Review: BEETELJUICE at Fox Theatre, St. Louis

Unwelcome guests are the worst! Especially Beetlejuice, a lonely dead guy looking to come back to life.

Now playing at the Fox Theatre, this dazzling musical, based on Tim Burton’s 1988 film, is relentlessly fun. Like the movie, it tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a gothic teenager who still mourns her mother. She also is estranged from her father, Charles who is currently courting, Delia, a terrible life coach who is not the sharpest tool in the shed. 

Meanwhile, Adam and Barbara Maitland are a happily married couple who are quite upset to find themselves dead. Loving and affectionate, they are electrocutedat home and left to haunt the manor they lived in. Unable to leave the house, they are trapped in oblivion.

From here everyone’s lives intersect and get a little nutty as this adaptation veers sharply away from the source material. Here, Beetlejuice is more front and center of the happenings while the Maitlands are pushed into the back of the line.

Stuck in their attic with piles of junk they’ve collected while they were alive, the Maitlands are helpless to prevent Lydia, whose love of the macabre has made her easily compliant to Beetlejuice’s scheming. As for Charles, he is trying to connect with his daughter and cope with a relationship he is not completely happy with.

Unfortunately for them, Beetlejuice arrives with his unique brand of chaos. Quick-witted, conniving, and eager to scheme, he is devious yet somehow lovable. Despite being dead, his passion for life is insatiable.

Using these abilities for his own gain, he lays waste to everyone in his path, including Lydia, whom he manipulates into agreeing to marry him. However, as Beetlejuice soon discovers, being alive is not all it is cracked up to be.

Directed by Alex Timbers with choreography by Connor Gallagher and a stellar set design by David Korins, this touring production is nothing short of perfection. It utilizes eyepopping projections, big dance numbers, and a collection of numbers that never fizzle. In short, Beetlejuice lives up to the hype.

As for the cast, the ensemble is tremendous. Justin Collette’s improv background allows him to break the fourth wall with panache. His Beetlejuice is an embraceable anti-hero whose skullduggery always works against him. In addition to bringing the comedy, Collette also gives the character a vulnerability that makes him relatable.

Fresh out of high school, Isabella Esler is a rising talent. Starring as Lydia, she commands the stage with the presence of a veteran. Her voice is powerful and uplifting and the dynamics between her and Collette are electric. As a pair, they are unstoppable.

Also exceptional are Ryan Breslin and Megan McGinnis as Adam and Barbara Maitland. Both talented, they play a couple stuck between the living and the dead. Their performances provide the musical with some of its most poignant moments. 

Rounding out the cast is Jesse Sharp, who is wonderful as Charles, Lydia’s straight-laced father, and the equally delightful scene-stealer Kate Marilley as Delia, his somewhat kooky new flame.

Using the Tim Burton film as a foundation, Beetlejuice is a rollicking good time. Filled with stellar performances, amazing songs (particularly in Act 2), dazzling sets, and a score that raises the dead, it is equal parts black comedy musical theater and offbeat grief therapy. 

The afterlife has never been this fun!

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