“Let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose.”
San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre was graced by the highly popular Broadway musical “Beetlejuice.” What once blessed people’s screens as a Tim Burton film is now coming to life right in front of audiences and breathing excitement back into a story that has been collecting dust.
A young girl named Lydia loses her mother and the grieving process is not going well. After stirring some resentment with her father, Lydia feels alone, like nobody sees her. That is until she moves into a new house, where the previous owners haunt the attic as ghosts. She immediately befriends the ghosts, which leads to an unexpected meet-up. Beetlejuice, undoubtedly the star of the show, meets Lydia and brings an entirely new feel to the show. The two strike up a deal that takes the story in many unusual directions.
Justin Collete, the phenomenal actor who portrayed Beetlejuice, was the highlight of the show. With modern-day quips and political jabs, the audience was in a constant state of laughter as he pranced around the stage in the nostalgic pinstripe suit from the original movie. The Beetlejuice persona is not an easy one to master, but Collete made it look effortless with his movements and vocals.
His co-star, Isabella Esler, complimented his chaotic acting. She embodied Lydia in a way that made the audience feel protective over her. Through dark, baggy clothing, Esler was able to channel her inner “goth-girl” while still keeping up with the witty energy of the show.
The supporting characters were forgettable. However, that could be attributed to how the show is modeled, and not based on their performance. While the supporting cast was good, they were consistently outshined by the leads which made the others uninteresting to watch. The musical heavily focused on the relationship between Lydia and Beetlejuice, leaving no room for anyone else to shine, but it was not necessarily a bad thing. Keeping the focus on Beetlejuice and Lydia kept the storyline in the right direction, otherwise, it could have veered off into subplots, which would have crowded the already chaotic script.
To give some appreciation to the crew, the set changes were shocking. The set was changing drastically with each scene that passed, but the crew did not slip up. Each transition was silent, smooth and swift. Having good set changes are crucial to the theatre process as a bad set change could distract the audience from the story and leave a sloppy residue on the show. Luckily, that was not the case with “Beetlejuice.”
The same cannot be said for the sound operators. Throughout the show, the mics were too quiet and oftentimes missed their cues. An actor would start speaking, but their mics would be off until they were finally switched on in the middle of a sentence, pulling the audience out of the story. This was only a huge issue with the supporting cast’s mics, which does not help their case when it comes to being “forgettable.” While the splotchy mics were noticeable, they seemed better in the second act, helping the audience forget about the audibly messy first act.
“Beetlejuice” was a fun, haunted experience that everyone needs to have at least once. Unfortunately, the tour has left San Antonio but will be touring Texas until March 10. So pack up the car, grab some snacks and take a road trip to have some “screamingly good fun.”
