Beetlejuice: The Musical The Musical The Musical

Beetlejuice: The Musical
"Broadway is about to Get a Little Weirder"
Music	Eddie Perfect
Lyrics	Eddie Perfect
Book	Scott Brown Anthony King
Premiere	November 4, 2018: National Theatre-Pre Broadway April 25, 2019: Winter Garden-Broadway Debut
Productions	2018-Washington DC 2019-New York 2021-National Tour

Beetlejuice is a musical with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. It is based on Tim Burton's 1988 film of the same name.

**Beetlejuice: The Musical has ended its run on Broadway early due to the COVID-19 pandemic**

Plot

The ghost-with-the-most is coming to life on stage in this original musical based on Tim Burton’s wonderfully demented film of the same name. Directed by Alex Timbers, BEETLEJUICE tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and a degenerate demon with a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, he comes up with the perfect plan involving exorcism, arranged marriage and the biggest sandworms Broadway has ever seen.

Synopsis

Act I

The musical starts with everyone attending the funeral of Emily Deetz, Charles Deetz's Wife and Lydia Deetz's Mother, where Lydia Deetz sings how about seeing her mother made her extremely upset (Prologue: "Invisible"). Beetlejuice enters, and talks to the audience ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing"). Beetlejuice then explains to the audience that he is a demon from hell and needs someone alive to say his name 3 times, so he can be seen by everyone and spread fear.

After this, we are introduced to Adam and Barbara Maitland, a perfectly normal, slightly boring couple who are considering having a baby and starting a family. However, they are scared of the consequences and worried they’ll regret their decision. At the end of the song, they fall through the creaky floorboards of their house and die, with Beetlejuice gleefully watching. ("Ready, Set, Not Yet") After the song finishes, Beetlejuice finds the “Handbook for the Recently Deceased”, and throws this away, to hide it from them. When Adam and Barbara reappear as ghosts, Beetlejuice offers to be their guide ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 2"). The Maitlands are hesitant, but want their house back, so they accept Betelgeuse's offer ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 3"). The three see Charles and his new mistress Delia moving into their house, and evacuate into the attic. Delia and Charles comment on the house, and wish to keep their affair a secret from Lydia. Lydia enters and is angered about them moving house, but Charles answers that they are 'moving forward' and that he wants Lydia to stop wearing black and stop mourning, in time for a business dinner in 2 days. Delia attempts to "life coach" her, but gives up, leaving Lydia to mourn her mother ("Dead Mom"). In the attic, Beetlejuice tries teaching the deceased couple to scare the new residents; but when they prove reluctant, Beetlejuice leaves the attic for the roof. ("Fright of Their Lives") Barbara encourages Adam to haunt the newcomers whilst covered in bed sheets, as they can’t be seen otherwise, ("Ready, Set, Not Yet Reprise"). Delia continues trying to teach Lydia to recover from her grief, but is rebutted by Lydia. ("No Reason") After Delia leaves, Lydia stumbles upon a shrouded Adam and Barbara, and follows them to the attic, where they conspire with her to scare Charles and Delia out of the house. Lydia rushes into Charles’ room and discovers Delia in Charles‘ bed, and Charles explains that he has now proposed to Delia. Lydia storms out of the room. Beetlejuice, on the roof, sees Lydia, and is shocked when he learns that Lydia can hear and see him. ("Invisible Reprise"). He persuades Lydia to say his name 3 times, so he can help her scare Charles. Lydia does not trust him, and Adam and Barbara concur, until Beetlejuice forces them to praise him. Lydia pushes Beetlejuice off the roof and persuades Barbara and Adam to posses Charles, Delia, and their dinner guests. ("Say My Name") At the dinner, later on, Adam and Barbara force the guests to sing ("Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)"), but the guests, to Lydia’s dismay, are intrigued by the genuine haunted house. Charles and Delia are excited at the idea of making a fortune, but Lydia is annoyed, and summons Beetlejuice, who chases everyone except Lydia out of the house and Adam and Barbara back into the attic.

Act II

A Girl Scout named Sky explains to the audience, she has a heart disease where any shocking thing could stop her heart. She rings the doorbell of the Deetzes' house, to be greeted by Lydia, who invites her inside ("Girl Scout"). Beetlejuice frightens Sky into leaving, duplicates himself to help Lydia scare every visitor to the house ("That Beautiful Sound"), and gives her the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. Lydia realizes the book could help her reunite with her mother, and runs to the attic for Barbara and Adam's help. Beetlejuice remarks to his duplicates, he wants to leave the house to connect with people, and decides to trick Lydia into marrying him, which will allow him to roam free in the living world ("That Beautiful Sound Reprise").

