David Fynn and Hannah Nordberg in Beetlejuice the Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. Picture: Johan Persson
Beetlejuice the Musical continues at the Prince Edward Theatre, London until 17 April 2027.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Tim Burton’s 1988 Beetlejuice was a great example of how a film might not need anything more than one iconic lead performance to succeed, but when every department from script to sets to music to direction are on top form too, that movie can become iconic. Michael Keaton’s certifiably bonkers turn in the title role may haunt our memories, but that character was only on screen for about 15 minutes. The rest of the stellar cast (Winona Ryder! Catherine O’Hara! Alec Baldwin! Geena Davis!), Burton’s distinctive directorial vision, the script’s unique perspective on mortality and the strikingly original design choices have made this movie stand the test of time.
Brought to the Broadway stage in 2019, and now playing in the West End’s grand Prince Edward Theatre after a presumably pandemic-related delay, this musical theatre adaptation by Scott Brown and Anthony King (book) and Eddie Perfect (songs) necessarily takes a different approach. Stage productions can’t feature sets as elaborate or effects as outlandish as a CGI-assisted film, but director Alex Timbers has gone all-in on bringing that wild cinematic world to life in this piece despite the necessary adjustments for live theatre.
The major alteration is the role of the title character. Rather than an occasional agent of chaos dropping into our story, Beetlejuice himself is an ever-present, fourth wall-breaking force of nature who guides us through the events of the play. The role demands a performer who can command the stage, and David Fynn is a natural in this regard.
Perhaps drawing on skills he honed during his lead turn in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock, Fynn bounds around with impish mischief. He is every inch the archetypal trickster demon. Musically, his vocal choices favour the funny over the technically spectacular, but fortunately the larger cast more than compensates in this regard. Hannah Nordberg is downright sensational as protagonist Lydia Deetz. She is sympathetic even as she is ripping her family apart through her flirtation with the occult and her high notes prove the musical highlights of the entire show. Crucially, her chemistry with Fynn’s Beetlejuice is finely judged. Just creepy enough, but ultimately delightful.
On paper, a demon is hard to love, but Fynn’s take on the character projects an endearing childishness. He makes outrageous jokes to shock, he seemingly has no control over his passions, and he throws tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. Making us laugh for two and a half hours solid helps, but like any toddler acting out, it is the barely concealed vulnerability that makes us smile on sight. He just wants to be accepted, to be seen. Beneath the sinister villainy, there is a heart-warming look of relief when Lydia finally calls Beetlejuice “Beetlejuice”.
Beetlejuice (the film)’s second most memorable performance was arguably the late, great Catherine O’Hara as Lydia’s stepmother Delia. Aimie Atkinson takes up this mantle with admirable confidence and doesn’t put a single high-heeled foot wrong. There are respectful shades of O’Hara in her portrayal, but between her immaculate comic timing and West End-honed vocal prowess, she stands out in a show with so much to distract.
Elsewhere, Lydia’s father and Delia’s lover Charles Deetz is played with a delicate balance by Alasdair Harvey: just enough at odds with our beloved Lydia to have us invest in her teenage angst, but funny and human enough to have us root for him by the end. And of course, Vanessa Aurora Sierra deserves an entire essay dedicated to her showstopping turn as Miss Argentina.
A disappointing departure from the film is the treatment of the Maitlands, the aggressively normal original homeowners of the haunted property. Chelsea Halfpenny and David Hunter are genuinely hilarious in their portrayals but the pair’s reduced impact on the plot leaves them in limbo as main characters who never feel truly important. Still, these are two great comedy performances in a comedy musical which made me laugh consistently so let’s not overthink things.
Perfect’s score delivers the catchy hooks and screaming guitars you might expect from a pop-rock musical, matching the comic tone well. Those aforementioned vocal acrobatics from Nordberg and Atkinson in the ballads give us our aural highlights, but largely thanks to Fynn’s bravura performance, the most memorable numbers are songs like ‘The Whole ‘Being Dead’Thing’ and ‘Say My Name’ from Beetlejuice himself. The film’s two iconic calypso numbers ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ and ‘Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)’ are also present and induce a noticeable bobbing of heads throughout the auditorium.
Musical director Jim Henson (calm down, statistics suggest there are around 200 people with this name in the UK) does a splendid job leading his 11-strong band. This feat is all the more impressive given he must constantly be avoiding the plethora of props hurled into the pit from the stage. The cheers for him during this performance’s standing ovation were well-earned.
From the moment you enter the theatre, colourful lights and smoke permeate the space and establish an effective theme park Halloween atmosphere. David Korins’ sets are strikingly quirky. Combined with Michael Curry, Jeremy Chernick, and Michael Weber’s puppets, effects and illusions respectively, the show is a visual feast.
Of course, so was the movie. A lot of attendees will no doubt be chasing the joy that classic film brought them, and they won’t be disappointed. Though we lose some of Tim Burton’s themes and the glossy smoothness of cinema (some set changes on this occasion were noticeably clunky), the essential tone and humour audiences fell in love with are well preserved. The extended running time isn’t used for a deeper intellectual exploration of mortality: this show knows its purpose. Pure entertainment is important in our troubled times and how lucky we are to have a new escape in the West End so overflowing with hilarity, magic and imagination. Say ‘Delfont Mackintosh’ three times and hope a good deal on a ticket comes your way.
Ian Bowkett
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