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Sunday on the Pod with... Beetlejuice the Musical!
22 Plays4 months ago
BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLE - all you gotta do is say his name… begging your pardon, take your places, we want scary faces, NOW GO! You’re on the right track, we got your back, now clap like a performing seal!!! Now shake, shake, shake Senora and get ready for the fright of your lives. DAY-O!!! What? WE SAY DAY-O, DAYLIGHT COME AND WE WANT TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 16!
On our sixteenth episode of Sunday on the Pod, the gals talk Catherine O’Hara’s swoon-worthy romance story, the duality of Michael Keaton and just how beautiful Monica Bellucci really is! So what are you waiting for? Sit back and enjoy the pod!
Credits
Artwork by @drawnatthehalf
Hosted by Casey Gwilliam, Florence Lace-Evans and Rosa Maria Alexander
Produced by Rosa Maria Alexander
SUGAR COOKIE (Piano Ver.) Music by 샛별Daystar https://youtu.be/7lqpOlVYtD0 Promoted by BGMD No Copyright Music http://tiny.cc/yf4qpz
Email: sundayonthepod@gmail.com
Instagram: @sundayonthepod
Twitter: @sundayonthepod
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090008413791
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Transcript
Introduction and Social Media
00:00:22
Speaker
and welcome back to you Sunday on the Pod with Casey, Flo and Rosa. Welcome back to Sunday on the Pod. Sunday on the Pod is a podcast all about musical theatre. However, this podcast isn't just for performers, but it's for anyone who loves musical theatre.
00:00:41
Speaker
Each episode we cover musicals that some of you may love, some of you might hate, or maybe you've never heard of them before. Either way, we'll be singing and dancing about them. So what are you waiting for? Sit back and enjoy the pod!
00:00:55
Speaker
And don't forget, if you want to keep up with us on social media, you can find us on Instagram and X, which is at Sunday on the Pod. And we also have a Facebook page again, which is just at Sunday on the Pod.
Halloween and Beetlejuice Musical Introduction
00:01:06
Speaker
So keeping up with the spooky theme here in October and very on trend, our musical this week is Beetlejuice. Woo!
00:01:20
Speaker
Very exciting. Do you guys like Halloween? Are you big Halloween people? I am. I do love Halloween but I never have anything to like like go to. Nobody I know does like Halloween parties or anything. It's really annoying. Yeah, that's true actually. The Halloween parties as you get older diminishes and diminishes. like And you don't have the opportunity to dress up.
00:01:42
Speaker
Yeah. And it's also really annoying because a lot of the time I'm like, I really want to go do something, but like the only thing to do is like take my sister out, trick or treat, and which is really fun actually. I really enjoy doing it, but also I'm like, I wish I could still, it was still acceptable for me to trick or treat. But do you not just steal some of your sister's sweets with it or anything?
00:02:04
Speaker
all the time yeah yeah it yeah You're trying to claim that you're like benevolent doing it for her own. You're like, I'll take your trick or treating, it's fine. But I just want an excuse to dress up. Yeah. ah What would be your costume this year if you were going to dress up?
Halloween Costumes and Pop Culture
00:02:20
Speaker
like what would be your Have you had anything that's happening that was the cultural zeitgeist of the moment? I probably would do Agatha.
00:02:29
Speaker
ah for maggahalo I've not even watched any of it yet, but I wanted to watch it. So everyone was like, you need to watch WandaVision before you watch it. So I watched WandaVision and it was brilliant. I've not, I've watched like three Marvel movies in my entire life, but WandaVision was excellent. It was so good. It was like so far beyond like what any of those Marvel movies are doing. Yeah, it was- I love Catherine Han. I love Catherine Han. And do you know what? I was really standing Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision as well because she's like- Yeah, she's the best Olsen. I've been seeing her for years. Yeah, she is. She's really good. And also, I like how her character's not like goody-goody because like, I don't know, there's like an edge to her where she kind of is a bad guy as well in it. Yeah. We do love multifaceted women on this show. Yeah, we do. Have you seen WandaVision?
