The Netherworld Awaits- Don’t Miss Beetlejuice at the Kimmel Cultural Campus

-Brenda Hillegas
photo by Matthew Murphy

That beautiful sound…

…is the audience loving every single minute of Beetlejuice the musical, at the Kimmel Cultural Campus Academy of Music through June 11th.

You know it. The Tim Burton classic comes to life on stage and really works as a musical! So much so that an entire community of fans have found a home inside the theatre because of this show. Look through Instagram, you’ll see dozens of young people who finally feel like themselves after finding Beetlejuice. They belong somewhere, thanks to a creepy old dude and his story. The fan art (reprinted and posted all along the walls outside of the Marquis Theatre in NYC during the Broadway run), the tattoos, the costumes and Beetlejuice-themed attire at every performance is so heartwarming. Not many shows can evoke this sort of feeling.

I was invited to see Beetlejuice on Broadway in 2019. I was skeptical, but excited as Philly’s own Rob McClure played Adam Maitland in the original cast. It ended up being one of the most exhilarating, fun experiences I had on Broadway. Die-hard fans of the show may have had reservations about anyone other than Alex Brightman playing the role of Beetlejuice (truly, I have no idea how anyone could top that), but Justin Collette is phenomenal. See the show, that role is NOT easy. While the entire cast really jumps into these roles, Britney Coleman as Barbara was a stand-out and I cannot wait to see her again next season as Bobbie in the Company tour.

The set is outstanding and there’s just so much to look at. I loved the transitions from one scene to another, like you are watching a sitcom or even the Beetlejuice animated series from the early ’90s. Everything was animated, over-the-top, and fun. The songs go all out with showstopper after showstopper, and Isabella Esler as Lydia has an incredible impressive, powerful voice. While the music is mostly original and written for the show by Eddie Perfect (insert pun about how perfect these songs really are for the storyline), fans of the movie will enjoy how well “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line” are worked in.

I’m not sure if I would call this a family-friendly show. Proceed with caution. There are some f-bombs and dirty jokes that will probably go over their heads. For older kids, it’s all stuff they probably learned from their friends anyway! The giant animatronic sandworm will make them forget about everything else anyway. It’s super cool! There are a lot of flashy strobe lights too and you can read more about what to expect over on the Kimmel Cultural Campus website (like “a lot of the crazy, inappropriate stuff you would expect from a deranged demon”).

Make a plan to see this one-of-a-kind musical now. Tickets are available here.