Beetlejuice The Musical The Musical The Musical opened at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady on Tuesday, June 18, bringing in a packed audience who laughed and sang along to the beloved film, now in musical form.
Telling the story of Lydia Deetz with greater empathy and backstory – she is at her mother’s burial at the onset of Act 1 – gives cause for Lydia to seek out the help of Beetlejuice, performed masterfully by Justin Collette.
With a recently diseased deceased couple, Adam (Will Burton) and Barbara (Megan McGinnis) Maitland, taking up residence in their former house – now the Deetz’ – they become visible to Lydia, leading to haunting hilarity and foot-tapping musical numbers amid a visually stunning series of sets that utilize the slant framed doors, windows and hallways of the Tim Burton film.
Pulling from the source material effectively, but introducing Beetlejuice by the end of the first number, the focus in Act 1 on the demon in the striped suit was on par with that of Lydia (Isabella Esler, making her professional debut), a shift from the 1988 film. The 2018 debut on Broadway garnered Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, and well deserved given the production of songs “Dead Mom,” “That Beautiful Sound,” “Say My Name,” “Barbara 2.0” and of course, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).”
The first act was Beetlejuice’s time to shine, taking centerstage until he finally joins the world of the living by the end of the act. But Act 2 is greatly focused on Lydia, a time for actress Isabella Esler to be front and center, belting out number after number – “Home” being a show-stopping highlight. In Act 1, Lydia gives the story heart, a tease of what a treat audiences were in store for, both in Act 2 of Beetlejuice and Esler’s career potential as well.
Beetlejuice The Musical The Musical The Musical contains strong language, mature references, and a lot of the crazy, inappropriate stuff you would expect from a deranged demon, but great family fun nonetheless.
Beetlejuice The Musical The Musical The Musical at Proctors runs through Sunday, June 23. Tickets are available here.
The Thursday, June 20 performance includes a TheatreTalks, free with ticket to the show. Check out the full schedule of TheatreTalks here.
Proctors will host an ASL performance of the show on Sunday, June 23 at 2pm. Contact the box office for specific seating.
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