Review: BEETLEJUICE at National Theatre

The current touring production of Beetlejuice, now playing at The National Theatre, is an odd theatrical piece –in that it is really more of an ostensible cult musical event for the generations in their twenties, thirties, and early forties. This in itself is perfectly fine, but I must admit that this musical had none of the edgy cult musical appeal of such marvelously innovative and witty cult musicals as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop of Horrors. There should be some measure of real solid wit and interesting songs in even the most beloved generational cult musicals.

This production of Beetlejuice comes across as more of a juvenile parade of primitive Halloween frights and rituals that would not scare even the most sophisticated child ---the show has a very childish and sophomoric appeal. Some of the racier “double entendres” and deliberately outrageous expletives of the outlier and main character, Beetlejuice, are delivered so quickly and broadly that I doubt hardly anyone could find them to be that offensive.

In this production, the direction was attributed to Catie Davis (but the original direction was by Alex Timbers) so I cannot vouch for any of the gradations that might have accrued from the original Broadway productions. Indeed, this production must have appealed to the cult followers of this show as there was constant high-pitched screaming and yelling at the stage actors even before they uttered a line or sang a snippet of a song.

The eagerness of the audience to embrace such a poorly produced production felt like a desperate flailing for peer acceptance and self-gratification from the audience members. Hoots, hollers, and sustained applause greeted every breath or movement of the actors---indeed, I felt as if I was attending a high school play or the worst sort of community theatre. The whole ambience was over-eager, strained, and hyped-up to no discernable effect.

There was an amorphous, bloated and extremely broad feel to the proceedings—I am not sure if this was the result of the poorly developed book, flaccid direction, or the redundant and non-melodic, screeching songs. A little bit of the mordant and macabre tone of The Addams Family would be most welcome here.

Beetlejuice is “a show about death” and the central character could be the morose and depressed Lydia (played with bite and angst by Leianna Weaver) who is the emotional linchpin of the musical. Complications ensue as the recently deceased owners of a large home, Barbara (Kaitlin Feely) and Adam(David Wilson) must retreat to the attic as the new inhabitants of their home remodel everything with a noveau riche sensibility. As the new inhabitants, Jeff Brooks as Charles Deetz is superbly officious and Bailey Frankenberg is an ersatz delight as the mistress Delia Deetz.

As the manipulative, conniving and mischievous Beetlejuice, actor Ryan Stajmiger has a daunting task ---as he must appear in most all of the scenes. He still has to develop pacing and comic timing a bit but manages to engage most fully in the musical numbers especially “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing.”

Tim Burton’s famous film Beetlejuice (1988) certainly contained the germination of what little interest that I could garner from this project. If only the repeated send-ups/spoofery of domestic rituals and bourgeois behavior were as well-developed in this project,-- as they were so beautifully displayed in Mr. Burton’s superb film Edward Scissorhands.

The book by Scott Brown and Anthony King is hard to follow as narrative strands are thrown together in the most disorienting manner; it is hard to care about any of the characters’ plights or contextual background.

Choreography was attributed to Michael Fatica in this touring production (the original choreographer was Connor Gallagaher). The choreographic patterns consisted of jumping around and waving of the hands. The ensemble cast strained to astonish but they were not showcased to advantage.

Songs by Eddie Perfect are often repetitious and often sound alike—the effect was strident, hollow, and monotonous. (Surtitles are really needed for the constant verbosity of the song’s lyrics).

Music direction and keyboards by  Charlie Yokom were well-handled. Mr. Yokom also conducted the orchestra with aplomb.

All of the actors certainly tried their best to exude energy and charisma, but it was difficult to sustain interest in such a loud and garish stage environment. Da’Zaria Harris was quite effective and exciting in her supporting roles .

Scenic design by David Korins was exceptional with the atmospheric details of the house’s interiors and the carefully delineated attic.

Costumes by William Ivey Long were vividly eye-catching.

Lighting by Kenneth Posner was creative and stimulating.

Running Time: Two Hours and 30 minutes with one fifteen-minute intermission

Beetlejuice runs through July 19, 2026, at The National Theatre located at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20004.

Photo credit: Ryan Stajmiger as Beetlejuice and company members of the Beetlejuice North American Touring Company.

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