Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is regarded as one of the most original and best ‘80s movies for solid reasons. It was one of the beloved filmmaker’s first movies ever, it remains one of Michael Keaton’s most iconic roles and will inspire Halloween costumes probably until the end of time. From a filmmaking standpoint, the 1988 movie absolutely stands the test of time. I love its strange and unusual vision, from the beautiful use of practical makeup and special effects to its tone being simultaneously slapstick and very goth. It’s one of those movies that sticks with you, and definitely scared many as kids (including myself). So, you can imagine my surprise when the Beetlejuice musical actually surpassed the original film for me!
The Beetlejuice musical ran on Broadway from spring 2019 until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all productions in early 2020. The show then reopened in spring 2022 before closing less than a year later and launching a U.S. tour, which is currently running into summer 2024. I had the chance to see it during its tour, at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, without ever listening to the music prior, mind you.
My family and I nabbed rather cheap orchestra seats as part of the theater’s Black Friday deal as kind of a shot in the dark. The reviews looked positive and it was nominated for eight Tony Awards, but I had no idea it would be my favorite stage musical experience in some time. It’s showtime! I’ll get into why I think it’s better than the movie, without getting into many spoilers.
Beetlejuice Himself Is A More Dynamic Character
While Sir Beetlejuice is the titular character of Tim Burton’s classic, the character doesn’t really have a major scene until halfway through the movie. I totally get why Tim Burton did this, because it adds some tension and mystique between the audience and the creepy character. When Michael Keaton’s character does come on screen, a lot of his personality and actions are for shock value. The theatrical audience is mesmerized and afraid of the wacky otherworldly character, but it's different with the stage show.
Now, the musical version of Beetlejuice is much more involved in the framework of the story, with the character breaking the fourth wall and actually speaking to the audience in a fun and meta way from the beginning of the storyline as he primes us how it’s a “show about death.” Not only is he more involved in the whole shebang, the show takes more time to flesh out his personality. The musical version of Beetlejuice has mommy issues, abandonment issues and honestly just longs for the company of others in his inbetweenness between the land of the living and land of the dead.
Beetlejuice: The Musical Offers A Heartfelt Exploration Of Grief
The Beetlejuice musical also delves deeper into exploring the theme of grief through Lydia’s story. In the movie, Winona Ryder’s iconic character is suicidal due to her unhappiness with her life as is, and finds solace in meeting Barbara and Adam, recently deceased ghosts living in her new home. The musical explores Lydia’s character much further, by expanding her story as one of a young girl who is having a difficult time dealing with the death of her mother. The musical strengthens the story between Lydia and her father Charles, who has decided to completely zoom past his loss and cut straight to the moving on part.
Through this added characterization, Beetlejuice becomes a deeper plotline centered on Lydia and her father learning that they need one another in order to grieve a major death in their family. Both of them find their own escape, Lydia by making friends with ghosts and going into the Neitherworld to attempt to get her mom back while her father is simply ignoring them and finding solace with a new love. This heartfelt exploration of grief embedded in the musical between the catchy song and dance numbers and funny moments really elevated the story of Beetlejuice for me.
Not to mention how much more there is to grasp on to regarding Adam and Barbara’s storyline; they tragically die at the beginning of the story and have to go through their own grief process of letting go of their carefully thought out life and embrace being dead. I understood their characters so much more than the movie versions played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis.
Delia Is Somehow More Hilarious Than Catherine O’Hara’s Version
Now, I absolutely love Catherine O’Hara’s role in Beetlejuice. She’s always been one of the most memorable elements of the film. However, I have to say what the musical did with the character of Delia is actually better than the ‘80s movie. The character is changed a bit, with Delia being the secret girlfriend of Lydia’s dad who is a crystal-loving life coach hired to look after Lydia.
Delia is the perfect foil to all the darkness that surrounds Lydia and the story itself, and her character really speaks to the “spiritual” toxic positive people of the world in a really fun and satirical way. I found myself laughing every time she opened her mouth in the musical and I honestly don’t know how the production managed to work out a role that was more hilarious than what Catherine O’Hara produced.
From The Music To Stage Effects, It Elevates Tim Burton’s Vision Too
Finally, there was something really glorious about seeing Tim Burton’s beloved Beetlejuice vision be recreated in a stage production because it really popped out and underlined how much incredible iconography the filmmaker achieved within the film. From the stripey sandworm to all the costumes or the vision of the Neitherworld, the whole Beetlejuice world translates really well to stage. It’s also perfect for the theatrical because the original movie was kind of this live-action cartoon, anyway.
You could tell the playwrights and production designers really had a blast adapting the memorable elements of the movie into musical form, from Miss Argentina’s song in the Neitherworld to the Banana Boat Song scene and all of Beetlejuice’s wacky tendencies. All in all, of course the original Beetlejuice will always be a classic, but I really enjoyed the musical and highly recommend it if it’s going through your town.
We can also look forward to Tim Burton returning to the Neitherworld with Beetlejuice 2. The upcoming horror movie is expected to be released on September 6, 2024.
