What better way to end 2023 than a musical about death, right?
Based on Tim Burton’s cult-favorite film “Beetlejuice,” Alex Timbers’ musical stage rendition is a two hour and fifteen-minute wild romp through the afterlife. It tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a goth teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a demon with a thing for stripes.
While the show was lacking some of the original wit that I remembered from the 1988 film (starring Michael Keaton in one of his most memorable roles), it hits some major high notes for those seeking a fun, energetic live theater experience. It’s gained quite a cult following of its own since making its Broadway debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2019. As reported on CBS Colorado earlier this year, “young teens and young professionals, all of whom weren’t even alive when the movie was released, are now flocking to the show.”
Charlotte fans are no different. I overheard one audience member Tuesday night saying it was their third time seeing the performance. Many showed up dressed in the black and white stripes made famous by the lead character.
Justin Collette is Beetlejuice and is masterful as the star character and host to the Netherworld. The jokes throughout the script land with audiences of all ages and effortlessly weave in current events from book bans to gay republicans. As he says in the opening number, “when you’re dead, nobody gives a shit.”
Collette previously played Dewey Finn in the Broadway run of “School of Rock” and has spent years performing sketch/improv at major comedy festivals. His skills shine in connecting with the audience, almost like a circus ringmaster in this wild ride of a show.
Another highlight is Isabella Esler, who is making her professional debut as Lydia. She recently graduated high school in San Jose, California. After seeing a casting call on TikTok, she is already being called a musical theater prodigy and HOLA! Magazine says the young Latina is “leaving an indelible mark on the theatrical landscape.”
Esler leaves the audience breathless with “Home” in Act II. The song not only highlights the underlying tragedy that sets Lydia, and her father, on this unusual course of events with death – the loss of her mother – but also showcases her amazing vocal range. While Burton’s film centered around the Maitlands, the newly dead couple navigating their journey between life and death, the musical’s focus is clearly on Lydia and Beetlejuice.
Tying it all together is the musical’s impressive stage production. With a title like “magic and illusion designer,” Michael Weber transforms the stage into a stunning realization of the film’s iconic spaces, including the home, which is transformed following the Maitlands’ deaths, to the hypnotic Netherworld where dead footballers and a pageant queen navigate the afterlife.
While some of the musical’s numbers, beyond those previously mentioned, fell flat in comparison to the original film production and storyline, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, set design by David Corins and puppet design by Michael Curry all add to create a memorable, yet zany, theater experience.
“Beetlejuice” is playing at Belk Theatre through December 31.