Legitimate Theater Bonus: #10. Beetlejuice (2019)

Beetlejuice: The Musical, The Musical, The Musical

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Opening

How can one not be exciting, or at least curious, for Beetlejuice: The Musical? It's essentially one of the most anarchic ideas to hit Broadway in some time, and it's all thanks to one of Tim Burton's most iconic creations. You know what to do. Say his name three times and he appears. With almost triple that in Tony Award nominations, the musical has definitely made a mark on the landscape and is inspiring audiences to see a show that is as much spectacle as it is song and performance. The only real question left is if everything is in place for a genuine hit that deserves all of the recognition, or if this is one of those shows that exists for the novelty of being another gothic oddball for misunderstood teens. 

A Quick Background

Tony Wins: 8 nominations (including Best Musical)

Based on: Beetlejuice (1988)

Music: Eddie Perfect

Lyrics: Eddie Perfect

Book: Scott Brown, Anthony King

Prominent Actors: Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler

Soundtrack

1. "Prologue: Invisible"
2. "The Whole Being Dead Thing"
3. "Ready, Set, Not Yet"
4. "The Whole Being Dead Thing, Pt. 2"
5. "Dead Mom"
6. "Fright of Their Lives"
7. "Ready Set (Reprise)"
8. "No Reason"
9. "Invisible (Reprise)/On the Roof"
10. "Say My Name"
11. "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) (Act 1 Finale)"
12. "Girl Scout"
13. "That Beautiful Sound"
14. "Barbara 2.0"
15. "What I Know Now"
16. "Home"
17. "Creepy Old Guy"
18. "Jump in the Line"

Note: Listen to the music here

Song Exploration

Opening Song:
"Prologue: Invisible"

The good news is that for a Beetlejuice musical, it starts everything off on the right note. The character that most people will be interested in is Lydia Deetz, the angsty teen. Considering that the story is also a literal story about being invisible in death, it gives the song a nice added layer to the otherwise boasting of an angsty teenager. It's a pretty solid opening that gives a sense of Lydia's struggles to fit in. It's then hijacked, as it should be, by Beetlejuice in the final seconds to comment on the world outside of his fictional landscape. He is a bio-exorcist after all, and his ability to be a smart-alec while still working within the show is a nice touch that may be a bit hacky at points but sets up the character as something far more compelling than just singing a number here or there that is funny.

Carryovers:
"Prologue: Invisible," "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) (Act 1 Finale)," 
"Jump in the Line"

As is the case with most Broadway shows, this isn't so much a direct carryover as it is a revamping of what is known. It is only in the part that each of these songs recalls the original film, but they do so in crucial ways. "Prologue" begins with the familiar macabre opening jaunt that starts the film. "Day-O" starts off as the familiar Harry Belafonte number before being expanded upon to cover more plot and ideas that will help to enrich the show. Similarly, "Jump in the Line" ends the show on a bit of a fun note. It's the most direct copy of any of these three songs, but it still molds to the work of the story. It would be criminal to not have these songs in the show, if just because of how memorable they are in the film.

High Point:

"Say My Name"

It's not a show with very deep pathos on the soundtrack, so it needs to get by on the fun songs. In this case, it does so by making the Beetlejuice songs big and winking in all of the ways that give the show personality. It's not always in ways that make it an exemplary work, but it's enough to warrant the production as a whole. In the case of this song, it's Lydia discovering the magic of Beetlejuice and the small flirtation that comes with this iconic moment from the film makes it exciting. Also, the music is jaunty in all of the right ways and manages to create an exciting take on something that audiences know so well. Say the name, and he shows up. Lydia's here to balance out the worst tendencies of a Beetlejuice song, and it mostly works for the best.

Low Point:

"Ready Set (Reprise)"

The soundtrack is uniformly fine, so it's difficult to really call one track over another as inferior. Still, if you're going to pick one, a reprise of another song might do the trick. While Beetlejuice's reprises are often more humorous and engaging, this one covers ground that is placed elsewhere within the soundtrack. Still, to add pathos to the Deetz parents is a nice touch and doesn't really make this as bad as this sounds. It's just that in a show that has so much going for it, one has to be the worst. The choice for the characters to settle down and get ready is a bit vanilla, but otherwise, it works.

What Does It Bring to the Story?

The film focused almost exclusively around Lydia Deetz and two ghosts moving into this wacky house. To shift some attention to Delia Deetz is a nice touch. It's not exactly new to the plot of the overall story, but it does feel like she's going to be a more crucial character in the stage version. It shows on the song "No Reason," which has a humorous but soul-crushing subtext in the middle of the first act's personality-rich section. It's one of the few moments where it feels like something matters beyond Beetlejuice pulling pranks. Sure, there's plenty in exploring Lydia's internal struggles in "Dead Mom," but Delia getting a bigger role more than takes the cake here.

Was This Necessary?

No

On some level, this show feels like it is going to thrive on stage design. That's Tim Burton's biggest asset, so to have an adaptation play into the stripes and costume design would be really cool to see onstage. Maybe even Beetlejuice plays better when you see him in person. On record, he's entertaining enough to make it work, but there's nothing here that feels essential. It gets all of the major points across and brings back a lot of beloved classics from the film. The only issue is that none of them are exemplary standouts in a way that makes the show seem exciting. Once you get past Beetlejuice winking at the audience, the music feels a little hollow, though an entertaining kind of hollow. It just needed one or two bigger hits to make the whole thing feel like more than a secondary show like "Heathers."