“What shifts this professional musical up a level is the meticulous perfectionism.”
Kate Stratford
5 Stars
Venue: Regent Theatre
Melbourne
Dates: until September 11
Should I tell you the Beetlejuice plot? Or have you seen the film? A young couple dies and their home is sold to a developer who arrives with a designer second wife and a grief-ridden daughter. In order to get their house back, the ghostly young married summon a demon from the Netherworld to haunt and scare the new owners away. Sounds awful – except it is funny. Really funny.
Eddie Perfect’s Beetlejuice – The Musical harvests Tim Burton’s original 1988 film and broadly sticking to the plot, Scott Brown and Anthony King (book) create a musical play about death. This version leans far more into the grief of bereavement. The feelings of isolation and loneliness that follow. But it is still funny. You really need to be an aficionado of black comedy.
That the lead roles are rotated is perfectly understandable, as Betelgeuse says – they “do this bullshit eight times a week!” His character is a little gentler, a little more vulnerable but still vulgar and demonic and Loki-like, consistently breaking the fourth wall to include and abuse the audience. It is still however, pretty much the story we know. The young Maitlands take a secondary role to Lydia and Betelgeuse who form an unholy alliance but we are still in familiar territory. We get sandworms and shrunken heads and the glorious patterns and Belafonte’s calypso and all the stuff we love about the film. And lots, lots and lots, of current day references. Best not to be easily offended and if you are, what are you doing at this musical? Surely you had an inkling?
What shifts this professional musical up a level is the meticulous perfectionism. In everything. From performances – every singer could hit every note (and act); an ensemble of triple threats as chorus and no-one cast as a character because they have a media personality rather than real talent. Stagecraft, puppetry, set design, costumes and choreography. Lighting and sound design and operation. Audio-visuals and live orchestra. The backstage mech. Not a cue early or late or missed. By cast or crew. Not a note off pitch/key. By cast or orchestra. One of my party had a tear at the end because “When live theatre comes together like this, it gets you in the heart.”
Sure, some stuff had been thrown out but the lyrics are clever (Eddie Perfect) and the energy is joyous. If you are a purist, you may not like the changes. But if you want an excellent theatrical outing, then this is it.
There was a young couple from Brisbane next to me who had organized this mini holiday to come to Melbourne and see this and had also taken in the MSO How to Train Your Dragon symphonic performance the day before. Sounds ideal to me. A long weekend in Melbourne seeing various arts at their absolute best or a humid week in Bali. I will take this Melbourne option every time.
We walked down Collins Street singing Jump in the Line (Shake Senora) afterwards. Says it all.
5 conga lines
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