00:03:19
Speaker
No, I haven't. Oh, by the way, hi, I'm back. I'm back on the pod. You may have thought, hold on a minute, that's flu been missing for a while. She's back. I'm back. um I haven't seen One Division, but just along that line of Halloween, I've actually talked about this before on the pod, and this is me like throwing it back.
00:03:41
Speaker
I'm a big bonfire night galley. Anyone out there who's like big up bonfire. I remember like one of our first episodes, I talked about bonfire night and eating oh my god the sausages and eating so and eating sausages and beans in a mug and it blew your mind. Yeah, because I remember you being like, I remember you being like, I'm just, is anyone else really excited for sausage and like sausage in a mug? And I was literally like.
00:04:03
Speaker
You didn't posit it as like sausage in a mug. You were like, that's a classic thing, sausage in a mug. That sounds a little bit rude, but yeah, it's true. I do like a good sausage in a mug. No, but to be fair, actually, with Halloween this year, I'm, usually I've always kind of like, oh God, like anyone out there, is anyone doing anything? And actually this year, um I'm going as, um this is so empty of me, I'm going as Elphaba and Galinda with my best friend.
00:04:33
Speaker
Because you know what, I love that. Just the season and um so I was like yeah let's just let's just get on that bandwagon join that franchise and I'm here for I'm here for like a zeitgeist costume do you know what I mean like I'm I'm fine with that like I was loving it when people were doing Barbie and Oppenheimer for Halloween like I think that's cute and fun and in 10 years you'll get to be like oh yeah we went I did that yeah Well, i I feel like there was a year when like when Stranger Things first came out and everyone was like, oh my god, I've had the best idea ever. I'm gonna come as 11. It's like, that's really original, like really fucking original. I'm gonna be a superwoman. But yeah, no, I do remember that was like a thing when like Stranger Things came out. People were like, oh my god, I've had this crazy idea. Well, it was bald girls really had a moment.
00:05:22
Speaker
Yeah, they did. Because it was their moment. They did that little, like, now his blood on the nose. They had the ego waffles like that. It was perfect. Yeah. But if it must be fun when like a new bald character is on the lounge and you're like, I can do this. Hey, would you go as Rosa? Oh, for this year. I'm trying to think of this stuff that's happened this year that would be fun.
00:05:47
Speaker
I would probably, I mean, this is a stupid one and this is very much only if you're in the Real Housewives universe, but talking to any of my Real Housewives of Orange County east fans, you could do Shannon Stormsbadore and her dog Archie after they got into that. Oh God, no actually. Basically one of the cast members of Real Housewives of Orange County was drunk driving, which is obviously really bad. No one got hurt, but she got caught drunk driving and her dog was in the car.
00:06:14
Speaker
And then everyone was doing this stuff being like, it was Archie, he was driving. There's like a rumor that was spread that like she blamed on him, which I don't think she did this, but he's like this big stupid maverick. So yeah, I'd do that probably.
00:06:36
Speaker
Exciting times for all and sundry. this year for Halloween because we've had the resurgence of Beetlejuice. So the 1988 cult classic film obviously inspired a musical layer down the line, but we've just had, and we're gonna be talking about it later in this episode. And then i people are saying Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. People are also saying B2Ljuice as like a little sequel. Funny title. oh Oh, sorry. I've just clocked that. oh That is so stupid of me.
00:07:10
Speaker
How long have you just popped that? You know what, this is exactly what happened when I watched, what was happening to everyone, Salt Burn. I was like, why is it called Salt Burn? Then I was like, oh my God, because the house is called Salt Burn. Like, I was just like, what is wrong with me? My brain is just like in a different planet. Sorry about everyone.
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's exactly talking about WandaVision. That's what exactly what I have been doing with WandaVision because the main character is called Wanda. And I was like, oh, it's all like set around being a TV show and like sitcom. So like WandaVision like television. And then like near the end, like like really like episode seven, I went, oh, her husband's called Vision.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah, actually I will say dick it took me a beat to pop there as well. yeah but i was like as anger than i want to admit That's a bit more complex though than just Beetlejuice tea. like that That was a bit, you know, use your brain. No, but like her husband is called Vision and he is for like he's in the whole thing. So I've been going WandaVision thinking like, oh Wanda television, like that's the theme.
