#176
Posted: 4/5/19 at 7:37pm
I don’t mind “Say My Name” but I can’t get into “Dead Mom.” I don’t even recall Lydia talking much about her mom in the movie but it’s been a while.
BEETLEJUICE Previews — Page 8
#177
Posted: 4/5/19 at 8:04pm
I went all the way to DC from NYC because I was so excited about this show. I like the cast (with the exception of Brightman, who I didn't like in SoR), I love the designer, everything SEEMED like a sure fire win.
I've been seeing Broadway shows for coming up on 20 years now. Until Beetlejuice, the worst thing I had seen was Jekyll and Hyde towards the end of the run. This, tho? This is the single worst show I have ever, ever, ever seen in my life.
The. Single. Worst. Show.
Other than Leslie Kritzer giving it her all, Kerry and Rob struggling to liven up the mess, and Sophia Caruso having way more talent than any teenager has the right to have, this is horrific.
The music is bad. The book is bad. The adaptation from movie to stage is HORRIBLE. It's sloppy, lazy, shrill, and cringe-inducing. The set is exquisite, but a set can't save a show. The dumbing down of the movie for the theatre audience is offensive, and the dick-and-sex-fart-oo-look-how-edgy jokes they give Beetlejuice are so far from correct for the character that I can't believe this found a way to the stage - much less transferred like this.
Also, Alex Brightman is horrible.
#178
Posted: 4/5/19 at 8:04pm
The dead mom is new. Charles Deetz is a serial monogamist in the film, and Delia is the third wife.
#179
Posted: 4/6/19 at 12:13pm
Did anyone notice a warning about strobe lights? I don't recall seeing one. This production has more strobes than I've ever seen in one show, including the super annoying ones that flash in the audience's eyes when you are just sitting quietly and waiting for the show to start.
#180
Posted: 4/6/19 at 2:49pm
They definately need to recast the role of Beetlejuice. If you are gonna do low brow humour you need a gifted comedic actor who can land the jokes. Alex just keeps spitting them out rapid fire hoping it works. It comes off very juvinile frat boy. The book and songs are dreadful. Despite some very talented people in the show this is just a theme park show for die hard fans. Half the audience ate it up and the others sat there silently without a laugh or a clap.
I will say i laughed once at the business card joke... And the other 2 hours and 32 minutes....crickets.
I will say i laughed once at the business card joke... And the other 2 hours and 32 minutes....crickets.
#181
Posted: 4/6/19 at 2:58pm
darquegk said: "The dead mom is new. Charles Deetz is a serial monogamist in the film, and Delia is the third wife."
I’ve seen the movie a countless number of times and have never noticed this detail....
My father (AIDS)
My sister (AIDS)
My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS, AIDS, AIDS)
The gays and the straights
And the white and the spades
#182
Posted: 4/6/19 at 3:30pm
It actually MIGHT just be in the shooting script. Burton notoriously threw out 90% of the script, exposition and character development, choosing to develop the piece mostly around Michael Keaton's improvisation.
#183
Posted: 4/6/19 at 4:40pm
The detail of Delia being the third wife definitely never made it into the final edit. Lydia briefly mentions that Delia is her step-mother to Adam and Barbara, and that’s pretty much all we get regarding the backstory of that relationship in the film (and definitely no mention of Lydia’s mother, so we can only guess if she was meant to be dead or simply divorced)
#184
Posted: 4/6/19 at 5:31pm
Beetlejuice has one this going for it. It’s marginally better than King Kong. That’s really the only compliment that I can give this utter disaster of a show that is absolutely dreadful from beginning to end.
Alex Brightman (who I loved in School of Rock) is turning in one of the worst performances I have seen on Broadway since I saw Taye Diggs in Hedwig. He yells and screams every line and lyric he has at top volume. He’s brash, over the top, and obnoxious. Sophia Anne Caruso’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard. She sings in a whimpery belting voice that is painful to listen to. Rob McClure and Kerry Butler are really the only two main characters who didn’t make me cringe in my seat.
