Alan Sherrod

Admittedly, that plot is as thin as cornsilk. Fortunately, the story is glued together by two “Storytellers” (Tyler Joseph Ellis and Maya Lagerstam) who act as narrators by filling in plot details for the audience and imparting a really strong presentational energy. They and the excellent ensemble get the show off to a really decent start with “Corn,” a cleverly choreographed number (choreographer Sarah O’Gleby) that is a visual and performance beauty.

It’s worth mentioning upfront that the creators have taken substantial license with some of the original Burton plot details and characters, replacing comic and cinematic nuances with brash and shallow in-your-face cartoon-ish-ness that is a louder, but a less complex alternative. For example, the role of Beetlejuice himself (Justin Collette, who clearly knows how to entertain an audience) has been inflated into a character that is even more manic and desperate, and admittedly, “more vaudeville.” The character of Delia (Sarah Litzsinger) has been given a somewhat different relationship to Charles (Jesse Sharp) and teenager obsessed-with-death Delia (Isabella Esler) that was a less-than-satisfying departure from the film plot.

It’s worth mentioning upfront that the creators have taken substantial license with some of the original Burton plot details and characters, replacing comic and cinematic nuances with brash and shallow in-your-face cartoon-ish-ness that is a louder, but a less complex alternative. For example, the role of Beetlejuice himself (Justin Collette, who clearly knows how to entertain an audience) has been inflated into a character that is even more manic and desperate, and admittedly, “more vaudeville.” The character of Delia (Sarah Litzsinger) has been given a somewhat different relationship to Charles (Jesse Sharp) and teenager obsessed-with-death Delia (Isabella Esler) that was a less-than-satisfying departure from the film plot.