BEETLEJUICE - Pre-Broadway Tryout in DC- Page 3

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:19pm

I really dont know who to believe. People are saying this is the best thing they have seen. Its getting massive raves on social media.

I think im gonna wait for more reviews before I form an opinion, considering you started a thread on where to buy cats tickets.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:21pm

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7_6ofn-qO/?hl=en

 

HOLY SH*T! These are going to be taken down FAST.

not my pictures

[Alex M]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:24pm

LOVE the set. Not so crazy about Alex's costume.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:25pm

Set and costumes look fantastic!

[HGR2]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:36pm

I was there.  Quick thoughts.  The audience loved it.  Production and set was an A+ (seriously... exceptional).  Sophia Anne Caruso is probably the star of the show - but none of the roles was weak.  I thought Alex was very good - not exceptional.  The play is not a copy of the movie, but references enough familiar elements to keep movie lovers engaged.  The show was close to 3 hours start to finish.

I tended to think the score was a little weak, but I find it hard to tell when this is the first time I have heard any songs.  I did notice there seemed to be tremendous fan (air conditioning?) noise in the theater during the show.

Of shows we have seen recently, I think it is better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, better than Groundhog Day.  It is probably on par with Something Rotten (although I liked that score more.)

Our group of 4 thinks it will be a hit.  You don't have to be a Beetlejuice movie fanatic to enjoy the show.  It is also original enough that it isn't simple a copy of the movie.  Worth seeing? A resounding yes from everyone in our group.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/14/18 at 11:55pm

Bwayfan292 said: "I really dont know who to believe. People are saying this is the best thing they have seen. Its getting massive raves on social media.

I think im gonna wait for more reviews before I form an opinion, considering you started a thread on where to buy cats tickets. "

Wasn’t there tonight, but it is my experience that people who aren’t that discerning tend to like pretty much whatever they see and are often the ones to post the most enthusiastically 200% positive comments on social media. I’ve seen this especially on Facebook where a post about a generally panned show garners unrepresentatively positive comments. But maybe they’re Russian bots. Who knows anymore. Lol. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 12:09am

Bwayfan292 said: "https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7_6ofn-qO/?hl=en



HOLYSH*T! These are going to be taken down FAST.

not my pictures"

David Korins better be getting a tony award in june

[hartless]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 12:09am

Sorry my thoughts are disjointed. Freewrote what stood out. SOME SPOILERS!

Just got back and it was very fun. Lots of spectacle. Very low brow humor. Beetlejuice opens the show and his opening number was okay. Nothing I can remember. But the desert snake makes an appearance early on and the puppetry is solid—in this moment and throughout the show.

Kerry and Rob have a small opening song about wanting a kid but being too afraid to try and potentially miscarry. This theme runs through the plot. Kerry has a song in the second act about never being a mom, which was sweet, but the yearning for a child never gets addressed at the end.

The house set is outrageous and cool and smart and effective.

Lydia killed it. Her first big song is called “Dead Mom” (I think; there was no song list) and it’s very similar to I’d Rather Be Me from Mean Girls in sound.

Leslie Kritzer plays her life coach who has a relationship with her dad. Kritzer’s character and Lydia have a great moment in song about their views on the world and I was charmed by both of their performances.

Alex Brightman is great. Speaking in a scratchy voice the entire time. Again, his songs were okay. He was comfortable delivering the humor.

The score is okay. Lydia gets all the driving rock anthems. The set is insane. Costumes are outrageous. The story is changed a bit, but the gags from the movie are all there. I laughed a bit, but more for the performances of Kritzer and Butler. The jokes for Alex were hit or miss.

It was a fun night at the theatre and will be great for tourist audiences to see if it gets to run a while.

Updated On: 10/15/18 at 12:09 AM

[broadwayboy222]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 1:52am

Can anyone comment on the level of vulgarity in the show? Just really curious since the show was marketed as being pretty innapropriate. Are we talking BOM level or slightly lesser? Is it notably much more so than the movie is? Any censored examples? (Sorry for all the questions, I’m just incredibly curious as to it based upon the marketing haha) Very excited for this to come to NYC in the spring with this wonderfully talented cast!

[Catsbroadwayfan]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 2:41am

You know what. Im being way to harsh on it. After thinking about it, this is a great show and its in great shape. I actually want to go again. Idk why I had a negative reaction, I think I just wanted to over judge it and be scared that it would ruin the movie. This thing is going to be a hit, I actually might go Wednesday. Wow, I cant get this out of my head.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 4:40am

I know they are trying to go a different route from Michael Keaton but that costume and wig thou....

