Review: BEETLEJUICE National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

Based on Tim Burton's 1988 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, Lydia Deetz is a strange and unusual teenager who is obsessed with death. Luckily, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and a degenerate demon. When Lydia calls on this ghost to scare away her insufferable parents, Beetlejuice comes up with the perfect plan, which involves exorcism, arranged marriages, and a girl scout who gets scared out of her wit.

After an out-of-town tryout in Washington, D.C., the show opened on April 25th, 2019 at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. Despite an underwhelming critical reception, Beetlejuice receive 8 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical). It also became a hit with audiences thanks to word of mouth as well as a popular performance the cast did on the Tonys with modified lyrics for the opening number. Due to a contractual commitment, the production was scheduled to close at the Winter Garden on June 6th, 2020 to make room for the Hugh Jackman-led revival of The Music Man. Yet when all of Broadway shutdown on March 12th of that year due to COVID-19, the fate of Beetlejuice was all up in the air for a while. Thankfully, it reopened at Broadway's Marquis Theatre on April 8th, 2022, running until January 8th this year.

Now that I've attended the national tour of this stage musical adaptation myself, it's easy to see how it's become an audience favorite. The book by Scott Brown & Anthony King stays true to the (pun intended) spirit of the original film while also beefing things up a bit. It's the same basic premise without ever coming across as a carbon copy. Fans of the movie will not only appreciate that, but they'll also find plenty of surprises in the plot along the way. The musical score by Eddie Perfect perfectly (pun intended) digs into the emotions of the characters while also capturing the tone of this property. Although two songs that were utilized in the film have been incorporated here to great effect.

One of the key differences between this and the movie is that here, the title character is much more front and center. Justin Collette is such a comedic powerhouse as Beetlejuice. Every act of physical comedy he does in the show is a joy to watch. He also nails the voice without ever impersonating Michael Keaton's work in the original. Isabella Esler delivers a strong professional debut as Lydia Deetz. Despite her character being strange and unusual, she's still easy to relate to as it's established early on how much she misses her dead mom. Will Burton & Julianne Godfrey (who went on for Britney Coleman) work very well together as the dead couple, Adam & Barbara Maitland. Jesse Sharp is very caring as Lydia's dad, Charles Deetz. Kate Marilley is a lot of fun as Charles' girlfriend, Delia Schlimmer.

Under Alex Timbers' direction, he successfully stays true to the style of Tim Burton without ever mimicking him. The visuals alone from Kenneth Posner's lighting to David Korins' set to William Ivey Long's costumes are perfectly gothic, moody, and lively. Connor Gallagher's choreography is quite energetic. For those wondering, yes, the giant snake from the original film is included. It's been brought to life by some eye-popping puppet work from Michael Currey. For a show about death, this stage musical adaptation of Beetlejuice makes for a fun night out. The national tour is currently playing at the Durham Performing Arts Center through April 16th.

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