Detroit — The ghoulish “Beetlejuice the Musical” is now playing at the Detroit Opera House from January 31-February 12. An adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1988 film that wreaks havoc on the living and the dead in a haunted house. The music and lyrics are by Eddie Perfect, an Australian composer, and directed by Tony award winner Alex Timbers.
With the purple and green flood lights moving about the theater, the curtain rises with a funeral scene. The musical begins when Barbara (Britney Coleman) and Adam (Will Burton) who live in this old Victorian house dies by electrocution and become ghosts. The new owners of the house, Charles Deetz (Jesse Sharp) and girlfriend Delia (Kate Marilley) along with their gothic daughter Lydia (Isabella Esler) want to transform the house into a modern-style masterpiece. Lydia wants no part of that and obsesses about death and still can’t get over her mother’s demise. Hence, the funeral scene after the curtain goes up.
Charles and Delia seek to build a new future in the house while Lydia is grief-stricken, depressed and lonely. Beetlejuice, the wicked demon wearing black and white stripes appears and gets together with the dead owners to try and haunt the house so that the new owners will move out. Lydia also joins Beetlejuice to scare the heck out of her parents. Are they successful?
So the question is…..is this a story about death or is it about life in the end?
The musical is screamingly funny, silly, has some vulgar language (so not for young kids) and loaded with one-liners. The lighting and effects are dark and dreary. The Detroit Opera House was packed on all three levels and some patrons wore the black and white stripes symbolizing Beetlejuice.
Performance times for Beetlejuice the Musical, appearing at the Detroit Opera House, located at 1526 Broadway St., Detroit MI are as follows:
- Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 8:00 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
- Sunday evening performances at 7:30 p.m.
- Special Open Caption performance on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for Beetlejuice start at $29 (includes facility fee) and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-982-2787 and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. Tickets for the Open Captioned performance can be purchased in person a the Fisher Theatre Box Office or by phone at 313-872-1000, ext. 0.