00:08:11
Speaker
And I think it is, it's a play on words for that, but then her husband is literally called Vision. So I was like, oh. It's not the most inspired, is it? Like, one day it's Vision. But yes, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, or Beetlejuice. I just don't know how you would... You know what? Like, it looks great in marketing when they have the two in the middle, but it doesn't read well. Like, Beetlejuice. It is technically it is technically like written down as Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Like, that's the that's the name for it.
00:08:40
Speaker
Yeah. Well, stop putting the two in the middle of your marketing then. It's very confusing. ah But obviously that came out last month in the UK right in time for Halloween and will be in cinemas, I think up until the last week of Halloween that it's moving to streaming. So if you haven't seen it yet, maybe pause, go to the cinema.
00:09:02
Speaker
Maybe wait till it comes to streaming, watch it, and then pick us right back up. Just have a week in between, because we'll be talking about it later, and there might
Beetlejuice Musical Origins
00:09:10
Speaker
be some light spoilers. But back to the subject at hand. We are a musical theater podcast. We are first going to talk about the musical. So of course, it is based on the 1988 cult classic movie, which was directed by Tim Burton. Casey's going to talk us through it later. But where did the idea for the musical start? Well, I'll tell you.
00:09:31
Speaker
In 2016, there were internet rumors that there was going to be a musical adaption of Beetlejuice and it was in production by Warner Brothers, obviously the big ah studio.
00:09:44
Speaker
There were the rumblings kind of like on Reddit, on like Tumblr, the musical theater, insufferable, annoying fans, myself included. We were spreading rumors like wildfire. And then in 2017, it was like, you know, one of those things where like someone posts on Facebook, like a fake movie. They're like, oh my God, they're gonna do like a Edward Scissorhands too. And it's like an AI image. Yeah, I hate that. I hate it so much. I hate it. But then when it comes true,
00:10:14
Speaker
It's fun. And that was kind of what happened with real justice. They were like, yes, it's in, it it was like rumors for ages. And then in 2017, Warner Brothers confirmed that they did in fact have a musical with musical comedian, Eddie Perfect, writing the music and the lyrics and Scott Brown and Anthony King, both writing the book.
00:10:31
Speaker
So a little bit about Eddie Perfect, which is I just can't go over that name. It's so fucking funny to me. and he' Born in Australia in 1977, and he studied kind of performing arts at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2001. And he kind of began his career as a political stand up on Australian TV before releasing kind of like Bo Burnham and people like that comedy musical albums to get a critical acclaim.
00:10:58
Speaker
So he did a few tours, he did loads of shows at the end for Fringe, and then he began his career in musicals. So he started off in a political parody musical, which, sorry Australians, I've just got no context for this, Keating the Musical, ah which is based on the life of the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. So if that means anything to you out there, I'm sure it's a hoot and a holler that those are just words to me. And that is just a man. But he then began to kind of write parody and satire musicals. and So he kind of first did one on the cricketer Shane Morn, who I have obviously heard of, which won a few awards, and then he com composed for Beetlejuice.
00:11:40
Speaker
and then really randomly the Broadway kind of reworked version of King Kong the musical so there was a King Kong musical I think in like this maybe the 80s that's like really but like shockingly bad um and they decided to kind of re-put it on and in New York but they basically rewrote all of the lyrics because it was just like not good in any way Um, uh, that closed quite shortly. I don't think that was, uh, hugely successful, but in a lovely kind of neat ending to his Beetlejuice journey, he is actually set to take on the lead role of Beetlejuice in the Australian production, which is opening next year. Oh, that's cute. That's really sweet. I know, he's doing a Sara Bareilles, I think he said, I'm playing, I'm playing the role. Um, which I do have my grumpiness about, but
00:12:33
Speaker
You know, I'll let the people have it. So then Foote Gregtors, Anthony King and Scott Brandon, this is so cute, right? So both of them are kind of like writers, screenwriters, but they're also childhood best friends and they're writing partners. It's just, I ah love it.
