It’s quite a ride, this stage version of Beetlejuice, a show ostensibly about death that hinges on life, the afterworld and the nexus in between. It’s a chaotic, loud, garishly technicoloured romp of a production that unapologetically leans into excess and silliness. You’d expect no less though, with Eddie Perfect at the helm – as well as writing and composing the songs (with the book by Scott Brown and Anthony King), he also plays the titular character, fully encapsulating this mercurial and opportunistic yet nonetheless rather charming ghoul.
Beetlejuice the Musical uses the 1988 film (which starred Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice) more as a springboard rather than being a faithful adaptation, and this iteration – which opened at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre on Saturday night (17 May) is the Australian premiere of a production that was first performed in the US in 2018 and has since been staged in countries including South Korea, Brazil and Japan. The originality and chutzpah of the Tim Burton-directed film made it a box office success, grossing over US $73 million worldwide, so in terms of brand recognition at least, a musical in its name was a canny commercial decision.
For those who need a quick recap of the storyline, which plays with horror tropes but fits more neatly into the fantasy-comedy genre, Beetlejuice the Musical’s convoluted narrative involves ghost couple Barbara (Elise McCann) and Adam Maitland (Rob Johnson) trying to reclaim their house from its living new owners Charles Deetz (Tom Wren), his soon-to-be-second wife Delia (Erin Clare), and Charles’s teenaged goth daughter Lydia (Karis Oka). The Maitlands enlist the help of ‘bio exorcist’ Betelgeuse – the moniker has somehow devolved into Beetlejuice over time – who hails from the netherworld and is invisible to humans unless he manages to get a living person to say his name three times.
The catch is Lydia, who’s the only one able to see this fright-wigged demon and who Beetlejuice tries to exploit for his own desires. Desperate to see her recently deceased mother again, Lydia literally goes to hell and back in a misguided adventure of reclamation.
There are all sorts of unexpected detours, sight gags and visual and aural flashiness. Remember the giant black and white double-headed sandworm, the shrunken heads and the ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ of the film? They’re all reprised here with glee.
Perfect is, well, perfect as Beetlejuice – he’s brash and cheeky, horny and beguiling – while Oka’s gothic Lydia is an equal foil for his wiles. Her small frame belies her big, powerhouse voice. The pair have more in common than they think: both are lonely, craving connection and acceptance, both are “strange and unusual”. As the vanilla-sweet Maitlands, Johnson and McCann are adorkable and Wren and Clare round out the main cast with arch humour.
The eye-candy, cartoonish set by Alex Timbers and team looks fabulous, including its various incarnations of the haunted house’s interior and roof setting and video illustrations projected on scrim screens, as well as the underworld’s neon-lit, oddball creature-littered swamp. Costume designer William Ivey Long channels Tim Burton’s kooky aesthetic and Kenneth Posner’s lighting design is appropriately bombastic in its indulgence of green and purple hues. Kudos too, to the random puppetry popping up every now and then as jump scares or simply as more quirky embellishments (singing roast pig, anyone?).
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Remember though, this is a musical, and Perfect is also responsible for the music and lyrics. While they are on the whole serviceable to the plot rather than particularly memorable the following day, the songs are eclectic and satirical: just one component of this extravagant production.
Well-aimed swipes at the psychobabble movement that tries to submerge feelings of grief and loss under a veneer of toxic positivity are a particularly pointed common refrain. Yes, beneath the frenetic set changes and choreography, there is a message of sorts about embracing life in all its messiness, but on the whole, Beetlejuice aims for laughs rather than pathos. More a confectionary than a pill or a sermon, this musical theatre production is unadulterated fun.
Beetlejuice the Musical
Regent Theatre, Melbourne
Music and Lyrics: Eddie Perfect
Book: Scott Brown and Anthony King
Based on the Geffen Company Picture with a story by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson
Director: Alex Timbers
Musical Supervision, Orchestration and Incidental Music: Kris Kukul
Choreography: Connor Gallagaher
Scenic Design: David Korins
Costume Design: William Ivey Long
Lighting Design: Kenneth Posner
Sound Design: Peter Hylenski
Projection Design: Peter Nigrini
Puppet Design: Michael Curry
Special Effects Design: Jeremy Chernick
Illusions: Michael Weber
Hair and Wig Design: Charles G Lapointe
Make up Design: John Dulude II
Physical Movement Coordinator: Lorenzo Pisoni
Cast: Eddie Perfect, Karis Oka, Erin Clare, Tom Wren, Elise McCann, Rob Johnson, Adam Maitland, Angelique Cassimatis, Andy Conaghan, Adam Lyon, Noni Mccallum, Rebecca Ordiz
Tickets: $75 – $265.95
Beetlejuice the Musical plays The Regent Theatre, Melbourne until Sunday 3 August.
