WOW WOW WOW!
I absolutely loved this musical theatre production of Beetlejuice that’s just opened in Melbourne! It’s written by Melbourne’s own Eddie Perfect who also stars in the titular role. The script and his performance are funny and clever and just all round superb. The whole supporting cast are all extremely talented too but I’m reserving a special shout out for the young woman who plays the other lead role of Lydia, Karis Oka. Her voice is spectacular.
After Eddie’s opening number as Beetlejuice the crowd just absolutely roared with applause and praise. It was a sign of what was to come and the roaring and cheering didn’t let up the whole night, right through to a standing ovation at the end of the show.
You don’t need to have seen either of the movies (1988 & 2024) to enjoy this show though if you have seen either of them, the first especially, you’ll possibly enjoy this even more as it’s a lovely nod to the much loved film whilst being very original and modern.
When I think of the kids in my life I’m confident they’d all really love this. There’s certainly a little fruity language and some adult themes but with big, brash, colourful musicals like this, things move so fast that I’m sure it’ll mostly be lost of them and be fine. Two and a half hours is a long time though so probably not for little little kids.
I reckon Melburnians should be super proud of this home-grown show and I hope it goes from strength to strength around Australia and beyond. It’s playing in Melbourne until early August and I can’t encourage you enough to go and see this, especially if musicals are your thing. It’s fun and bold and will make you want to jump up and dance if you’re anything like me!