★★★★☆

After a prolific haunting of Broadway theatres, Beetlejuice (The Musical! The Musical! The Musical!) has been summoned at last to the city of Melbourne for a riotous Australian debut.

The Australian premiere of the musical adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy horror is also a homecoming, with composer and lyricist Eddie Perfect stepping into the iconic titular role for the first time in his home city. 

“Bringing this show home to Melbourne, the city where I cut my teeth as a musician and writer, is a special, full-circle moment,” Perfect said. 

Upon arrival at the Regent Theatre, a green neon sign beckons fans into the ‘Netherworld’. 

The cult following of Beetlejuice cannot be underestimated. Striped leggings, striped shirts and striped coats abound. 

For the most part, the script of Beetlejuice reads almost like a stand-up comedy set.

Any pretense of a fourth wall is playfully disregarded.

When Perfect’s green-haired ghoul is on stage, he constantly teases and transacts with the audience, at some points even making the odd jab at certain front-row spectators. 

Although the stalls of the theatre were filled by its fair share of children, one word to describe the musical is crude. 

There were jokes about boners, prostitution, snorting cocaine and even punching babies – nothing is off the table. Quite literally.

At one point in the show, a Beetlejuice clone with both his arms torn off frolics atop the Deetz’ dining table.   

It’s equal parts electricity and eccentricity.

During the Act I finale, a roast pork prop rises from its leafy platter to sing.

The aforementioned clone is part of a number where a gaggle of Beetlejuice lookalikes are summoned to perform a succession of flips, twirls and breakdance moves.

Perhaps, most endearingly, while strapped to a fortune wheel of death, Delia’s guru Otho admits he’s actually a “Kevin from Bendigo”. The crowd loves all of it. 

In the most complimentary sense, the set design reminded me of a house of horrors in a chintzy amusement park.

Another neon sign, this time with the words “Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse” on it greets the audience when they see the stage.

In the second Act, Beetlejuice even rides in like a cowboy on a gigantic mechanical sandworm, theatrical fog in tow. 

As the show progresses, so does the primary set piece - the Maitlands’ home.

We begin in the Maitlands’ classic 1980s country dwelling before the furniture slowly morphs into a contemporary avant-garde aesthetic, to reflect the new ownership.

When the Deetz’ are unceremoniously kicked out by Beetlejuice, the house is transformed into a true haunted mansion, complete with teeth on the kitchen table chairs and skulls on the walls. 

The staging is absolutely impeccable and the show is worth seeing for the lighting, set design and props alone.

Having done my due diligence by watching the original 1988 Beetlejuice the night before, I noted the departure from the source material quite quickly, the show even warns of this departure in the first number. 

Most notably, the musical’s plotline has Beetlejuice more solidly centred in the narrative.

Instead of a pesky demon waiting to wreak havoc on the Maitlands’ plans to evict the new owners of their home (as in the film), Beetlejuice’s goal in the musical is to become visible to living beings by getting a person to say his name three times.  

Lydia is also given the additional arc of reconciling the death of her mother by searching for her in the Netherworld.

In my opinion, the differences in storylines are a reasonable adjustment to the medium. However, I found the musical versions of the Maitlands to be comparatively more bland compared to their filmic counterparts.

They’re squeaky-clean, perky, docile, and lacking in the nuance of the original portrayals. 

This was perhaps more a gripe with the writing than the show’s phenomenal performers.

Perfect’s debut as Beetlejuice was lauded by one audience member as “amazing”. 

“He did Beetlejuice very very well, I felt like I was transported back to the 90s,” she said. 

Besides Perfect, Karis Oka’s Lydia carries the show’s emotionally heavier moments with much vocal vigour.

Elise McCann as Barbara and Rob Johnson as Adam also offered crisp performances. 

However, my favourite performance of the night was Erin Clare’s Delia Deetz who brought a charming blend of comedic energy and vocal flair to the production, injecting her scenes with memorable heart and a razor-sharp sense of timing and physicality that elevated each punchline. 

Unadulterated fun and humour were Beetlejuice: The Musical’s greatest strengths. The people in the row in front of me even knew every funky line and inside joke. 

But they also shed some tears when Lydia performed the musical’s emotional climax “Home”, demonstrating the production isn’t above flashes of sentimentality. 

Speaking to one of them after the show, I was told it was “absolutely brilliant” and of the three shows they had watched in Melbourne that week, Beetlejuice was by far the favourite. 

Perhaps this indicates a successful run for this vulgar and madcap show in Melbourne, if that’s the case it’s time to jump in the line.