BEETLEJUICE Reviews

[BuddyStarr]

We caught this last night and brought a friend with us.  We didn't expect much and had a few drinks beforehand  in the hopes that it would help.  Long story short...it didn't.  Our friend wanted to leave at intermission but I like to stay no matter how bad a show is (Burn This was an exception).  

I immediately got a "SpongeBob" vibe in the theatre with the lighting and mood.  I won't go into much detail because I think that horse has been beaten to death already (see, another joke about death, funny, no?  NO)

the cast tries hard and Alex Brightman is a delight but it's really such bad material that it doesn't do anyone good.  The songs are unmemorable and the book is terrible.  The sets are good and different and the lighting reminiscent of the Harry Potter play.  Luckily we had TDF tickets because i could not imagine paying over $100.00 for this mess.  The audience was laughing and I kept wondering what they were laughing at.  The only good number in the show is Day-O and it wasn't written for the show.

Some wrote that they expect it to close around Labor day....I thought they might post closing notices after the Tony's.  Moulin Rouge should have waited and moved into this huge theatre because it will bring in the crowds.  it's not much better, but it is more spectacular.

Just another Movie to Broadway show gone bad.  It's an epidemic. 

[HamilHansen]

YvanEhtNioj said: Everything doesn't have to be as deep as Brigadoon"

Exactly! Fvck Brigadoon!

[MemorableUserName]

Late to the party. After hearing bad things, I had no interest in seeing the show, but my friend got tickets, so I went. I actually thought it was a pretty fun way to spend a few hours. None of the songs were very good (other than maybe the "If I knew then what I knew now" number in the second act), but they were functional enough in the moment. The book had a lot of great lines (and was stronger than the score, other than the forced dead-mom-family-reconciliation climax; but then, all the dead mom stuff was tiresome). It kept me engaged through the whole thing, made me laugh a lot, and the cast was strong and giving it their all. None of it really stuck with me as soon as I left the theater, but for the two and a half hours there, I was entertained, and sometimes that's enough.

My main takeaway was that the actress who played Delia (and a second role in Act 2) was robbed of a Tony nomination. She was terrific and a few days later, she's really the only thing I remember about the show (other than the great sets and impressive effects).

[broadway86]

Aside from Caruso, Kritzer, and the technical elements, I thought it was unfathomably bad. If any humor was wrung out of the material, it's because the cast was giving 1000% on material that didn't deserve them.

I honestly went in with my expectations lowered. I bought the tickets for my partner and I, his first Broadway show. At intermission, I was pretty mortified but he was loving it, so I kept my thoughts to myself lol. 

[dmwnc1959]

I’ll be seeing the show two weeks from today. Wooohooo!!!

Anyone here on the forum been recently? 

[LLW2]

dmwnc1959 said: "I’ll be seeing the show two weeks from today. Wooohooo!!!

Anyone here on the forum been recently?"

I saw it three weeks ago, having seen it in DC twice. I liked it and think it’s much improved from DC. They toned down the raunch and made the storyline more coherent. The audience adored it and I could hear people raving about it at intermission, calling it “hilarious,” saying Alex Brightman should have won the Tony, and wondering how the cast has the energy to do it night after night.

[InTheBathroom1]

Revisited on Sunday and loved it just as much sober as I did drunk.

[sethepstein12]

dmwnc1959 said: "I’ll be seeing the show two weeks from today. Wooohooo!!!

Anyone here on the forum been recently?"

I went in April, and I just went back on July 4th. Just as good, and the cast is just a phenomenal!

[Skip23]

As always - I dont get the shade for Beetlejuice. It’s funny, tuneful, snarky in a fun way with great tech. My fave new musical. MUCH better than Tootsie, The Prom and Moulin Rouge.

[dmwnc1959]

Sitting here in Washington PA at the Krispy Kreme eating their limited edition specialty Birthday Doughnuts, en route to Pittsburgh to catch the overnight bus to NYC to celebrate my 60th birthday, and over the KK loud speakers, I kid you not, "Shake, Shake, Shake Senora". I'm laughing out loud here it's a crazy coincidence!!! Seeing Beetlejuice tomorrow and so psyched! Listened to the OBCR recording start to finish for the first time on the drive up and it’s not as bad as people had made it out to be. Super excited!

[dmwnc1959]

In the outer lobby of the Winter Garden now, they’re going to be letting us in at about 7:25pm. They were kind enough to fill the outer lobby with the first of those waiting in line to get out of the heat. The rest of those poor souls are standing out in the Netherworld.

[dmwnc1959]

It’s intermission a WOW is this show freaking NUTS!!! The audience is really eating this up, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed. The end of Act 1 was simply fantastic!

Sophia Anne Caruso is a powerhouse and the real star of the show so far. Love all the crude humor. Definitely not for everyone. 

With that said the endless droning pre-show music and spiraling spot lights did get a bit annoying while sitting here for 20+ minutes waiting for the show to start. And staring at this spiral on the scrim is just weird.

I do love the way the entire theatre house is set up with the green and purple and it was quite impressive walking in.

For souvenirs I bought the magnet, socks, and coffee mug.

On to Act 2 in a few minutes.

