i've seen the beetlejuice musical 11 times and the like, pseudo-interactive nature of the show is what keeps me coming back. each performance is slightly different and i always find myself anticipating like, the sad-puppet-show or whoever gets to be the That-Guy of the night. half the audience dresses up for the show too, in stripes or red or head-to-toe costume. even the curtain-call welcomes the audience to chant beetlejuice 3 times before he takes his bow. the show has such a devoted cult following / fandom, it feels like a Rocky Horror initiation the first time you see it. it's easily my favorite musical, i can't stop going out to see it when the national tour comes by my state!
Lol when I went to see a performance in Louisville at the "Look we both have dead moms" joke someome in the front row got up to walk out and the guy playing BeetleJ pointed them out and said "Are you leaving because of that one?" And after the audience finished cracking up he said, "Hard not to take that personally"
I just listened to the beetlgeuse soundtrack last week and I loved how the show immediately started out saying, “this is a show about death”. And it was. One of the major themes was death whether it was literal or about loss or grief. I also was surprised at the jovial dark humor of it all, but taking the time to have its bittersweet and serious moments as well.
The interpretation done in the Lion King stage musical, the way it's so non-literal and expressive, makes me feel like the photorealistic CGI movie version was a massive step backwards. It probably would have been a much harder sell, but I would love to have seen a film version of the stage musical, using the costumes and puppets but filmed against real environments.
I love how you describe rebreaking the story! I’ve been trying to improve my composing skills so i filled a jar with movies and every weekend I pull out a random movie and write a musical number from the fake musical. I’ve done 20 so of these so far and this video will be in my mind this weekend for the next one! 😊😊
Regarding your point on the visual designs for Timbers' shows extending out into the audience... yeah, that's one element that isn't always carried over when it's time to tour these shows, as they need to be designed with multiple venues in mind instead of just one. I remember when Moulin Rouge came to Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park, there was enough room next to the stage for the windmill and the elephant, but I don't know of any other touring venues that were as lucky.
I saw the tour show of Back to the Future and then the next week the tour of Beetlejuice. Even though Future had great tech it was just the movie beat for beat with filler songs. Beetlejuice was so much better because the story was totally different from the film.
As someone who's really not into musical theatre beyond you and Mickey Jo, I spent a shockingly long time going "Wait, Beetlejuice, Moulin Rouge, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - all had the same director?" 😂 Honestly, dude seems damn good at what he does. I enjoyed this voyage of discovery you brought me on. Thank you.
Loved this. Also look up Peter Schaffer's opinions on 'total theatre' that is for all of the senses. Definitely relevant here. Also if any of these shows could come to the UK, that'd be lovely... 🤞🏻
The best movie to musical adaptation is Rebecca. By far. And I would like to see Timbers stage it, actually. 'cause so far it seems his stage designs are all made to try to hide the utter mediocrity of the shows themselves. So I'd like to see him stage a show that's actually good and proven a success. Maybe the VBW should give him a call next time they stage Rebecca or Tanz der Vampire. Him, the german librettos and the funding of the state of Vienna would probably work well.
Thank you for this piece. Thoughtful,brilliantly researched, insightful, entertaining and accessible, your essays are always a revelation that fuels more inquiry. Thank you for the considerable effort that this epistle, as with all your other work, involved. I wish I had such an intellect. Please keep doing what you do. You re an important part of theater culture. Best of luck you.
I went into the Beetlejuice musical expecting it to be fun, but had no idea it was about to become my favorite show. I have so many thoughts about it as an adaptation, but mainly thank goodness they weren't too precious with the source material, cult classic or not.
I was in a pro production of Tommy when I was little and it was totally life changing. It was a nightly rock concert and the whole audience knew The Who music. I wish all theatre kids had the chance do to it
One thing I loved about the theatrical adaptation of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie is that they folded Vulgaria into the main narrative and not as a story Caracatus Potts told Jeremy and Jemina.
For decades Broadway has complained about "botched movie versions" of their product. It seems only fair that they return the favor with mostly mediocre (or worse) "moviecals."
