PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Tim Burton classic is getting the Broadway treatment – “Beetlejuice” the musical will be showing at the Academy of Music May 31 – June 11.
The creepy comedy initially hit Broadway in 2018, and it’s coming through Philadelphia on its first national tour. The 1988 film starred Michael Keaton as the title character, along with Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Jeffrey Jones.
On tour, actress Britney Coleman plays Barbara Maitland, Geena Davis’s character who died in a car accident with her husband and now haunts the new family that moved into their old home.
“I’ve been saying that the musical Barbara is written much more caffeinated than you see in the movie,” Coleman says. “She’s really, really like, take charge and fiery.”
While the film centers around the dead couple – and the demon spirit, Beetlejuice, who they call on for help while adjusting to the afterlife – the musical made a shift that’s reaching a new generation.
“The movie doesn’t focus on Lydia as much,” Coleman says. “Whereas the musical is much more centered around the teenage character in the show. So a lot of the … young adults who are seeing our show are seeing the musical first.”
The pop-rock music also appeals to a younger audience. The show took off on TikTok after its 2019 Tony Awards performance.
With over 100 special effects, optical illusions and pyrotechnics, Coleman says there’s no trouble translating Tim Burton’s eerie, quirky style to the stage.
“We’ve got the shrunken head character and Miss Argentina and a lot of the fan favorites… There’s a lot of, like, spooky magic elements to it and everything.”
Tickets and more details on the musical can be found here.