween age.
The script deviates a bit from the film in which Beetlejuice is, essentially, a supporting character—one who steals the show, but a supporting character all the same. In the stage production, he’s introduced in the first few minutes and is Lydia’s co-lead. It’s also been contemporized (Delia was a sculptor in the movie and is now a life coach, for example), and Lydia’s relationship with her father is made more complex, giving both them and the show more heart. The score by Eddie Perfect with a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King (music supervision and orchestrations by Kris Kukul) is rousing and complements the inspired mayhem with catchy, instantly classic songs like “Creepy Old Guy,” “That Beautiful Sound,” and “Barbara 2.0.”
2018 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Pre-Broadway Engagement at National Theatre Washington, DC (Regional) |
2019 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Return Broadway |
2022 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Touring Production | Beetlejuice |
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