I was not won over by any of the design elements to be honest. The set, which others on here have lauded and complimented is pretty basic, and at times just looked plain cheap to me. There are really only a few main settings, and none of them look like they are sets in a big budget musical.
The book and score are absolute trash and full of some extremely uncomfortable moments (and I’m VERY liberal). The girls scout scene and the whole song about an underage girl marrying an older man were extremely creepy. The jokes are REALLY bad and just not funny in the slightest.
This was the last musical for me to see this season, and it definitely left an extremely sour taste in my mouth. With the exception of Hadestown, none of the musicals this season have particularly won me over, and Beetlejuice is no exception. In fact, Beetlejuice probably ranks somewhere in the bottom five out of everything I’ve seen this season overall out of both plays and musicals.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#185
Posted: 4/6/19 at 5:32pm
macnyc said: "Did anyone notice a warning about strobe lights? I don't recall seeing one. This production has more strobes than I've ever seen in one show, including the super annoying ones that flash in the audience's eyes when you are just sitting quietly and waiting for the show to start."
They have signs in the lobby about them.
Hi, I'm Val. Formerly DefyGravity777(I believe)
#186
Posted: 4/7/19 at 2:01pm
getupngo said: "WhizzerMarvin said: they couldn’t escape including all the equivalent film moments here too."
I feel like this happens to all the classic movies turned to musicals (esp pretty woman) it comes down to a damned if they do, damned if they don't.
cause if they DONT include the classic scene, people will say "I can't believe they didn't include that part"
but if they DO include it, 9/10 will complain that it didn't live up to the movie."
It doesn't have to be either/or. It just has to be done intelligently and thoughtfully. People complained about the blue dress in Anastasia but not other scenes (like dancing on the ship) not being perfect recreations of the movie. Put another way, movies are a collection of scenes that get the audience invested in the character's story, growth, and emotional development. Sure, some shallow audience members just like seeing things they recognize. But sometimes the absence of a scene or moment is the absence of something that feels like it's at the core of your understanding of a character. And so people complain if it's not replaced with anything that feels as meaningful (which is difficult, since you're not just trying to replace something that worked really well the first time but something that has gained more power from the benefit of nostalgia).
Also, a David Yazbek Beetlejuice sounds good but he doesn't need this. A Tim Minchin Beetlejuice could be fabulous.
If we're comparing Tim Burton movies, an Edward Scissorhands musical makes more sense to me.
People who think being called a shill is the height of cyberbullying need to get out more.
#187
Posted: 4/8/19 at 9:33am
Seeing it this evening. I saw the movie years ago and forget most of it (Like 98%!). So going in without comparing it to the movie.
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#188
Posted: 4/8/19 at 10:45am
uncageg said: "Seeing it this evening. I saw the movie years ago and forget most of it (Like 98%!). So going in without comparing it to the movie."
I'm also seeing it tonight but I did the opposite and watched the movie for the first time last night. More so for the background on the story than to serve as a comparison. Will be interesting to see for sure.
#189
Posted: 4/8/19 at 11:10am
CATSNYrevival said: "I don’t mind “Say My Name” but I can’t get into “Dead Mom.” I don’t even recall Lydia talking much about her mom in the movie but it’s been a while."
SPOILERS BELOW
And we have hit what I feel is the biggest problem narratively with the entire show. In the film it is implied that Lydia's mother has been dead for a long time. Lydia is a teenager who is ultimately just "The Goth chick" who has distant parents who don't understand her. In THIS, having the death be so close, you really have a father and daughter who are grieving in different ways and it is pulling them apart. Admittedly, the second is the more dynamic version...
BUT...
Then you are stuck with the problem of The Maitlands. In the film, they are the leads. They are the surrogate parents that Lydia needs. They are nurturing in a way her father and stepmother are not. They all become one big, if strange, family.
But in the SHOW, the entire second act becomes about Lydia and her father finding each other and repairing their strained relationship. The Maitlands are completely superfluous to everything now. And throughout the show, everything that they do is ultimately proven to be useless..."They need to open the handbook...Nope...kill a bird" "Nobody can see me, so I need them!...Nope, Lydia sees him fine."
