It's Showtime!: My thoughts on Beetlejuice

 

Courtesy of Beetlejuice's website

My family and I finally got a chance to see Beetlejuice when it was on tour in DC. We went on the last day of the tour, but it was a very short run here. In any case, I'm really glad we got to see it, as it was a great performance!

If you have seen the movie, you might as well forget almost everything that happened because the musical only keeps a little bit of it. If you haven't seen the movie....have you been living under a rock?!? 

Anyway, the titular character is only in the movie for a short amount of time, compared to how much he is in the musical. I actually liked that he had more stage time though. Justin Collette did an amazing job making Betelgeuse feel even larger than life. I just hope he's drinking a lot of tea between shows because that voice could do a number on anyone's throat.  Isabella Esler was also fantastic as Lydia, and this was her professional debut. I have a feeling she will go far in musical theater. She had such a powerhouse voice and a great stage presence. I also really liked the supporting characters, especially Adam and Barbara. Delia was a lot of fun too. She added a Moira Rose quality to the way she talked. As Adam, Will Burton reminded me of an actor from SNL. (Most likely Mikey Day.) And I just loved the facial expressions Britney Coleman used to enhance Barbara's personality. 

The story completely deviates from the movie aside from a few plot points and the inclusion of the "Day-O" scene. Betelgeuse starts off by saying that was going to happen. He also breaks the fourth wall a lot and makes the story feel kind of meta. While he's not supposed to be likeable, he really is for the most part and he even shows some vulnerability. There are a lot of funny lines and plenty of innuendoes. Apparently, the show was a lot raunchier in previews, so I have to wonder how much raunchier it could get!

The music is great. I went in barely knowing any of it, but I kind of wish I had listened to the Original Broadway Cast recording because I had trouble hearing some lines and would have benefitted from knowing what they were going to say. At least I can't complain about them changing anything... I also had trouble hearing some of the dialogue and some jokes got lost on me. The majority of the songs are high energy and upbeat though. Some of Lydia's songs got me teary-eyed. She put a lot of emotion into them. 

The set is basically a character of its own. If this show had been made 10-15 years ago, they wouldn't have the current technology at their disposal. I love how digital backgrounds combined with furniture and props that carried the feel of the movie. The digital parts included animation, as well. It was so much fun to look at...a feast for the eyes! The bright lights were a bit much and I had to shade my eyes from them every so often. 

Along with the set, the costumes were amazing throughout. Most took after the ones in the movie, as well. I loved that they had the shrunken head guy. :) 

Overall, the story handled topics that the movie didn't touch, such as grief. (Given that it's all about death, you'd think that would have happened in the movie.) A lot of the musical felt more positive and upbeat than the movie though. It's also very much woke, which is fine for me. There's some political humor that I definitely appreciated. 

If you haven't seen Beetlejuice on stage yet, check out this trailer. Then go no further. If you have seen it, please proceed past the trailer, as I have some questions...

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Questions for anyone who has seen it on stage already:

1. How was everyone living able to see Adam and Barbara toward the end?

2. After Lydia killed Betelgeuse (after marrying him), how was everyone still able to see him once he was dead again?

3. When Lydia first saw Beetlejuice, how did she describe him? We all missed what she said.

That's it, really. :) 

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A Million Little Things: A Look Back (with SPOILERS)

After I fell in love with A Million Little Things, I wrote about season one. A LOT has happened since then. It all culminated into a heartbreaking and incredibly life-affirming series finale. Overall, I liked A Million Little Things more than This is Us. I had more of an emotional connection to it. I don't think there was an episode where I didn't cry. (Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still...)

I hate that things happened the way they did for Gary. He just became a father and things were looking up for him, but then his cancer came back even worse than ever and that was the end of the road. When the doctor said it wasn't curable, I knew it could eventually come to that, but I was hoping it wouldn't. Gary was my favorite character on this show and it was so hard to watch this happen to him. And somehow he kept his sense of humor throughout and also did whatever he could to make life easier for Maggie and Javi. 

In spite of all this, the series finale was the icing on the cake. I cried through most of it, but it was a cathartic experience and some of the tears were happy ones too. The cover of "For Good" from Wicked really set off the waterworks even though I cried a bunch of times before that. And then Colin's little whimper at the end....  

The ending of this finale was even better than the ending of the Parenthood series finale (which I also cried through). I love how they moved 15 years forward and we got to see glimpses of everyone's lives. Sophie and Tyrell were still together and expecting a baby! Theo was an adult! Katherine and Greta had a daughter! Maggie was doing okay and moving on the way Gary would have wanted her to. Javi was a teenager. Rome had a gray beard. (Some of the adults aged and others didn't. Like Katherine had white hair, but Regina, Greta, and Eddie still looked the same. Danny also barely aged.)

Since it's not only the end of the road for Gary, but also for the series, I wanted to take a look back at some of the stuff that happened over the past few years. I can't remember everything because it's been a while, but I'm sharing what I do remember. If you remember something I missed, please share it in the comments. 

Best things that happened:

Maggie and Gary getting back together after a long breakup. 

Maggie having a baby!

Delilah moving to France. (Even though it sucked that Eddie didn't get to see Charlie as much, I was glad to not see Delilah all that often.) 

Sophie and Tyrell getting together.

Maggie getting her own podcast. 

Regina starting a food truck. 

Rome becoming a teacher and making a huge difference at the school.

LGBTQ+:

KATHERINE AND GRETA!!!!!!!!!! (I love everything about them being together, including the surprise proposal and amazing wedding.)

Rome helping Maddox in the situation with his father. (I'm so glad his father is accepting of Maddox being a boy now.)

Danny coming out. (I love the support he received.)

Worst things that happened:

The creepy teacher preying upon Sophie, and what Gary did to take care of things.

Eddie's accident and addiction relapse.

Regina getting injured in the riot and losing bits of her memory (even though that never went anywhere after the end of that season).

Regina losing her business to the pandemic.

Rome's mom suddenly dying from a stroke.

Maggie and Gary dating anyone other than each other.

The adoption falling through for Regina and Rome. 

Rome's depression coming back (but Regina thought he was cheating on her).

Katherine's medical emergency (even though it was a one-off). 

Maggie being stalked by someone from her past.

And the most obvious....Gary's cancer coming back and then getting worse later on.

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I also want to talk a little about the characters. I can't decide who I like the most anymore. Everyone is so great. I wasn't a Delilah fan, but she got better after she came back from France and I appreciated seeing how she helped and supported her friends. 

Eddie was also frustrating for a while but in the past two seasons, he's been so wonderful and I've really liked him a lot. He's grown up a lot and it's made him even more attractive. 

I used to be more ambivalent about Rome, but he was great and I love watching him and Regina together. 

I also really liked the addition of Greta in the past few seasons. She and Katherine are so great together and I'm so happy for them both. Showing their names in all caps earlier in this post is a thing my friend and I would do every week after watching the latest episode, provided they were both on. 

Theo used to be somewhat annoying and sounded like a little kid even when he was supposed to be twelve, but he grew up more this past season and has shared a lot of thoughts that were wise beyond his years. 

The ones I listed as my favorites in the season one post are still at the top of my list,  but Gary should be at the top of that list. I had him in the middle before. :)

Overall, an amazing series that I'm really going to miss! Please join me in the comments to share your thoughts on A Million Little Things.

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