00:12:50
Speaker
So before Beetlejuice, they actually wrote an off-Broadway musical called, again, these are just some words, I've got no context for this, Guttenberg, the musical. Yeah, Guttenberg, the musical. I've heard of that. Have you, wait, can you tell us anything about it, Case? Is it not about Steve Guttenberg, or am I really like? Who's that? He's an actor.
00:13:17
Speaker
It is about... I mean, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells were in it. This is all a bit meta, so it is about two friends who are musical theatre writers, maybe a little bit based on Anthony King and Scott Brown, who have written a musical called, about Johann Schuttenberg. Oh. The German inventor. I'm not sure, I think it's... Steve Guttenberg, the actor who's in...
00:13:48
Speaker
I don't know. They did write a show about the guy from Ghostbusters, yes. But yeah, it feels like it's maybe like a bit of a meta thing where it's two friends and writing partners writing about the process of writing for musicals. I don't know, something like that. um But I do love Andrew Reynolds and he's in it.
00:14:09
Speaker
So Scott Brown though, as a solo artist, this man, he's an author, a screenwriter, a journalist, a critic and a composer. Pick a field buddy! okay ah He was the chief theatre critic for New York Magazine between 2010 and 2014 and he's also written for Entertainment Weekly and This American Life as a fiction writer and he's also had like a number of writing credits for really great TV shows including Sharp Objects, one of my favourite TV series miniseries of all time, Manhattan Castle Rock and Utopia, and then Anthony King as well. He has also written for kind of numerous TV
Casting and TikTok Impact
00:14:44
Speaker
shows, he's also a comedian, um including Search Party, Broad City, Silicon Valley and Wet Hot American Summer. um And he used to be the artistic director for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.
00:14:56
Speaker
I love that you said New York City in a British accent. New York City. I think I chickened out of doing that thing from what we do in the shadows where he's like, New York. Yikes.
00:15:08
Speaker
and
00:15:10
Speaker
So shortly after this kind of confirmation from Warner Brothers that the musical was happening, um in May 2017 they basically had the kind of first readings and workshops. Now the cast from the workshops stayed, which is unheard of really, stayed from the workshops to then the kind of tryouts, the out of town tryouts to then the actual opening on Broadway, which I just think is so nice. So the kind of first readings and workshops happened in May 2017.
00:15:37
Speaker
And we had Alex Brightman playing the title character of Beetlejuice. Now, Alex, I think everyone will have heard of, well known at the time for originating the role of Dewey Finn, the Jack Black character in School of Rock. And he kind of played this role on Broadway for two years, and he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance.
00:15:56
Speaker
He also, fun fact, there's lots of men writing musical theater in this episode. He's developing two new musicals, both based on like famous books, so both adaptions. So he's writing the book for both of these musicals. um So there's one, the first one is ah based on The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleishman. And I think that's like a children's book. And then the second one is, you might remember the movie adaption, It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.
00:16:24
Speaker
They made a movie, um, of this book maybe like 10 years ago with, uh, Emma, Emma, Nepo, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts. Emma Roberts, yeah. Um, and it was, yeah, it was interesting. Um, but the book's are really good. So yeah, he is writing the book for those. So also casting these kind of early readings was Sophia and Caruso, um, playing Lydia. Now she got this role when she was 16, which is, you know,
00:16:53
Speaker
that is wonderful for her and she's very talented but hurts to see people live out your dreams. and Prior to Beetlejuice she had made her to Broadway debut in 2015 aged just 14 so that's wonderful. And she was playing the girl in the and the play The Blackbird. So also cast was Kerry Butler and Rob McClure as the married couple Barbara and Adam Maitland So Carrie is kind of like a Broadway legend, she has performed as a Penny Pingleton in Hairspray and she actually holds a Tony Award nomination for her role as Cleo and Kira in Xanadu, Olivia, Olivia Newton-John. and Rob is also a two-time Tony nominated Broadway star, ah so he got one for his lead role in Chaplin and another nomination for his role as Daniel Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire.