In the attic, Barbara and Adam help Lydia open the Handbook. Under its guidance, Adam opens the door to the Netherworld, but Barbara shuts it, afraid of leaving the house. Lydia berates them because she hoped to use the book to summon her dead mother. She exits. Barbara and Adam resolve to become bolder ("Barbara 2.0").

Delia, Charles, and Delia's guru Otho re-enter the house with a machine to exorcise ghosts. Beetlejuice tells Lydia a passage from the book will resurrect her mother, but instead starts exorcising Barbara, and forces Lydia to marry him. To save everyone, Lydia agrees to marry Beetlejuice ("The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 4"). When Beetlejuice stops the exorcism and frees everyone and opens a door to the Netherworld to send the Maitlands away, Lydia jumps through the door, with Charles following ("Good Old-Fashioned Wedding").

Lydia and Charles enter the Netherworld, to be greeted by Ms. Argentina, who along with the other Netherworld residents, urges her to return to the living world ("What I Know Now"). Still wanting to reunited with her mother, Lydia frantically searches the Netherworld while on the run from Juno, who want to make Lydia and Charles deceased to follow the rules of the afterlife, but is unable to find her. Charles finds Lydia in distress and reconciles with her ("Home").

Lydia and Charles return to the house while Beetlejuice is planning to kill everyone. Lydia plans to trick Beetlejuice by agreeing to marry him as Charles, Delia, and the Maitlands get him ready ("Creepy Old Guy"). The wedding brings Beetlejuice to life, allowing Lydia to kill him again. Juno appears, reveals herself as Beetlejuice's mother, and tries to take Lydia with her, but Beetlejuice stands up to Juno, who pretends to be moved by Beetlejuice's speech and throws him out of the house. The Maitlands, Charles, and Delia refuse to let Juno take Lydia. Beetlejuice then crashes through the wall riding a sandworm, which then devours Juno.

Beetlejuice then decides to search for his father and says his last goodbyes to everyone before leaving. The Deetzes and Maitlands rejoice in their victory and agree to share the house. Lydia decides, although her mother is gone, there is still much to enjoy in life (Finale: "Jump in the Line" / "Dead Mom" / "Home" / "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)").

Original Broadway Cast

Betelgeuse	Alex Brightman
Lydia Deetz	Sophia Anne Caruso
Barbara Maitland	Kerry Butler
Adam Maitland	Rob McClure
Delia Deetz/Miss Argentina	Leslie Kritzer
Charles Deetz	Adam Dannheisser
Maxine Dean/Juno	Jill Abramovitz
Maxie Dean	Danny Rutigliano
Otho	Kelvin Moon Loh
Sky the Girl Scout	Dana Steingold

Notable Replacements:

Lydia Deetz: Prsley Ryan

Adam Maitland: David Josefsberg

Songs

Act I

• Prologue: "Invisible" – Lydia
• "The Whole "Being Dead" Thing" – Betelgeuse and Ensemble
• "Ready, Set, Not Yet" – Adam and Barbara
• "The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 2" – Betelgeuse, Adam, Barbara and Minions
• "The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 3" – Betlegeuse†
• "Dead Mom" – Lydia
• "Fright of Their Lives" – Betelgeuse, Adam and Barbara
• "Ready, Set, Not Yet" (reprise) – Barbara and Adam
• "No Reason" – Delia and Lydia
• "Invisible" (reprise) – Betelgeuse
• "Say My Name" – Betelgeuse, Lydia, Barbara and Adam
• "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" – Delia, Charles, Lydia, Maxie, Maxine, Adam, Barbara and Betelgeuse

Act II

• "Girl Scout" – Sky and Lydia
• "That Beautiful Sound" – Betelgeuse, Lydia and Betelgeuses
• "That Beautiful Sound (Reprise)" – Betelgeuse and Betelgeuses †
• "Barbara 2.0" – Barbara and Adam
• "The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 4" - Betelgeuse †
• "Good Old-Fashioned Wedding" - Betelgeuse †
• "What I Know Now" – Miss Argentina and Ensemble
• "Home" – Lydia
• "Creepy Old Guy" – Lydia, Barbara, Delia, Charles, Adam and Betelgeuse
• Finale: "Jump in the Line" / "Dead Mom" / "Home" / "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" – Lydia, Charles, Barbara, Adam and Delia
• "Bows” – Company † 

Trivia

• Beetlejuice is featured in an episode of the podcast "Jim & Tomic's Musical Theater Happy Hour" on May 14, 2020.

Gallery

The Whole Being Dead Thing!

Sandworm, from The Beetlejuice Musical.