Prince Edward Theatre, London W1 – until 17 April 2027
Reviewed by Phil Brown
4****
If, like me, you have never endured/enjoyed a Beetlejuice or even a Betelgeuse experience before, but are nevertheless gothic horror comedy curious, you need to prepare carefully.
Step 1 is to deactivate the brain circuitry responsible for the rational part of your mind. Step 2 is to recognise that you have strayed into cult territory – most of the audience will be dressed as characters from the show and will be going merch crazy. Step 3 is to suspend any remaining critical faculties and go with the flow of one of the most preposterous and bizarre fantasies this side of the Arabian Nights. Step 4 is simply to soak up the creative ambition, superb effects and phenomenal production values on display in this ultra slick, brilliantly presented musical.
This show has been a long time in gestation. The Beetlejuice cult was originally kicked off by the 1988 Oscar winning (for make-up) film directed by Tim Burton. A critical and commercial success, it went on to spawn all manner of media spin-offs plus a US musical in 2018 and a movie sequel in 2024.
The pleasingly informative programme goes into some fascinating detail about the development of the stage musical which was written by Scott Brown and Anthony King, with music and lyrics by Australian Eddie Perfect. Excellent work guys. There is a palpable, informal, improvisational feel to the show, and it’s a lot funnier than I expected. Songwriter Perfect keeps the humour going in his lyrics and has written some strong tunes such as the ballad “Invisible” which opens the show. Some songs like “Dead Mom” and “Say My Name” already have a fan following before this opening. The score mixes a range of musical styles from rock to classic show tunes to balladry which all fit quite seamlessly in the flow.
Ludicrous story aside, the show is an absolute feast for the eyes and ears, possibly teetering on the edge of sensory overload. This may be because there are 10 (yes 10) main designers, not to mention super choreography (Connor Gallagher) and music supervision (Kris Kukul). Sets (David Korins), costumes (William Ivy Long), lighting (Kenneth Posner), sound (Peter Hylenski), projection (Peter Nigrini), puppets (Michael Curry), special effects (Jeremy Chernick), and magic and illusion (Michael Weber) all made impressive impacts throughout the two hour extravaganza. In addition, there are clever up to date references for the West End such as to Paddington. All of which underlines how fastidious and skilful director Alex Timbers has been in pulling together a real humdinger of a show. You get the feeling that the whole production team has pulled out all the stops to make this a hit.
The plot as briefly as possible…
Charles and goth teenage daughter Lydia Deetz suffer the death of wife/mother Emily Deetz. Meanwhile, cloyingly lovey-dovey and conventional Adam and Barbara Maitland accidentally perish at their beloved country home as the result of botched DIY. Consumed with grief and work, Charles decides to buy the Maitland’s house in order to make a fresh start, against the wishes of emotionally isolated and depressed, Lydia. (So far, so realistic). But as ghosts, the Maitlands want to rid their forever home of the Deetz family and summon up exorcist demon Beetlejuice to help. Beetlejuice is dead but wants to be alive and able to fully exploit his powers to create chaos and mayhem. This needs someone, anyone, living, to say his name three times. He targets Lydia Deetz, who is living but desperately wanting death to bring her closer to her mother. The fifth character in the mix is Delia – life coach and Charles’ new lover.
Act 1 concludes with Beetlejuice back from the dead and generating pandemonium at a big Deetz dinner party, possessing the guests into singing “Day-O” (the Banana Boat Song). Apparently, the 1988 film used four Harry Belafonte songs because they were cheap to licence and provided an upbeat, high-energy contrast to the slightly macabre ghost story.
Act 2 moves ever further into farce with the quest to find Lydia’s mother leading to adventures in “the Netherworld”, created by a deceptively simple telescopic effect stage set. With Charles still engulfed in grief, Lydia consults the “Handbook of the Recently Deceased” to open a door into the Netherworld. She, Charles and the Maitlands set off deep into the realm of the dead, experiencing bizarre encounters with harsh customs official, Juno (also Beetlejuice’s mother) and Miss Argentina. Whilst lost, Lydia and Charles eventually open up about their sorrow and connect. To save everyone from his vengeance, Lydia then agrees to marry Beetlejuice, allowing him to come fully alive, only to double cross the demon and dispatch him back to the Netherworld. His mother Juno shows up but is devoured by a giant sandworm ridden by Beetlejuice. In a happy ever after conclusion, Charles, Delia and Lydia agree to live in peaceful co-existence with the friendly ghosts of the Maitlands. Weird!
The evening feels more like a one-off event than a regular show. There is a definite gothic carnival feel to the Prince Edward Theatre with many of the audience dressed in black and white stripes and raucous cheering for each showcase routine on stage. The show itself is loud, fast, chaotic, musically complex and rich in colour and detail.
Although, the very first thing to make an impression is the eye-catching staging and lighting, the true star of this show is the exceptional David Fynn as Beetlejuice who leads the cast with extraordinary zeal, devilish charm and more manic energy than any self respecting corpse has a right to possess. He also acts as a master of ceremonies talking to the audience and occasionally interacting to great comic effect. A scintillating bravura performance. Hannah Nordberg also impresses as grieving daughter Lydia Deetz with strong vocal performances of all her key songs. These two leads are backed up superbly by a brilliant team – the supporting cast, the dance ensemble who deliver several dynamic routines on a crowded stage and the wonderful orchestra who worked their socks off faultlessly in a demanding gig.
Overall, Beetlejuice, The Musical, The Musical, The Musical is quite breathtaking in its exuberant, flat out and flawless execution. It’s unashamedly absurd in concept but some of the best fun in practice. I fully expect this will be A West End Hit, A West End Hit, A West End Hit.