If you want the show to be about Lydia and Beetlejuice, fine, use the cartoon as the basis...no Maitlands.
The problem is that they wanted Lydia and Beetlejuice as the leads, but also wanted to tell the story from the movie...and the movie is NOT their story.
Baritone in search of a role in a new musical...
#190
Posted: 4/8/19 at 4:59pm
Reading through all of this shows me that this show has truly divided people and each side is very vocal about their opinions! I have not seen this show and sadly it sounds like I never can because I have epilepsy so strobes are a no-no, however I can't wait to give the cast recording a try. Beetlejuice is one of my favorite movies and I think the cast of this production is made of incredible talent, I'm hoping that whatever kinks may be obvious is fixed so all runs a bit more smooth come opening night. If it is as campy/boring and cheesy as people say then I have no doubt the run will be short, shows can only run on brand recognition for so long, but if the cast/creative can find balance in terms of performance and production then there's hope for a survival.
#191
Posted: 4/8/19 at 5:57pm
had tickets for the matinee on saturday for my birthday. i’ve been following the show since dc since i’m a diehard beetlejuice fan. i was so excited to see this show that upon arrival in new york i ran and grabbed rush tickets for the evening show as well. the reviews here are bad ... for some reason. i had nothing short of an amazing time. it was visually stunning, full of talent. the whole cast is incredible (and so sweet at the stage door too). sophia makes a perfect lydia and she’s got a killer voice. alex somehow manages to play an amazing beetlejuice despite being the cutest, friendliest, sweetest guy on broadway. rob and kerry as adam and barbara made me so happy, they’re absolutely adorable and so charming. adam and leslie make charles and delia absolutely hilarious. the ensemble is FANTASTIC and so talented. the show ran smoothly with no stops both times— one or two lyrical slips i noticed only because i’m so familiar with the show, but were not noticeable in the least because the recoveries were flawless. all the songs were soooo good. stuck in my head 24/7. that set is ALIVE. prettiest sets i’ve ever seen. it was ever-changing, metamorphosing right in front of us. the visual effects were so good— some things coming in and out of the pit, a couple instances of fire, lights blowing out, objects coming out of seemingly nowhere (im STILL trying to figure out how they did most of the effects). not everything was even visual— at one point barbara got sheets out to poke eye holes in them and you could actually SMELL the bleach. it was nuts. the puppetry was so good and i just can’t get over that sandworm. the costumes were beautiful. everything was just so good. this show had me in stitches laughing so hard, but also crying a bit. it somehow manages to tug at your heart in a way the movie doesn’t. lydia has so much heart and sophia expresses it so well. this lydia is much more fleshed out and i love it.
#192
Posted: 4/8/19 at 6:30pm
I really enjoyed the show (and Sophia is amazing) but Larcen26 is correct (although Larcen26 should have used the spoiler content box
Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content
to hide the opinion that the maitlins are mostly extraneous.
Still a fun evening at the theater.
#193
Posted: 4/8/19 at 11:04pm
Just got back from tonight's performance, and I have to say that I'm super confused by all of the vitriol this show is getting. Is it a perfect musical? No, far from. But I was thoroughly entertained. I laughed a lot and had a decently good time. From what I'd heard from folks on here, I expected the score to be truly abysmal. Well, it's leagues better than the Be More Chill score which I had the unfortunate displeasure to sit through a few nights ago. That's not saying much, I know, but still... having seen King Kong recently I didn't have high hopes for this score but I thought it definitely had moments. I think the cast is uniformly strong. I don't see why everyone is finding Alex Brightman so unpleasant. I thought he was great. The show suffers the most when it tries to be heartfelt (while I love Kerry and Rob as performers, they definitely had the worst material to work with). But when the show was just trying to be ridiculous, I thought it was fairly successful... or rather sucks-yes-ful. (I'm sorry, I'm a sucker for a bad pun joke.) In any case, if I were nominating shows for Best Musical, this would be my 5th or 6th choice behind Hadestown, Tootsie, The Prom, and Head Over Heels. I'd put this in the same area as The Cher Show, while I found this to be LEAGUES better than Be More Chill, King Kong, Pretty Woman, and Ain't Too Proud.