00:17:42
Speaker
So, as I said, this cast continued their roles for the pre-Broadway Tryouts at the National Theatre in Washington, DC. This production took place from October to November 2018, and this was directed by Alex Timbers, choreographed by Connor Gallagher, musically directed by Chris Kuchel. Great name. Love that for you, Chris. and And had puppet decided by Michael Curry, who is the really famous puppeteer who also did puppets for The Lion King and for Frozen. And a lot of other Disney stuff and a lot of other shark tussle stuff. The guy is like puppets. He's like a cool Jim Henson. um Excuse me, Jim Henson is very cool. No, to his kids. ah so What happened? His kids just ate him. He was not a very good father. Oh my god, really? Yeah, not a good guy.
00:18:32
Speaker
so right I think even he said before dad, he was like, yeah, I just love the puppets too much. Like, I wasn't really a good dad. Oh, well, he was a great dad to the puppets. The Muppets is exceptional. Great dad to the bloody puppets. Yeah, love those puppets. But then interestingly, all of his children are puppeteers and work for the Jim Henson Foundation. Didn't we talk about this when we did Muppets Christmas Carol? We did. Maybe we did. Yeah, I think I did like a big like Jim Henson. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh.
00:19:01
Speaker
that must have totally like black it's because i've just watched them up it's 3d vision and it was brilliant and but you know um yeah i mean this is the thing he the children suffered for his art but it was good art shit dad great puppeteer and you know what and you know what gravestone but you know what would they be puppeteers if they didn't have him probably not they probably wouldn't have No, I think they're probably trying to... I think their careers in puppets, no offense to their handsome family, but...
00:19:35
Speaker
It's maybe pursuing a father that they never had kind of thing, I'm sure. I'm sure they've had lots of fun. Sorry, anyway. Dada dada, musicals!
00:19:48
Speaker
So the yeah, ah the show moved to Broadway in 2019, taking the exact same cast and crew, and it premiered at the Winter Garden Theater on the 28th of March and opened it officially on the 25th of April.
00:20:01
Speaker
And it was actually due to close on the 6th of June, 2020, not because it wasn't popular, but because the Music Man revival had basically been booked there for ages. Obviously Starry Q. Jackman and Sutton Foster. And that was due to open kind of later on in the year. But it never got to the stage where it got closed down for the Music Man because COVID happened. So 2020, all shows obviously off Broadway. So it then in 2022, so in April, 2022, it then reopened at the Marquis Theatre.
00:20:31
Speaker
And Alex Brightman returned to the role of Beetlejuice and Carrie Butler as well. She returned to the role of Barbara Maitland, but they kind of had a new cast then. So Elizabeth Teeter then took over the role of Lydia. As Sophia Ann Caruso, she actually left to pursue TV and film acting. I'm not really sure how that's going for her, but she is back on Broadway and I'm happy for her. There was a big drama around that.
00:20:55
Speaker
People were really mad at her. people And Bear meant she was like, what, 18, 19? Yeah, I think there was there was a lot going on behind the scenes as well, I think, though. So from what I could gather, apparently the cast were all like not the kindest to her, and they had all kind of like fallen out over this. But apparently she kind of just got bored. She's that child! Yeah, apparently she was like not cutting... like she was cutting in corners in rehearsals and like not showing up on time and things like that but like at the same time she was like a 17 year old girl yeah i just think like obviously that's not professional but like i think if you're holding a grudge against a 17 year old girl for being a bit work shy like come on yeah you're an adult it's fine um well yeah well i really do wish her the best of luck for her tv and film crew
00:21:49
Speaker
this kind of continued production at a different thesis. Basically there was kind of during COVID, there was like this renewed interest in the show because obviously people got into TikTok, the whole world got into TikTok. And so many sounds from the show went kind of like viral. um So like, I think there's that one there, it's like where he's trying to get Lydia to say his name and he's like, say it. And she's like, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Did any of you guys do any Beetlejuice videos?
