Beetlejuice (Broadway)

Review of Beetlejuice on Broadway

I had been chewing with the idea of seeing Beetlejuice for a hot minute because of the hype I had been seeing online. I watched the TDF tickets for days in hopes that the day I wanted to go—a Tuesday—would have tickets available, and then I saw my divine sign one day when I wandered out of class and had a TodayTix notification that the show was closing.

That was my moment, so the day when the tickets dropped I bought one immediately. I was sat in Orchestra Right, in Row M, and thought that my seat was really good considering I didn’t pay a ton of money for it.

And that was the vibe of Beetlejuice: it was fun, but I was glad I didn’t pay a ton of money for it. I’ll elaborate more in the actual review, but I was also kind of in a slightly bad mood because I lost my unlimited Metrocard right before getting to the theater.

Then the security woman was acting like I was hiding something in my bag and dumped my pencil case out then made me throw away my drink. This was the vibe I needed after all of that, but as a show of merit, I would say Beetlejuice is not that quality.

A bold departure from the original source material.

Beetlejuice is indeed a bold departure from the original source material. I saw the movie when I was a little one a long time ago, so I vaguely remembered parts of the plot, but this version focuses more on Lydia’s and Beetlejuice’s relationship. Sure it’s toxic and the fact he preyed on a girl who’s mom died is pretty bad, and he had it coming for him, but they both wanted to get together for their own selfish reasons. This musical highly relies on humor elements to make it work, which is probably the only reason why audiences love it.

As Beetlejuice, the actor has to rely on a ton of smartass commentary and improv to drive home the laughs. There are many, many jokes in Beetlejuice and some were indeed inappropriate—I saw a mother cover her kid’s ears—but hilarious.

I did laugh quite a bit throughout the show, which is surprising because my brand of humor is very specific. I guess I went into it with an open-mind? But there are wacky costumes, like shrunken head guy, physical humor, and then big personalities (the airheaded Delia, the dumb couple that dies and tries to haunt their home, the jocks in the afterlife) to carry this brand of funny throughout the show.

I can see why it is closing, though, because of the sheer number of special effects. Lots of prop movement, big, extravagant sets, and lighting rigs going on throughout the show.

I also see that the tickets never actually sell out, which explains the fact it met an early demise despite the push to bring it back to Broadway so soon after it died in the Winter Garden (this show originally was on Broadway, then was kicked out of their theater so The Music Man could fly high, then the community rallied to get it at the Marquis Theater).

I have one very firm opinion about this show: the best songs happen in the very beginning. I think that “Dead Mom” is one of the best shows in the whole damn show, and it happens to be like the third or fourth song. That sets the rest of the music to be in the territory that where it does not live up to the hype the show generates in the opening number and with “Dead Mom.”

I did like Kerry Butler’s numbers, as well as the Miss Argentina one, but nothing hits as hard as “Dead Mom” if we’re going to be real about this show. I will admit that while Teeter’s “Dead Mom” is good, I really like Caruso’s so much more from the versions I’ve seen with her.

The acting in the show is indeed superb. I can’t imagine seeing this show without Alex Brightman and his vocal chord situation (he’s got something with his vocal cords, which is how he is able to sing the way he does), as he genuinely makes the entire show.

His improv moments are great, he struts across the stage as if he owns it, and I think the gay Republican joke he made was absolutely perfect. The guy next to me, who didn’t laugh the entire show, only laughed at that joke. It was worth it.

Go see Beetlejuice if you love the actors, the movie, or have a fear of FOMO. Just don’t pay a ton of money for a ticket if you’re a theater snob because you’re going to be disappointed. It’s not a show where you expect a ton of high artistry in a pretentious way. You come to Beetlejuice for a good time. It’s a goth’s dream show and if you are vaguely interested, go for it.

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