I’ll come back later after I get to the hotel and give some final impressions of the show. So far I’m having a blast!

[dmwnc1959]

Don’t know if this would be consider spoilers.

Act 2 started off with a strobe light explosion , but overall, when compared to the pacing of Act 1, the second half of the show slowed down quite a bit. The Netherworld was crazy - the psychedelic down-the-rabbit-hole visuals were cool. But the fun seemed to come to a crashing halt with all the feels that came with Home. Sophia Anne Caruso did sing the hell out of it.

The whole marriage part seemed long and drawn out, more serious, and at a slower pace than all of Act 1, which blew right by.

Every single song was greeted with a burst of screams and thunderous applause. Like I said before, the audience was eating this show up. Most of the songs have already left my head, but it’s probably because I didn’t listen to the OBCR for months on repeat like I have with other shows. Still, I don’t think there was a bad song in the show.

I really liked Alex Brightman a lot more than I expected, and his character and voice never got on my nerves. He was vulgar, and funny, and his comedic timing and crazy antics were just fun. The actors that played the Maitlands were perfect with their bland, dry, plain, dull witted portrayals - just funny. And Delia was wonderfully ditzy. I think Otho was just not funny at all and seemed a bit of an awkward part. Not sure that more of him would have helped. I did love the giant sand worm. Very cool. And the Conductor that arose from the orchestra pit at curtain call - bwahahahaha! 

The strobes, which were going off like fireworks at times, didn’t give me a headache which I was initially a bit concerned about. Most of the stage sets, most especially the house, I really liked. And the projections were done well and not overly used. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the show from start to finish. It was that type of show where you just have to sit back, take nothing seriously, and just let go. 

I don’t think I’ve ever had THIS much fun at a show!

[Pashacar]

dmwnc1959 said: "Still, I don’t think there was a bad song in the show."

I'm sincerely glad you had a good time, and I agree with you on Brightman, but man, I can't say I ever expected to see this sentence written about an Eddie Perfect score.

[LLW2]

dmwnc1959 said: "I think Otho was just not funny at all and seemed a bit of an awkward part. Not sure that more of him would have helped."

Definitely not. We got lots more of him in the DC tryout -- I think he even had a song, "The Box" or "My Box" or something, which was mercifully cut from the Broadway version.

 

[jigblob]

Does anyone know of any planned cast member absences/vacations over these next couple of months ?

[broadway86]

LLW2 said: "dmwnc1959 said: "I think Otho was just not funny at all and seemed a bit of an awkward part. Not sure that more of him would have helped."

Definitely not. We got lots more of him in the DC tryout-- I think he even had a song, "The Box" or "My Box" or something, which was mercifully cut from the Broadway version."

Ooof. Otho and Delia are such great characters with a wonderful dynamic in the film, not sure how they botched it so badly. At least Kritzer is giving her all.

[dmwnc1959]

This brought back great memories of the show, and what a great curtain call this is... :)

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Day-O-Songwriter-Spends-95th-Birthday-at-BEETLEJUICE-with-Post-Show-Sing-Along-20190814

[woeisme3]

Saw this on Sunday and really didn’t like it. I thought the book was so lazy and often went for the cheapest possible jokes and refused to engage with the material dramatically. The score was even worse and some of the laziest work I’ve seen in a while (other than King Kong which I also had the “pleasure” of seeing this week) The actors and design were easily the most redeeming parts, and Rob McClure Leslie Keitzer and Kerry Butler are making the best of what they’re given.

[dmwnc1959]

The entire time I was sitting in the theatre I never once thought of terminology like “book” and “score” - I was there just to have a lazy, crazy, good time. Disengage my brain for once. And I never tried to think of it as serious theatre, to look at it through critical eyes. 

There will be those who really didn’t like it, and those who will see it over and over again. Heck, I’d almost be willing to give up my Hadestown ticket to see Beetlejuice again. Almost.

But there’s a reason it’s doing well at the theatre, well enough it’ll probably still be on Broadway come Christmas when so many shows never made it to Labor Day weekend. People are enjoying something that’s not trying to take itself so seriously. Not trying to impress critics. At 60 years old I can still cut loose and have a good time. For those who didn’t enjoy Beetlejuice, sorry. I wish you had had as much fun as I did. Because it was a blast! 

Two weeks from today I’ll have seen Hadestown and will be in line for Moulin Rouge!. I hope neither one disappoint me as much as Beetlejuice disappointed some of you. 

[Pashacar]

woeisme3 said: "Saw this on Sunday and really didn’t like it. I thought the book was so lazy and often went for the cheapest possible jokes and refused to engage with the material dramatically. The score was even worse and some of the laziest work I’ve seen in a while (other than King Kong which I also had the “pleasure” of seeing this week) The actors and design were easily the most redeeming parts, and Rob McClure Leslie Keitzer and Kerry Butler are making the best of what they’re given."

Agree quote strongly. And disagree with the folks suggesting that those of us who didn't like it are stuck-up or elitist or whatever. I love mindless comedy, but it does not mean the creatives should approach it as lazily and sloppily as these have.

[griffin24]

Im looking at. booking this and ive found an aisle seat row U for $69. Do you think this will be alright seat?