Updated On: 4/9/19 at 11:04 PM
#194
Posted: 4/8/19 at 11:37pm
Was there tonight Also and had a blast.
What shocked me the most was the score. I really did not expect much either but it was a fun score. A few songs did sound the same. That opening number, A Show About Death was...killer!
I too am Confused by the negativity towards the show. It has been eons since I saw the movie and bits came back to me. They must have included things that fans of the movie were waiting for because there were cheers for lines and characters throughout.
The sets are very cool and the lighting is wonderful. Even upon entering the theater.
I was in Row O house right 3 seats off the aisle and was having an issue with hearing lyrics. Hope they fix that.
I love that he broke the 4th wall. And they just went for it with the humor. Laughed just as much tonight as I did last week at TOOTSIE.
I could see Brightman and Kritzer getting nominated for this (She was a riot!)
After reading posts on here I am glad that I was pleasantly surprised because I was not expecting the fun, slightly raunchy, great time I had tonight in that theater!
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
Updated On: 4/8/19 at 11:37 PM
#195
Posted: 4/8/19 at 11:48pm
GO BJ!!!! My group of five LOVED this!! Of course we had low expectations, but still...
I had so much more fun at this show than at The Prom and Tootsie--and this score was definitely superior (tho there were MANY MANY cringe-inducing couplets).
I look forward to the CD--and maybe even going back (and I rarely see shows twice).
#196
Posted: 4/9/19 at 1:32am
this show is LEAGUES better now then it was in DC, more focused, songs have been replaced for better ones and the pacing especially in act two is a lot better.
Is it high art, no, is it just like the movie? why would it be. This is a total blast and anyone saying it is the worst show they have ever seen is full of themselves and needs to loosen up.
go see this, it is a great time and I laughed a lot and also Leslie Kritzer is absolutely getting a TONY nomination.
#197
Posted: 4/9/19 at 10:40am
I saw the show in DC.
WOOF.
Can anyone who has seen it in DC/NY or just in NY talk about the treatment of the Otho character?
Has it changed since DC? The whole cult thing...just didn't work.
Thanks.
#198
Posted: 4/9/19 at 10:53am
I was also there last night. I was seated House Right 2nd to last row right on the aisle. There were several people standing behind the Orchestra (Producers?) throughout the show even though there were some visible empty seats.
I only watched the movie for the first time 2 nights ago so that I could understand the story better. I thought this was hysterical. I loved the opening number--I think that may have been my favorite part. This clearly seemed to be a mixture of parts from the movie with a bit of a new spin on the story, especially Act 2. The audience was laughing throughout the entire show. I also noticed quite a number of people cosplaying in black and white outfits. A few even had black and white stripes.
The couple next to me were big fans of the movie and they loved it. A friend of mine was also there last night and we bumped into each other in the street afterwards. She also loved it. A fun night at the theater. If you haven't seen the movie, I think the show does a good job with backstory but I also think it can't hurt to watch it beforehand.
I'm curious to read the critic reviews but, I think this will be around for a while.
#199
Posted: 4/9/19 at 1:12pm
go seethis, it is a great time and I laughed a lot and also Leslie Kritzer is absolutely getting a TONY nomination."
So glad to see other people seeing how absolutely amazing of a performance Ms. Kritzer is giving. They even added a big song and dance number in Act 2 that was not there is DC. She is hysterical from start to finish!! She deserves that nomination!
Can anyone who has seen it in DC/NY or just in NY talk about the treatment of the Otho character?
Has it changed since DC? The whole cult thing...just didn't work.
Otho's part is down to one scene and his song is gone. You hear Delia talk about him more than he is on stage. Plus "THE BOX" is now in the trunk of his car....we never see it.
Updated On: 4/9/19 at 01:12 PM
#200
Posted: 4/9/19 at 1:21pm
'Tis a shame. Otho is such a great part in the film and the musical 100% ruined him.
It's just so clear that the production team/producers were really trying to make something 100% commercial and not interested in creating anything interesting. They wanted a fun night out for tourists who don't know any better...and that's exactly what they accomplished.
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