Stage review: ‘It’s a show about death’ but also about living: ‘Beetlejuice’ handles the topics of loss and grief through humor in must-see musical
“Though in full disclosure / It’s a show about death”
With “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing,” Beetlejuice, the character and the musical, wastes no time telling audiences that the show they’re about to see is a little ghoulish, a little ghastly and, yes, very much about death.
That’s all to be expected of course, given the show is run by an actual demon, invisible to living beings unless he can get a living person to say his name three times. But the musical “Beetlejuice” also emphasizes the importance of family – both family of origin and family of choice – and living life to the fullest.
“Beetlejuice” features music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. The musical is based on the 1988 film of the same name, which features a screenplay by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren and was directed by Tim Burton.
The show opens at the funeral of Emily Deetz, wife to Charles Deetz (played opening night by Travis Mitchell) and mother of Lydia (Madison Mosley). Both are mourning Emily, but while Lydia wants to share memories of her mother, Charles moves on with the ditzy but well-meaning Delia (Sarah Litzsinger) and plans to create a gated community, making Lydia feel invisible.
After “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing,” Beetlejuice (Justin Collette) introduces Adam (Will Burton) and Barbara (Megan McGinnis) Maitland, a pleasant but dull married couple who sing about wanting to start a family but also not being ready to start a family.
As they sing, the pair die from a Beetlejuice-assisted electrical shock. After they come to terms with being dead, Beetlejuice once again appears and reveals his plan to school the Maitlands on the art of being scary so they haunt the new tenants, the Deetzes, and get someone to say his name three times.
Beetlejuice tries his best to get the Maitlands into the spookiest shape possible but quickly becomes underwhelmed with their general lack of scariness. “Say the scariest thing you can think of,” Beetlejuice asks the pair. “The Trader Joe’s parking lot,” Barbara replies. “The electoral college,” Adam adds.
Beetlejuice eventually abandons the couple, who decide to haunt the Deetzes themselves so they can remain alone in their home.
While the ghosts scheme in the attic, Lydia (a role originated on Broadway by Spokane-born Sophia Anne Caruso) reluctantly is dealing with Delia, who her father introduces as a life coach, downstairs. Throughout the show, Delia shares affirmations from her beloved guru Otho like “Every success starts with ‘sucks’ but ends in ‘yes!’ “
After leaving Delia, Lydia runs into the Maitlands, with whom she quickly bonds through the shared goal of getting the Deetz family out of the house. Lydia runs to tell her father that the house is haunted, but Charles can’t see the Maitlands and thinks Lydia is making up excuses to return to the family home.
Adding insult to injury, Charles reveals that he and Delia are engaged. This is too much for Lydia, and she runs to the roof, with a plan to leave her father, and this world, behind. Instead, she finds Beetlejuice, who tries to convince Lydia to say his name, but she isn’t falling for his tricks, which include briefly possessing the Maitlands.
Lydia decides to keep working with the Maitlands to convince her father to return to their old home and concocts a plan for that evening’s dinner with her father, Delia and his potential investor Maxie Dean (played opening night by Marc Ginsburg) and his wife Maxine Dean (Maria Sylvia Norris).
In a hilarious scene, the Maitlands possess Charles, Delia, the Deans and their business lawyers, but instead of being scared, the guests love the ghosts and become excited about the house being part of a future gated community.
At her wit’s end, Lydia finally summons Beetlejuice, and the pair go to town transforming the haunted house into a haunted home. With both Lydia and Beetlejuice trying to pull one over on each other, it’s a race to get to, and survive, the Netherworld, where Lydia is hoping to bring her mother back to life.
In the leading role, Collette was the ultimate showman, truly embodying the cheeky and crude Beetlejuice. He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment he appeared on stage and was quick with one-liners and physical humor throughout the show. It’s a wonder his fellow performers don’t break every scene.
In Mosley’s hands, Lydia’s grief felt truly lived in. Yes, she’s a dour teen, but this isn’t just a phase; she’s heartbroken after losing her mother and is looking for someone to guide her through that loss. Mosley has a lovely voice that worked well with all of Lydia’s material, whether sad or snarky.
Mitchell and Litzsinger were so fun to watch together, especially when trying to conceal their relationship from Lydia. I looked forward to each ridiculous affirmation Litzsinger shared as Delia and enjoyed seeing her guru Otho (Patrick Oliver Jones) in action in the second act.
Burton and McGinnis also made a fantastic pair, putting all their might into being their best ghost selves, even though they scared, well, no one.
Norris, as the cackling Maxine Dean and no-nonsense Juno, Hillary Porter, as Miss Argentina, and Emilia Tagliani, as the Girl Scout, received a lot of well-deserved laughter for fully committing to their parts, however kooky.
The entire ensemble deserves a shoutout for the many roles they juggled, from mourners to larger-than-life skeletons to Beetlejuice clones. So too, does the crew, especially scenic designer David Korns, who made the Maitland/Deetz home look like a true funhouse, costume designer William Ivey Long, lighting designer Kenneth Posner, projection designer Peter Nigrini, puppet designer Michael Curry, special effects designer Jeremy Chernick, and magic and illusion designer Michael Weber.
Together, the crew made “Beetlejuice” a visual treat to watch. I hardly wanted to take notes during the show lest I miss something. There is so much going on though, that even if you do miss something, you surely caught another bit of “Beetlejuice” magic elsewhere onstage.
The flashing lights throughout the show might make “Beetlejuice” unsuitable for some, but it’s otherwise a rollicking show full of humor and heart. “Beetlejuice” continues through Sunday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts.