The world’s most obnoxious dead guy rolls into town for a musical version of the hit Tim Burton film
When Tim Burton’s dark comedy Beetlejuice came out in 1988, one of its many delights was just how inexplicably odd it was. Sure, he was the guy who’d directed the almost equally odd Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, but that was mostly based on the world created by Paul Reubens.
Beetlejuice was something else, the film that set the tone for much of what was to come in the Burton lineup of stories based on weirdos, loners, nihilistic goofballs and everything in between. It boasted a cast comprised of some of the 1980s biggest stars — including Michael Keaton as the title character, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Catherine O’Hara and a fresh-to-the-scene Winona Ryder.
Given its kooky plot, wacky characters and other memorable things like the shrunken-head dude, sand snakes and a giant Zagnut bar, it’s a wonder it took until 2018 for someone to make a musical of it. After a pandemic-shortened run in D.C and on Broadway and a halting reprise in 2022, the touring production is now here in Colorado and packing them in at the Denver Center’s Buell Theatre.
As a film-remake musical, this one is actually pretty good and just plain funny from start to finish. Don’t expect an exact retelling of the film; this one’s book by Scott Brown and Anthony King is markedly different from the original. While the basic bones of the plot and the iconic characters are all there, the musical structure required something a bit more linear to cling to. But it’s unlikely anyone will mind since it all works out in the end.
Standup comic Justin Collette steps into the Beetlejuice stripes and hits the ground running, showing his improv chops alongside a fantastic green mop of hair and a non-stop patter that puts him somewhere between carnival barker and auctioneer. For a dead guy, he really moves and provide much of the momentum for the show.
As Lydia — the death-obsessed teenager mourning the death of her mother — Isabella Esler is spot-on and possessed not just by the demons around her but by a powerful voice that easily fills the hall.
When she’s dragged to the creepy old home previously owned by a couple who were electrocuted together, she soon finds out that her father (Jesse Sharp) is shagging his bonkers assistant Delia (a scene-stealing Kate Marilley) while planning some kind of quick house-flip scheme. To add to all that, the dead couple — Adam and Barbara — are still knocking about, unhappy about being dead and having this dysfunctional family move in but not knowing much about haunting to get them to go away. Enter Beetlejuice, the “ghost zombie Jesus” who offers to help them learn more about the whole scaring-live-people biz.
As Adam and Barbara, Will Burton and Megan McGinnis are a ton of fun, with a lot of nerd jokes illustrating just how square they are — especially compared with the wild and unruly Beetlejuice. As he was in the film, Beetlejuice is trying to get some living person to say his name three times so that he can … I dunno, do something. He quickly offends Adam and Barbara and sets his sights on Lydia as soon as she arrives.
There’s a whackadoodle dinner party, a bizarre wedding between Lydia and Beetlejuice, a lot of great dance numbers and some cool set pieces and special effects — including, of course, a giant sand worm.
Beetlejuice is one of the most entertaining musical comedies to come through Denver in some time, but tickets are going fast so get ‘em while you can!
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