Last night, I was invited* to come see the last show of the 2022-2023 Broadway at the Eccles series, Beetlejuice. Being a big fan of Tim Burton, Beetlejuice was always a movie I enjoyed. However, when I first heard it was going to Broadway back in 2019, I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical. In my opinion, not everything belongs on the stage and just because it was a movie, I wasn’t sure how it would translate into a musical. While living on the East Coast, I never had the chance to see the show because it opened late 2019 and closed in March 2020, when the whole world shut down.

Fast forward to 2023 and even though it wasn’t a long lived production in New York, I was hearing some pretty good things about it from the National Tour. You know I had to go see it when it came to Salt Lake City and I wondered how Beetlejuice would translate to the stage. I may or may not have had low expectations.

We found our seats and settled in for the show. Immediately, the vibe in the Eccles was electric. Neon colors, haunting music and a very Tim Burton-esque ambiance filled the theater. I was starting to get excited to see what was to come. Looking throughout those seated in the audience also added to the fun. There were people in black and white patterns, costumes, colored hair, and more. Much like Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice had a cult following and they were out in full force last night. It was really fun to see!

The curtain opened and I was immediately drawn in. A complete departure from the movie began the show and I was excited to see this wasn’t a re-enactment of the movie, but it’s own unique story.

The songs were clever, with lots of humor woven in. Some a little shocking, but let’s not forget, Beetlejuice is exactly that. I found myself enthralled in the story and loving every minute of the production.

Sometimes when you don’t know the music to a show, it can drag on. This was not the case with Beetlejuice. The show moved quickly and kept your interest in every scene. Each character was bewitching to watch on stage and watch their stories unfold. Justin Collette (who I’ve seen in both School of Rock and Rock of Ages on Broadway and loved) did a great job making the title character his own. The banter and comments he makes throughout the show are laugh out loud funny. You look forward to him being on stage and really enjoy his performance.

Kate Marilley portrays Delia and she is an absolute delight. Her character is hysterical in every scene, as well. My favorite, though, is during the song “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and I know that will be a favorite scene for you, too. A standout of the entire production, though, is Isabella Esler who is Lydia. This show is her professional debut and I found that shocking. She was incredible and her voice was out of this world. Together the cast had a great chemistry that worked so well.

One of my favorite aspects of the show was the set. How do you take the imagination of Tim Burton from the big screen to the stage and make it work? The National Tour of Beetlejuice certainly did it justice. Each scene was so fun and full of detail. The colors were dark and bright at the same time, intense and mysterious, and oh-so fun! The transitions from scene to scene were perfect and really put me in a Halloween mood. The special effects were honestly so great. It was one of the best sets I have seen in a Broadway production.

Slight disclaimer–there were tons of kids in the audience, and I know that my kids would have absolutely loved the show if they saw it when they were younger. The kids in the audience were loving the show. But, there is some coarse language to be warned about (there were a few f*bombs thrown in). There were also lots of strobe lights and scary special effects (which were incredible), so I would probably recommend this show for slightly older kids, not super young ones.

While I did not initially expect much from the show, I was blown away at how fun it was. Every little detail of the production had me thoroughly entertained. I absolutely loved Beetlejuice and would go back to see it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I loved the musical way more than the movie!

I encourage you to go see it for yourself while it is in Salt Lake City. It’s running now until August 13th. You will regret not seeing it, believe me!

To learn more about the show and get your own tickets, visit Broadway at the Eccles. While you are there, be sure to check out the upcoming 2023-2024 season–I’m so excited about the shows coming to Salt Lake City!

THE GHOST-WITH-THE-MOST IS COMING TO THE ECCLES THEATER 

August 8-13, 2023 

It’s showtime! Broadway at the Eccles announced that single tickets for the North American Tour of BEETLEJUICE, the edgy and irreverent Broadway smash hit musical comedy, are on sale at  Broadway-at-the-Eccles.com.  

Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set, and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, BEETLEJUICE is “SCREAMINGLY GOOD FUN!” (Variety). And under its uproarious surface (six feet under, to be exact), it’s a remarkably touching show about family, love, and making the most of every Day-O! 

BEETLEJUICE is directed by Tony Award® winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!, Director of Warner Bros. forthcoming TOTO, the animated musical film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark’s 2017 book) with an original score by Tony Award nominee Eddie Perfect (King Kong); a book by Tony Award nominee Scott Brown (“Castle Rock”) and Tony and Emmy Award® nominee Anthony King (“Robbie”); music supervision, orchestrations and incidental music by Kris Kukul (Joan of Arc: Into the Fire); and choreography by Connor Gallagher (The Robber Bridegroom). 

BEETLEJUICE features scenic design by three-time Tony Award nominee David Korins (Hamilton); costume design by six-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long (The Producers); lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (Kinky Boots); sound design by Tony Award winner Peter Hylenski (Moulin Rouge!); projection design by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Peter Nigrini (Dear Evan Hansen); puppet design by Drama Desk Award winner Michael Curry (The Lion King); special effects design by Jeremy Chernick (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), hair and wig design by Drama Desk Award nominee Charles G. LaPointe; make-up design by Joe Dulude II; associate director is Catie Davis and associate choreographer is Michael Fatica; casting by The Telsey Office.  

Producers for BEETLEJUICE include Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and NETworks Presentations.  

BEETLEJUICE opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on Thursday, April 25, 2019, presented by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Mark Kaufman) and Langley Park Productions (Kevin McCormick), and won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for David Korins’ scenic design and was nominated for eight Tony Awards including Best New Musical. BEETLEJUICE had a history making run on Broadway – following the release of the musicals original Broadway cast recording and Tony Awards appearance, the box office exploded, making it the surprise hit of the 2018/2019 season. BEETLEJUICE’s Tony Awards performance has gone on to be the most watched musical number from the broadcast with over 3,921,530 views. BEETLEJUICE became a sensation with fans everywhere including on TikTok, which lead to an additional burst of ticket sales from a new audience for Broadway, making the musical one of the top grossing shows on Broadway, going on to break the Winter Garden box office record. The smash hit musical BEETLEJUICE played 366 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway before being shuttered with the rest of Broadway on March 12, 2020. BEETLEJUICE returned triumphantly to Broadway with performances on April 8, 2022, at the Marquis Theatre where it continues to haunt Broadway through January 8, 2023. 

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and WARNER RECORDS released BEETLEJUICE – ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING for digital download, streaming and on CD. The album is produced by Tony Award winner Matt Stine, Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, Tony nominee Eddie Perfect and three-time Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch and has surpassed 250 million streams in the United States and 760 million streams globally. These landmark numbers continue the remarkable success of the album, reaching the list of top 10 most streamed OBCRs of the previous decade. The show’s songs have placed in Spotify’s “Viral 50” charts in 13 different countries. In addition, “Say My Name,” one of the show’s breakout showstoppers, was chosen as Amazon’s “Alexa Song of the Day” in 2019. The incredible growth is partly a result of user-generated content on TikTok, where songs from the album have been used in over one million videos. 

BEETLEJUICE is based on the 1988 Academy Award®-winning Geffen Company motion picture presented by Warner Bros. and directed by Tim Burton. The smash hit comedy starred Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder with story by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson. 

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Like BEETLEJUICE on Facebook . Follow on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram @BeetlejuiceBway. 
For more information, visit www.BeetlejuiceBroadway.com. 

Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands.  Led by 20-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 48 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Current and past productions include Ain’t Too Proud, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge! andTo Kill A Mockingbird. 

^{*I was invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are my own*}