The Broadway-bound musical Beetlejuice, based on the popular 1988 Tim Burton film of the same name, has found its Broadway home. The musical’s spooks and specters will haunt Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre when the show begins previews in March of 2019. The show is slated to open in April of the same year. Prior to its Broadway berth, Beetlejuice will have its world premiere at Washington D.C.’s National Theatre beginning performances on Sunday, October 14, 2018 and officially opening on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
The Winter Garden Theatre is one of Broadway’s most sought-after theatres, as it is one of the few venues that are actually on the literal street known as “Broadway.” Found at 1634 Broadway, the theatre has been the home of many long-running hits including 42nd Street, Cats, and Mamma Mia. School of Rock, which will end its successful run in January, is the current resident of the Winter Garden.
Director Alex Timbers, who is also helming the Broadway-bound production of Moulin Rouge, will also lead Beetlejuice to the Broadway stage. Timber’s collaborator on the Off-Broadway revival of The Robber Bridegroom, Connor Gallagher, will choreograph the piece. Beetlejuice features an original score by Eddie Perfect (King Kong), a book by Scott Brown & Emmy Award nominee Anthony King (Broad City). Kris Kukul will handle music supervision, orchestrations and incidental music
“It’s showtime, folks! Beetlejuice is ruder, raunchier and frankly, more repellent than ever in this original musical based on Tim Burton’s wonderfully demented film. 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 who happens to have a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on this ghost-with-the-most to scare away her insufferable parents, Beetlejuice comes up with the perfect plan, which involves exorcism, arranged marriages and an adorable girl scout who gets scared out of her wits.”
The cast of Beetlejuice was announced a few weeks ago. Leading the show will be Tony-nominee Alex Brightman (School of Rock) as the darkly-mischievous title character, and Sophia Anne Caruso will portray the death-obsessed teenager Lydia. Joining them will be Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler (Mean Girls) as ‘Barbara,’ Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (Something Rotten!) as ‘Adam,’ Obie Award winner Adam Dannheisser (Rock Of Ages) as ‘Charles,’ two-time Drama Desk Award nominee Leslie Kritzer (The Robber Bridgegroom) as ‘Delia,’ Jill Abramovitz (Fiddler on the Roof) as ‘Maxine Dean,’ Danny Rutigliano (Holiday Inn) as ‘Maxie Dean,’ and Kelvin Moon Loh (SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical) as ‘Otho.’
The ensemble for Beetlejuice will feature Tessa Alves (Escape to Margaritaville) Johnny Brantley (The Book of Mormon National Tour), Ryan Breslin (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Brooke Engen (Hairspray), Abe Goldfarb (“Pokémon”), Eric Anthony Johnson (Cinderella), Elliott Mattox (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Mateo Melendez (iLuminate: Artist of Light), George Merrick (Honeymoon In Vegas), Ramone Owens (Motown the Musical), Devin Roberts (The Lion King), Presley Ryan (Fun Home), Kim Sava (Matilda National Tour), and Dana Steingold (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee).
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.