Thousands of fans of ‘Beetlejuice’ came to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami on opening night dressed in attire resembling their favorite characters from the comic horror 1988 “Beetlejuice” film to rejoice in a two act musical version of the cult film. They left dazzled because of the impressive work of the cast, costume and scenic designer and the quality of the music.
“Beetlejuice”, a two act musical with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, is on a limited run for less than a week, closing on Sunday, May 3.
Much like most comic horror plots, audience members have to suspend the believability of the story involving a deceased couple Adam and Barbara (actors Megan Morris and Will Burton) who return to their home to haunt a father and daughter (Jesse Sharp as Charles and Madison Mosley as Lydia) with the aid of the ghost Beetlejuice (Justin Collette).
The story unfolds as Beetlejuice can’t be seen by anyone living, except for Lydia who chants the name of the quirky ghost with the gravelly Harvey Fierstein like voice three times in her hope that Charles will be able to spend more time with her and remember her late mother.
Lydia eventually comes to terms with Charles, but not for a long time, while “Beetlejuice” showcases his hilarious tactics and unusual songs. While trying to woo Lydia and the other characters. Beetlejuice goes over the top in forcing his captive characters to see the advantages of being dead for eternity, haunting those who are still alive.
Despite the dramatic sentiment of the story, what stands out is the comedy, costumes, music and set design in “Beetlejuice” that moves the audience to lots of laughs and standing ovations between the 22 songs performed by the cast.
Justin Collette stands out as “Beetlejuice”, knowing how to play up the comedy in his many scenes, costumed as the dark ghost with his unique set of values, preferring to interact with dead or almost dead corpses as opposed to live human beings.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
With his gravelly voiced bass voice, Colette was superb in showcasing humor in the songs “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing” and his duet with Mosley (Lydia) in “That Beautiful Sound” as well as his comic take in “Good Old Fashioned Wedding”, a scene in which he half-heartedly proposes marriage to Lydia.
Also standing out is Mosley as the troubled, good hearted Lydia who also shines in her many humorous scenes with both Collette and Sharp. Her songs “Dead Mom” and “Home” showcased her large vocal range.
As expected in the comedy horror genre, there are a lot of hysterical quirky characters that added laughs in many scenes they shared with Collette. The Miss Argentina character (played by Veronica Fiaoni) stands out as a character based on Spanish speaking singer Charo as was Juno (played by Maria Sylvia Norris), the quirky mother of “Beetlejuice”.
The best of the hysterical songs was a parody of the famed Harry Belafonte song “Day-O, The Banana Boat Song” in act two that drew cheers from the audience.
Costume designer William Ivey Long and Scenic Designer David Korins led a large offstage team to create the illusions and imagery that made one feel that the “Beetlejuice” characters were really in the Netherland, creating the ghoulish look to the characters as well.
“Beetlejuice”as musical theater will continue the success of the franchise, which includes a film sequel, an animated television series, an eight month run on Broadway and multiple showings of the 1988 “Beetlejuice” film on cable television, especially on Halloween.
When thousands of people show up to see “Beetlejuice” in ghoulish costumes, there won’t be a shortage of audience members who will love this musical.
“Beetlejuice”, a two act musical with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, based on the 1988 film “Beetlejuice”, is on a limited run at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, running now through Sunday May 3. Except for Sunday, performances begin at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. “Beetlejuice” closes on Sunday with two performances at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets range from $45-170. For tickets and more information, go to arshtcenter.org or call 305-949-6722.
