Review: BEETLEJUICE at National Arts Centre

OTTAWA

“Beetlejuice is sexy, Beetlejuice is smart, Beetlejuice is a graduate of Julliard!” Barbara (Megan Morris) and Adam Maitland (Will Burton, understudied by Ryan Breslin on opening night) enthusiastically extol the virtues of the ghost-with-the-most in “Say My Name”.  However, it immediately becomes apparent that the Maitlands are singing Beetlejuice’s (Justin Collette) praises under duress. I can empathize.

You see, I know for a fact that Beetlejuice The Musical (The Musical The Musical) is a fantastic show. In 2019, I planned a trip to New York City for the sole purpose of seeing the musical after watching the original Broadway cast perform at the Tony Awards. I’d never even seen the movie but, hey, a show about death? Take my money! After I saw it, it ranked firmly in my top ten shows of all time. So, it goes without saying that I had high hopes for the opening night performance of Beetlejuice at the National Arts Centre, presented as part of Broadway Across Canada’s 2024-2025 season. In fact, despite the return of the almighty Hamilton this season, Beetlejuice was actually the show I was most looking forward to. So, what went wrong?

Read my full review here.