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 6:31am

Are we thinking Kritzer or Butler could get recognized come Tony time? I'd love for Kritzer to pick up her first nomination, but don't know if her role is big enough.

[Tom5]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 8:37am

If the book and score can even approach the set design this will be the biggest hit in years.

[LoLsmileyFace]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 9:36am

I read somewhere that Beetlejuice is interactive with the audience at times? Can anyone elaborate on what happens? 

[hartless]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 9:45am

Updated On: 10/20/18 at 09:45 AM

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:11am

I figured Beetlejuice would be very Lonny Barnett in "Rock of Ages," and it seems I called it!

[Kad]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:13am

Wow, the design looks absolutely incredible.

Definitely interested in hearing more about Kritzer... it sounds like the character has been reconceived from Catherine O'Hara's melodramatic yuppie abstract artist?

[kelsey1389]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:22am

Anyone have more details about Kerry Butler and her songs in the show? Post Mean Girls all I want for her is to be able to really shine (not that she wasn't great in mean girls, but she barely had a song)

[LoLsmileyFace]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:27am

First Look at Beetlejuice - 

https://twitter.com/DavidKorins/status/1051840656442884097

[Tom5]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:35am

As I have just heard privately these same sets were first submitted by David Korins for Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson  but Kathie Lee fired him.

[hartless]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 10:37am

Leslie Kritzer’s character is more passive than Catherine O’Hara’s character and performance in the movie. (The bad art is still present) As Lydia’s life coach, Kritzer’s character Delia is just along for the ride. The Delia in the movie seems to be more active in the story.

Kritzer’s comedy was subtle and nuanced—I adore her social media and the comedic videos she posts on Instagram, so everything she did in the show made me chuckle.

Lots of “namaste” and energy crystal jokes. Her song with Lydia I hope they keep—the argument between “every cloud has a silver lining” vs. “**** happens”. To me, it worked.

Kerry Butler has her opening bit with Rob right before they die. Their subsequent musical numbers I can’t really remember. The only other song I remember is Kerry’s second act song about never being a mom, but being there for Lydia—it was charming.

Updated On: 10/15/18 at 10:37 AM

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 11:01am

Funny- it sounds like they've almost conflated Delia Deetz and Otho into one character (though Otho is still around). In the film, Otho is essentially a live-in life coach, interior decorator and spiritualist guru.

Does the Danny Elfman theme melody ever appear?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 12:36pm

Geez. The musical just had their first public preview performance and you guys are dissecting every detail as if the show was running for 3 weeks.

They’re taking a couple of days off so it’s obvious the creative team has intended from the get-go that they plan to address countless stuff of the material during this tryout.  

Last night was their first test of Version 1.  Today they are heavily breaking down what worked and what didn’t and changes will be going into effect so anyone seeing the show once they resume performances will notice changes already which will continue throughout this pre-Broadway tryout period.  

[Kad]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 12:48pm

The response here is positive and the questions seems in line with the sort that always appear after a first performance of a new work. Compared to the Tootsie thread, this is barely anything.

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 10/15/18 at 1:03pm

Okay my thoughts are gonna be out of order since im still tired from getting to my hotel late last night:

So im a long time lurker, first time poster. This show is in great shape, there are definitely a lot of things that need to be fixed. For example, A lot of Alex’s jokes were hit or miss, Im not sure if thats because of Alex or just the jokes themselves.

Alexs coustume reminds me so much of the Universal Studios stage show beetlejuice. Like they are just renting his coustume.

I would give Sophia, Alex, Rob, Lesli, and Kerry all tony noms as I enjoyed everyones performance.

The Sets are really something else. They give the whole creepy vibe and I love it. Its a cross for me between Nightmare before Christmas and the Adams family. Hands down the highlight of the night.

Now the negative:

The score is very weak. How the composer got two broadway shows is beyond me. Of course its the first time hearing them, but I couldnt hum you one song I heard (excepet Banna Boat song).

I almost feel like the lack of a good score is forgiven by how much fun this production was. After a lackluster season of musicals so far its nice to see something refreshing.

I would give this a score of a 7.5/10. Its great but once they fix a few problems this thing is going to be a HIT. And sweep come tony time.

Im happy to answer any question you have about the production.



Also, in my playbill there was no song list. Im not sure if Mine was a dud, but I didnt recieve one. Which lends me to believe this score isnt 100% set, and thats great.