Melbourne’s own Eddie Perfect takes on the title role in Beetlejuice as his boffo Broadway musical makes its eagerly anticipated Australian premiere.

The lavish modern production is a heady twist on traditional musical theatre, integrating puppetry, projections, and prestidigitation with the best of Broadway design, a truly hilarious book and score, and a top flight local cast. 

Far from simply putting the 1988 movie on stage, book writers Scott Brown and Anthony King finessed Beetlejuice the Musical into a clever and funny work in its own right. As Beetlejuice himself says of the opening scene (the funeral of Lydia’s mother), “such a bold departure from the original source material.” Iconic moments from the movie draw audience cheers but the work can certainly be enjoyed on its own merits with little or no knowledge of the film. 

With a nod to commedia dell’arte, Beetlejuice faces twin quests; in act one he needs someone to say his name three times and in act two he needs to marry a living soul. The comic horror has a clear internal logic on the plight and privilege of the recently deceased, grounding the madness in our shared understanding of grief. 

An agent of chaos, ostentatious aggressor Beetlejuice gives proceedings an air of improvised madness; a significant part of the giddy fun is having no idea what will happen next. While act one neatly builds to a fabulous climax, act two spirals through increasingly spectacular set pieces before honing in on the familiar comfort of found family. 

The cohesive strength of Beetlejuice the Musical lies in the ideal match in comedic styles between Brown and King’s book and composer Eddie Perfect’s lyrics. Scenes transition seamlessly between the spoken and sung word with the laugh rate never faltering. 

Instantly accessible, Perfect’s music is filled with jaunty earworms (not to be confused with sandworms). Beetlejuice introduces the musical in devilish style with “The Whole Being Dead Thing.” Comic mania hits a high with act two charm song “That Beautiful Sound,” later topped again with game show company number “Creepy Old Guy.”

The depth of Perfect’s work lies in the balance he provides with emotional character-driven songs. Lydia earns audience devotion and acclaim with power belt “Dead Mom,” completing her poignant arc with 11 o’clock power ballad “Home.” “Ready, Set, Not Yet” includes twin Hamilton-esque rap soliloquies for straight laced home makers Adam and Barbara, with Barbara later celebrating her hard-earned growth with “Barbara 2.0.”

On keys, musical director Anthony Barnhill conducts nine fellow musicians in a blazing performance of Perfect’s toe-tapping score. 

Hit-making director Alex Timbers infuses Beetlejuice the Musical with his trademark air of ever-bubbling energy. Despite the fantastical setting, crisply drawn characters readily engage audience affection, raising the stakes of the ensuing drama, hilarious though it may be. 

As with his peak work on Moulin Rouge, Timbers acts as something of a ringleader, corralling all creative elements into a smoothly blended whole. The dazzle and dynamism of Connor Gallagher’s choreography, Peter Nigrini’s projections, Michael Curry’s puppets, Jeremy Chernwick’s special effects, and Michael Weber’s illusions come together for a truly splendid result. 

Costumes by William Ivey Long are reliably characterful, eye-popping, and glamorous. Not using a single set of parallel lines, scenic designer David Korins crafts the haunted house as the physical embodiment of the story’s zaniness. Over and above all creative elements, the lighting design of Kenneth Posner is a star attraction in its own right, achieving extraordinary results in literally painting the stage in vivid colour and framing the action in sparkling glitter. 

Having channelled his own comedic spirit into the role of Beetlejuice when composing the score, Eddie Perfect is, if you will allow it, the perfect portrayer of the title role. Beaming with infectious, childlike fun, Perfect is the eager audience’s ready conduit into the mystical world. With woke sensibilities already dismissed in the opening number, Perfect dives into Beetlejuice’s outrageous outlook, cheerfully giving the audience permission to laugh at usually unmentionable aspects. Perfect’s rollicking energy drives the musical along, whilst providing plenty of scope for fellow performers to shine.

Emerging star Karis Oka takes her profile to new heights with an expertly judged performance of Gothic grieving teen Lydia. Oka’s powerhouse belts sees her soars through Lydia’s power ballads to highly memorable effect. 

Elise McCann and Rob Johnson delight as adorkable couple Barbara and Adam, gamely embracing their characters’ nerdy glee and fear, and taking them on a convincing journey to greater self realisation. McCann particularly shines with terrific featured number “Barbara 2.0”

As “life coach” Delia, Erin Clare steals her every scene with her wickedly affected vocal stylings of Delia’s twisted truisms. Clare deftly fills out the role, seizing upon every snatched mention of Delia’s backstory to deepen the characterisation. Clare is strongly supported by straight man Tom Wren as Charles, beleaguered father of Delia.

A clear feature of this premiere Australian season is the depth of talent found in the quirky featured roles. Andy Conaghan deftly captures the camp of self-appointed spiritual guru Otho. Adam Lyon successfully brings pompous presence to dirty developer Maxie Dean. Noni McCallum completely immerses herself in cantankerous creation Juno. Angelique Cassimatis thrills the audience as iconic netherworld mainstay Miss Argentina. Rebecca Ordiz brings instant tension to the perilous plight of Girl Scout. 

The hard-working ensemble members invaluably support the main action, disguising themselves in a wide range of featured roles and dancing up a storm when required. 

Not one for the Rodgers and Hammerstein set, the dazzling delights of Beetlejuice the Musical make it an incredible introduction to the joys of musical theatre for younger audience members. 

Beetlejuice the Musical plays at Regent Theatre, Melbourne. For tickets, click here.

Photos: Michelle Grace Hunder