Tries hard, doesn’t quite succeed

Prince Edward Theatre

In the words of The Guardian review, ‘yet another movie turned musical hits the West End’. This time it’s Beetlejuice bursting into song thanks to Eddie Perfect‘s compositions and Scott Brown and Anthony King’s book. Don’t worry, Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) is still there. The critics liked the sets, some liked the songs, but they were largely resistant to David Fynn‘s humour as Beetlejuice (‘vulgar, puerile ‘ BroadwayWorld). This was unfortunate since he has become the main player in this adaptation. Hannah Nordberg was praised in the ‘Winona Ryder part’ of the grieving teenager Lydia.

 By the way, the full name of the show is Beetlejuice. The Musical. The Musical. The Musical.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Telegraph‘s Dominic Cavendish laid out his case: ‘The show has a lot in its favour – not least daft entertainment value – but it lacks essential spark.’ He went on: ‘The decision to make Beetlejuice the show’s ringmaster, with swearing, smut and local in-jokes about James Corden and Paddington The Musical to boot, results in zaniness overkill. The show can’t take itself too seriously but if it wants its themes about feeling invisible, deathly conformity and the grieving process to land, it needs to calm down.’ He ended: ‘much of it left me cold – Australian composer Eddie Perfect’s generic rock and Broadway pastiche score largely going in one ear and out the other (…) And visually, Alex Timbers’s production has a beautiful sense of hallucinogenic spectacle (…) Rather like Beetlejuice, I find myself caught between two positions; on the one hand, life’s surely too short for such convoluted hokum but, equally, who could revile a show that tries so hard to please?’

The Independent’s Alice Saville commented: ‘When this show hits the mark, it’s hilarious (…) But too many moments feel rushed and awkward‘. She concluded: ‘All in all, there’s something surprisingly, likably fringey about this Broadway import. It’s a cheeky song-and-dance revue that’ll remind fans why they originally fell in love with Beetlejuice – without resurrecting the original’s spooky power.’

The Times’ Clive Davis recommended it ‘should be consumed with several glasses of wine to get you in the party mood.’ He noted: ‘although it’s tangled at times, the script, peppered with the occasional f-word, is often genuinely witty.’

Alex Wood for WhatsOnStage declared: ‘The good news is, book writers Scott Brown and Anthony King’s take on the irreverent 1988 film has lost none of the cheeky charm that seduced so many American audiences.’ He was pleased that ‘The rock score is delivered here with gusto by a top-tier cast steered by director Alex Timbers – audition staple and fan favourite “Dead Mom” is given a note perfect rendition by Hannah Nordberg as the goth-teen Lydia’. However, David Flynn ‘is perhaps missing some of the malice and dark comedic verve that could add real jeopardy to proceedings. It means the show is constantly an amusing ride, but never really flashes its teeth.’

There was much Chris Wiegand at The Guardian disapproved of: the distracting topical jokes and ‘(Fynn’s) ‘scattershot dialogue as the plot ventures in and out of the Netherworld quickly becomes tiresome (…) The show is at pains to tell you how wild it is, the host more boorish than creepily grotesque. And yet … There’s an awful lot to enjoy in Alex Timbers’ off-kilter production, with uncanny lighting by Kenneth Posner and trippy projections from Peter Nigrini. Set designer David Korins gives devilishly clever makeovers to the house’.

Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski wasn’t impressed. He lamented ‘the loss of anything like Michael Keaton’s deranged take on ‘freelance bio-exorcist’ Betelgeuse – the character has been almost unrecognisably reconfigured into a sort of fourth wall-breaking, meme-spouting, supernatural stand-up comedy douchebag (who isn’t even a bio-exorcist!).’ He concluded: ‘Ultimately it has nice sets, nice ballads and if you like aggressively knowing 21st century Broadway humour you’ll have fun. I get what they’ve done and why people like it. But it sells the source material very short.’

Anya Ryan for LondonTheatre commented: ‘even with all the shiny packaging, Alex Timbers’ production never emotionally flies. That might be because Beetlejuice on Broadway feels different to Beetlejuice in the West End. Here, its all-American book by Scott Brown and Anthony King feels out of sync with British dry humour. Beetlejuice, played by David Fynn, is a scheming lunatic, gifting the audience chaotic asides and constant roars. The sickly-sweet couple Barbara (Chelsea Halfpenny) and Adam Maitland (David Hunter), who die tragically in an electrical accident, are oh-so twee and almost entirely void of irony.’ She suggested: ‘ it’s definitely a feast for the eyes. It might be best to forget about the story and surrender to the hellish mayhem instead.’

City AM‘s Adam Bloodworth thought ‘The show looks a million dollars’ but found: ‘the viewing experience feels disattached. Much of that can be linked to the score, which features no ear worms, as well as the comedy lines, which too often don’t quite land – at least in terms of the ones geared towards the adults (…) Overall it is visually overstimulating, a roll-call of high-energy skits that lose their potency due to the sheer amount of them (the show comes in at just shy of three hours).’

BroadwayWorld’s Aliya Al-Hassan called it ‘An entertaining night out, but not a memorable one’. She reserved her harshest words for the lead: ‘David Fynn as Beetlejuice cannot be criticised for the energy and charisma he puts into the role, but the character is less a freelance “bio-exorcist” and more a vulgar, puerile, coke-snorting narcissist, joking about catching herpes and frequently rubbing his own nipples.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Stage‘s Sam Marlowe delivered a death blow: ‘while the show … didn’t quite make me abandon the will to live, by the time it was blessedly over, death had pretty much lost its sting.’ She explained: ‘An overlay of sentimentality and a re-centring of the Ryder character, Lydia Deetz, alongside the mischievous demon isn’t enough to give the narrative heart or purpose. And Alex Timbers’ production … looks cheap and feels flat, however strenuously a capable cast try to cajole us into having a wild time.’ As for the lead: ‘Fynn’s stripy-suited Beetlejuice is an epically irksome creation – there’s no wicked charm to offset his unsavoury freakiness, so although he toils hard, he quickly becomes an irritant. ‘

Critics’ average rating 2.9⭑

Value rating 36 (critics’ rating combined with typical price)

Beetlejuice: The Musical can be seen at the Prince Edward Theatre until 17 April 2027. Buy tickets directly from the theatre

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