The West End has a new Halloween treat as Beetlejuice: The Musical. The Musical. The Musical. arrives at the Prince Edward theatre, bringing Tim Burton's 1988 film to life with song and dance. The theatre is transformed into a haunted house with purple and green lights, a slithering sandworm, and an evil cackle to kick off the show. The production is packed with panto-style gags, topical references, and direct audience address, including jokes about hipster vapes, James Corden, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's decapitated head.
David Fynn takes on the role of Beetlejuice, bringing an anarchic energy reminiscent of his performance in School of Rock. However, his scattershot dialogue and shock-jock antics quickly become tiresome, lacking the creepy grotesqueness of Michael Keaton's original portrayal. The show tries too hard to be wild, with Beetlejuice gatecrashing the heartfelt prologue to mock it, but the less-is-more approach is abandoned.
Despite this, there is much to enjoy in Alex Timbers' off-kilter production. The designs are drop-dead gorgeous, with uncanny lighting by Kenneth Posner, trippy projections from Peter Nigrini, and devilishly clever sets by David Korins. The performances are full of life, with David Hunter and Chelsea Halfpenny as the deceased Adam and Barbara Maitland, Hannah Nordberg as the furrowed adolescent Lydia Deetz, and Aimie Atkinson as the tightly wound life coach Delia. William Ivey Long's inspired costumes and Charles G LaPointe's weird wig designs add to the visual feast.
The special effects, illusions, and puppets are delightful, with highlights including a roast pig sitting upright during the dinner-party possession set to Day-O. The songs by Eddie Perfect are entertaining but oddly unmemorable, though the Danny Elfman influence is detectable in Kris Kukul's orchestrations. The book by Scott Brown and Anthony King touches on themes of being seen and embracing life, with Nordberg providing an emotional anchor. Enjoy the sandworm, but don't expect earworms.
