Beetlejuice musical review: The rebirth of a Tim Burton classic

Critics who have complained about the Beetlejuice musical being too manic are missing the point. The show’s madcap, maniacal energy is the point. This is Beetlejuice, not The Sound of Music, and its barely contained craziness goes with the territory.

Every bit as unruly as the titular character made famous by Tim Burton’s 1988 movie, the theatrical version is a riot of comedy and campery, and it plays its trump card early with the explosion onto the stage of David Fynn as the green-haired, striped-suited bio-exorcist from beyond the grave.

In the film, the iconic madman – played by Michael Keaton – doesn’t arrive until 25 minutes into the movie and only notches up around 17 minutes of screen time. Last year’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sequel took a similar tack. But in the musical, Beetlejuice manifests after a short prologue and has been refashioned as narrator as well as protagonist, treating the audience to panto-style asides – albeit ones like “Fuck Paddington!” that aren’t suitable for young ears.

David Fynn steals the show

Fynn doesn’t do a Keaton impression; instead, he makes this most twisted of characters his own, chewing on the scenery as if he hasn’t eaten since he was poisoned by his bride back in the 1630s, picking on people in the front stalls and flirting outrageously with anyone with a pulse. He operates at such a state of high energy that you could plug him into the mains to power all the bars in Old Compton Street outside the Prince Edward Theatre, where he and the show have taken up residence.

The basic premise remains the same as the film, although New England couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (a goofy David Hunter and sweet Chelsea Halfpenny) die by electrocution rather than in a car crash. They hang around after their deaths to haunt the Deetz family after the latter move into their former home, aided by the demonic Beetlejuice, who has a dastardly plan up his dishevelled sleeve.

If he can get a still-alive someone to say his name three times, he’ll be able to unleash all manner of mayhem, and he finds a suitable candidate in the Deetzs’ daughter Lydia – a “strange and unusual” goth girl who sees dead people. If he can force her to marry him, he’ll get to re-enter the land of the living as a mortal.

The Beetlejuice musical is as muddled as the movie

The plot gets a bit muddled, as indeed it does in the original film, but the musical is a laughter riot and a visual feast. Designer David Korins’ sets are very Burtonesque, with lots of wrong angles instead of right ones, and there’s a jury of skeletons, a chorus of Beetlejuice clones and a giant inflatable sandworm.

The songs are by Australian musician Eddie Perfect, and while you won’t leave the theatre humming any of the pop-rock melodies, they propel the story along. He also provides Lydia (played at the performance I saw by a winning Rachel Macdougall) with a power ballad called ‘Home’ that provides a rare moment of calm in this otherwise fantastically frantic night out.

This is a feature appearing in issue 371 of Attitude magazine, on sale in print and digital now. Order Attitude magazine issue 371 in print now, or in digital on the links below on Apple News+ and the Attitude app.