Beetlejuice The Musical

Caught this a couple of weeks ago when I was in New York and thought it was brilliant! I've pretty much been listening to the cast recording non-stop since I've got back - I can't get the songs out of my head and for what it's worth I think the score is very strong for this show. I saw three shows in total whilst in NY and this show has the score I always want to put on (saw Tootsie and The Prom, I'll put some comments in their respective threads).

Special mentions to Sophia Anne Caruso, Alex Brightman and Leslie Kritzer who really shine in this show. I can't believe the voice on Sophia, such an incredible talent and I was really surprised to find out she's only 17! I can see how Alex's gravelly voice might grate, but it works perfectly for Beetlejuice, and how he's managed to train his voice to safely sound like that 8 times a week is amazing! Leslie Kritzer just steals the show when she's on and her key songs (No Reason and What I Know Now) land perfectly.

Fantastic costumes/sets/lighting as you would expect from a big Broadway show. So many parts of the show rely on very slick rehearsed movements/timings, there's a 360 degree video on YouTube for That Beautiful Sound that gives an indication on this - watching this live was like magic as they appeared.

I didn't book tickets in advance but planned on getting rush tickets as I had a couple of days with loose plans. Arrived about 15mins before the theatre box office opened and managed to get four tickets (we were a group of four) side seats on Row S in the Orchestra/Stalls for $43 each, these normally go for $139 plus fees - granted I wouldn't have been happy paying that price as you really start to feel far away back here. Broadway seems so much more expensive than when I last came (12 years ago), I know the exchange rate is poor but wow things are so expensive. A diet coke at the Winter Garden theatre was $10! Although you have no choice you get it in a reusable Beetlejuice cup whether you want it or not. There's a line about $50 wine in the show that got a lot of laughs!

It is the one show that I want to see again already and I'm glad to see ticket sales are increasing (gradually) - it's a really fun show that considering its about death actually has a strong message about making the most of life.

While not doing fantastically well, it seems that Beetlejuice is being a bit of a slow burner improving little by little, while the more hyped Tootsie (which has already announced a London production) seems to be going downhill. So who knows?

That said, I think Beetlejuice is a pretty expensive show (at least it looked expensive to me, unlike the cheap tacky Pretty Woman which is ALSO coming over) and I think that kind of "horror comedy thing" (see also: Addams Family, Young Frankenstein) seems to be a very American thing that never really translated well abroad.

They have survived the summer cull and may actually benefit from so many shows closing soon, because the tourists will now have to look for other things to see. If they can keep going through a strong-ish second half of the year, I guess chances will rise for it to come over. Dunno about the Gillian Lynne, I'd say that open platform staging could be used for better things as Beetlejuice is pretty much a classic proscenium show. Can see it go into one of the mid-sized musical houses, but then everyone wants these...

Just seen someone on twitter suggest that if Beetljuice ever made its way over to London, that Rufus Hound would be a good fit for the title role and I have to say I totally agree! I actually think he'd be perfect!

I felt much the same as Zephyrus, aside from the design of the show, which felt way over the top even for the broad subject matter. It felt like the entire kitchen sink of design tricks were there to distract from the abysmal book and tuneless, ear deafening score.

It's hard to fathom how material this poor actually made it to Broadway without a big rewrite. Perhaps it's enough these days just to have a film title to get bums on seats? The theatre was very full at the performance I saw.

The whole thing felt completely one note from start to finish and Alex Brightman's shouting and growling performance didn't help.

I saw Sophia Anne Caruso in Lazarus and thought she was absolutely wonderful. Not so much in Beetlejuice though, but I'm not sure how anyone else would have been able to make much more of such a thinly drawn role.

Obviously this is cartoon-like subject material, but if characters are impossible to care about, it's very difficult to maintain any interest in what's happening on the stage however much money has been thrown at it.

I've seen other cartoony shows like The Spongebob Musical and the current off-Broadway revival of 'Little Shop of Horrors' (with Jonathan Groff & Christian Borle)where I was fully absorbed and even moved by the productions, but Beetlejuice left me entirely cold.

I think this would suit the Gillian Lynne theatre really well should SoR close anytime soon.

They would have to change the staging like they did for school or rock because it’s a shallow stage

Looks like this is coming to London!

theatrefan.co.uk/beetlejuice-west-end-production-planned/?fbclid=IwAR0RKAo_nE26CNbRugO-8BzbrNRg5bdL6s5HnPKbX1re1qzdnvxE640Xpsc

This is neat

variety.com/2019/legit/news/beetlejuice-the-musical-broadway-1203407953/

It's been rumored for a while that Beetlejuice was going to be evicted from the Winter Garden. The show got  Stop Clause notice back in June when it appeared that the show will be a flop and Scott Rudin swooped in and booked the house for The Music Man.  It is too cost prohibitive and the set is built for the Winter Garden so barring a change the final performance will be June 6th.  


Beetlejuice Being Forced Out

I agree that it's very bad style, also invoking that stop clause so very early in the run. Beetlejuice is a lovely example of how a show can turn its fortune around when good word of mouth begins to spread and is aided by clever marketing. Surely it deserves better than this now.

However, June is still a long time away. Beetlejuice certainly benefitted from the fact that it was THE musical to see in October/November around Halloween and now it's a very busy period for Broadway in general. However, it still has to make it through the early spring doldrums. If it continues to go strong and keeps raking in money, there's still time to consider a move on Broadway. Real estate will be freeing up in May/June when struggling shows that receive no Tony nominations (or Tonys) shut shop.

I agree that the marketing for Beetlejuice has been pretty amazing - I wouldn't be all that interested in seeing it but I fell in love with the marketing that revolves around the leads singing Banana Boat song (they have incredible chemistry) and reworkings of The Whole Being Dead Thing, particularly the performance at the Tony Awards where they worked in a jab at Adam Driver.

We're going to see the Christmas Eve matinee, very much looking forward to it!