Interview: David Wilson of BEETLEJUICE at BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTER

The national tour of BEETLEJUICE arrives at Houston’s Hobby Center November 3–8, with David Wilson making his national tour debut as Adam, the original owner of the house who haunts the newest tenants. Wilson talks about his lifelong journey into acting, his love for the musical, and the surprising emotional heart of this darkly funny show.

BRETT CULLUM: I’ve seen the original movie, BEETLEJUICE, multiple times and you told me you have seen the original Broadway production eight times. What’s it like to be in this world?

David Wilson: It’s really surreal. Much like you, I saw the movie multiple times. And yes, I saw the original Broadway production, I think, eight times. It was my roommate’s favorite musical. I would go with her all the time to see it, and we’d walk out of there saying, “If I were to do anything in that show, I would love to be Adam.” Almost 10 years later, getting to go across North America, it’s really been surreal. It’s amazing.

BRETT CULLUM: Whenever I see these movie musicals, I always wonder how they’re different from the film. Is there a lot of stuff that’s different in this one?

David Wilson: Definitely. I think where the movie focuses a bit more on the Maitlands and their need to get this family out of the house, the musical really structures itself around Beetlejuice and Lydia. Beetlejuice, in our version, is a very lonely being who is just trying to be seen. Lydia has just lost her mother and is dealing with that grief, meeting the Maitlands, and navigating life without her mom.

BRETT CULLUM: You’ve always wanted to play Adam. What is it about him that made you think this was the part for you?

David Wilson: I think in a show that’s so absurd, like Beetlejuice, where so much is happening, there are special effects going everywhere, creatures, and all of this zaniness, Adam and Barbara really are the straight men of the musical. But there’s so much fun in seeing people who seem so ordinary and so average, and the journey that they go on. By the end of the show, they’re able to take on this otherworldly being, and they’re able to have this connection with Lydia, this parental connection. Where they start and where they end, I think that journey is really exciting to see. Anybody, the everyday, average person, can really become extraordinary.

BRETT CULLUM: What do you think this show says to the world right now?

David Wilson: I think right off the bat, Beetlejuice announces itself as a show about death, but equally, it is a show about life, connection, and just needing to belong. A really recurring theme in the show is people feeling invisible and trying to be seen. Anybody can connect to that. Everybody, in their own way, just wants to be acknowledged, seen, and appreciated. I think that’s why a lot of people come into the show ready to laugh or ready to enjoy the world of Tim Burton that they remember from the films, but leave feeling really touched and emotional. We just had somebody in Kansas City tell me at the stage door how shocked they were that they ended up crying in the second act. They didn’t expect that, but they were equally laughing throughout the whole thing. That’s everything you want in a musical. You want to laugh, you want the earworms that you can sing afterward, and you want to feel all the emotions.

BRETT CULLUM: What’s the best earworm in your opinion?

David Wilson: A lot of people are going to say “Dead Mom.” For me, it’s probably “Home.” I remember sitting in the theater when it was on Broadway, and I loved that song. I sit in the wings and watch Leana Rae Concepcion, who plays Lydia, sing it, and I’m just like, God, her voice is out of this world. It’s so crazy good.

BRETT CULLUM: How did you get into acting? What was the path to this whole thing?

David Wilson: I joined my high school drama club purely because my mom was not going to pick my brother and me up at different times. My brother was already a student director. I was a freshman when he was a senior, so I kind of had to do it. I was actually more into orchestra. I played violin. That’s what I thought I was going to do with my career. But I ended up joining the drama club with my brother, and from there, I did every single show that you could do in high school. I did all the community theater in the area. Then I went to acting school in New York. I got my bachelor’s from Fordham, and then I got my master’s from the graduate acting program at NYU.

It all just fell into place in a really amazing way. I said I wanted to go to New York, I worked really hard to get into school there, and I made sure that I stayed in school there, because living in New York is not easy. As soon as I started acting, I could not stop. I was doing it every opportunity that I could.

BRETT CULLUM: You earned a graduate degree in acting during COVID. What was that experience like?

David Wilson: It was really crazy. I was finishing up my bachelor’s over Zoom, which nobody wanted to do in 2021. The pandemic really was not fun for acting school. Zoom theater can stay in that period. It’s good. I was listening to a lot of people in the industry talk in a doomsday way about it, and not much was happening. In my mind, I was like, okay, let me try applying to grad school and see what happens. 

NYU was my second graduate school audition. When I made it to the end of that audition day, I said, “Okay, I’m either going to NYU or I’m not going anywhere.” The faculty connected with me in such an amazing way, and I thankfully got in. It was one of the best experiences. Being a part of that cohort made me even more appreciative of being an actor and getting to work with these people. Having Sterling K. Brown walk into an acting class, because he’s an alumnus, or Celia Keenan-Bolger talk to us, or Julie Benko, who is an alumna of the program, walk the halls—it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

BRETT CULLUM: This is your first national tour. What has that experience been like?

David Wilson: I remember I was out of school for maybe a year, living in New York, and I was like, “God, I kind of want to see other parts of the country. Maybe New York is somewhere I need to step away from for a little bit.” Then I booked this tour, and I miss New York like crazy now, but it has been the biggest gift going across the country. Having audiences that are so dedicated to this show and so excited for it, dressing up, telling me it’s either their first-ever Broadway show or their eighth time seeing this particular musical—we have everything in between. It’s been the best gift this year. The last city we were in was Kansas City, and we had Starlight Theatre, an outdoor theater with 7,000 or 8,000 seats. Seeing people so excited outdoors in the cold, dressed up and cheering their faces off, was surreal.Almost 10 years after this musical first debuted, there are people who are still so excited for this show. We gather people who are fans of the movie, and we gather people who are huge Broadway fans. I don’t know another way to describe it other than it’s kind of a dream come true.

BRETT CULLUM: You’re coming to Houston November 3–8. Have you ever been to Texas?

David Wilson: No, I have never been to Texas, and I am so excited. I’m a Midwest boy, so I love any opportunity I can have to be in the warmth. I’m excited to have a different experience this year.

BRETT CULLUM: What are you most looking forward to about bringing Beetlejuice to Houston?

David Wilson: We’re so excited. Having audiences who are so enthusiastic about the show has been amazing. It’s a dream come true to get to do this musical and travel across the country with it.

BRETT CULLUM: We’re certainly looking forward to seeing you take on the role of Adam in Beetlejuice. Thank you, and I hope the rest of the tour goes just as well!