London Theatre News & Reviews

The Reviews are in for Beetlejuice The Musical

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Based on Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 movie classic, the 2018 Broadway musical of Beetlejuice finally gets its British premiere after previously touring the USA, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Prague, Warsaw, Abu Dhabi, and even the Norwegian Viva cruise ship as it sailed around the Mediterranean in September 2023.

Telling the tale of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager who shares her home with a pair of newly-deads and the demonic "ghost with the most", Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton in the film), it is expected to run until at least April 2027 at the Prince Edward Theatre, London.

The reviews are in:

"I suppose the first thing to say about Beetlejuice the Musical is that it’s not necessarily one for fans of the Tim Burton film. Which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Aussie singer-songwriter Eddie Perfect’s all-singing take on the 1988 Burton classic is very definitely a retelling, taking most of the core elements of the supernatural comedy and positioning them together in a very different, very ’20s musical theatre way." ★★★ (Time Out).

"The musical is louche, macabre and pure, unadulterated fun, full of black-and-white grotesquerie, visual flair and near-the-knuckle jokes." ★★★★ (Evening Standard).

"Burton’s bonkers 1988 comedy-horror film about a miscreant, louche ghost has become a kitsch, madly frenetic musical. The show has a lot in its favour – not least daft entertainment value – but it lacks essential spark." ★★★ (The Telegraph).

"David Flynn plays the role like a kind of perverted punk-rock frontman with a green quiff that's as sickening as his sense of humour. He's forever goofing around the stage, rubbing his nipples lasciviously in the direction of other cast members – of any gender – or embarking on emo rants about how his mother never loved him." ★★★ (The Independent).

"For a while, all this suffices. But gradually the thin yet complicated plot begins to stall and sag, and the spiky script, ingenious design and sheer gutsy energy of the cast aren’t enough to compensate. There’s no sense of real jeopardy to events and it all becomes rather bitty." ★★★ (Financial Times).

"That being said, this show is still delightfully weird. Its ear-wormy rock soundtrack is packed with a nice range of teenage angst, laugh-out-loud humour and genuine heart. Meanwhile, the script has the perfect balance of satire about itself... and satire about everything else." ★★★★ (Radio Times).

"A Danny Elfman influence can be detected in Kris Kukul’s orchestrations but composer-lyricist Eddie Perfect packs in a variety of styles, including a ghoulish high-school pep band (choreography by Connor Gallagher). Lydia and the Maitlands’ transformations through song are done well but the duet between Delia and Lydia could make more musical difference from their clashing personalities. The numbers are entertaining but oddly unmemorable." ★★★ (The Guardian).

"If I say the name of this misbegotten musical three times, is there any chance I can make it disappear? Because while the show didn’t quite make me abandon the will to live, by the time it was blessedly over, death had pretty much lost its sting." ★★ (The Stage).

Overall: ★★★

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