Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom with her weekly review of a theatrical production in the region. What's on her agenda today? Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! National Theatre in Washington, DC, has staged the pre-Broadway world premiere of Beetlejuice, a new musical adaptation of filmmaker Tim Burton's 1988 cult classic.
The new musical -- with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and Book by Scott Brown and Anthony King -- takes a new tack on the movie plot: it tells the story of Lydia Deetz (played by Sophia Ann Caruso), an unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “'being dead' thing.” Luckily for Lydia, her family's new home is haunted by a recently deceased couple (played by Kerry Butler and Rob McClure) and a degenerate demon-for-hire named Beetlejuice (played by Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman). When Lydia calls on the twisted ghost to scare away her insufferable parents (played by Adam Dannheiser and Leslie Kritzer), Beetlejuice comes up with the perfect plan, involving an exorcism, arranged marriages and one very frightened Girl Scout.
Beetlejuice, directed by Alex Timbers, continues at National Theatre in Washington, DC, through Sunday November 18. Get ticket information here.
This conversation was live-streamed on WYPR's Facebook page. It is the third of three segments in today's stream. You can watch the video here, running from the 40:00 mark to the end of the stream.