00:22:18
Speaker
Oh, ah like my first TikToks I The Musical. So yes, I fell under that trap.
00:22:29
Speaker
That's not a trap. It was fun. We're allowed to have fun, guys. Yeah, true. And the production then officially closed on the 8th of January, 2023. So after a cumulative for both runs, it performed 1,045 performances and 54 previews. And isn't this so funny? Because there was Beetlejuice fever on the internet. People were obsessed. People were like following Alex Brightman around. People were attacking that young girl for leaving. But it actually closed at a loss.
00:22:58
Speaker
Isn't that so funny? Cause you would think on the internet, like if the internet would have you believe at that time that that show was packed out. Yeah. I mean, it was, I went to see it in, when did I go? Like August, 2022. And the audience was like- So you would have seen it at the marquee.
00:23:17
Speaker
Yeah I stayed out at the marquee, it was like inside a... I'd never been to that theatre before, it's pretty much like inside a hotel. Oh my god that's so funny. It's like huge, it's huge but you've got got to kind of go like into a lobby and to get to the theatre part and then there's like a whole other hotel part which is strange. But yeah i it was packed out still, like it was really busy.
00:23:39
Speaker
And oh my god, let's just have a quick pause. What did you think? Did you see Alex Brightman? Yeah. Oh, it was amazing. I loved it. We literally touched down in New York, got to the hotel, dumped our bags and went straight to Times Square.
00:23:54
Speaker
And I was like, I'm seeing Beetlejuice because I've been, I love the film. So the whole time, like I've i'd been listening to the soundtrack and everything and I was like, I have got to see it. Because I was so sad when it closed down, like just before Covid. Oh, did it close down? And then it there was Covid and it came back.
00:24:10
Speaker
aht I think Noi got caught during COVID. Yeah. um So I was like, no, I need to see this. And then we walked straight to the Red Steps and I was like, went to the ticket thing and I was like, Beetlejuice, please. And mr like this was like 650 and it was like, OK, it's starting in 10 minutes. Oh my God. yeah I was like, yeah. And we literally ran and got in. The ticket's really expensive.
00:24:35
Speaker
not really when you go to that ticket stand it's pretty much like discounted tickets and especially I think because it was starting in like 10 minutes yeah they're just trying to offload as yeah yeah they'll get they'll take what they can for them I think I think it was like $80 each but we were sat in the orchestra it's pretty good yeah But yeah, Sarah was so jet-lagged she fell asleep near the end, but she did say she enjoyed it. But I literally asked her, but that is a bit of a damning review. I've done that before where you're so jet-lagged, and actually this happened recently. ah My mum got me tickets for um Waiting for Godot.
00:25:11
Speaker
And we'd just flown back from Canada. And it was like the day after. And I was like this, like trying to keep my eyes open. My hair just like kept falling all over the place. And I was like, this is not how I wanted to like see this play. I just i just couldn't keep my eyes open.
00:25:26
Speaker
Oh my god, I'm going to tell Ben with all that you know. No, please don't. I'm sure if Ben is listening, I'm so sorry. You're wonderful. You're wonderful. So it was nominated the 2019 Tony Awards for eight Tonys. Best musical, best bit of a musical, best original score, best performance by an actor in a leading role. That was Alex Brightman. Best scenic design, best costume design, best lighting design, and best sound design. Guess how many it won?
00:25:57
Speaker
None. Correct. None. Which I always think is so sad when shows or like films are nominated for like a bunch of Oscars and they don't win any. Like, oh, I just think that's how it must be gotten to be like, oh yeah, we've got 10 nominations. Surely. Surely we're going to get one. And then. Yeah. Oh, bless.
00:26:17
Speaker
And then since its closure, it has began a national US tour. So that started in in December, 2022, and that had a completely new cast, but Alex Timbers and Connor Gallagher came back to direct and choreograph.
00:26:30
Speaker
which is quite nice and I believe Kotor Gallagher has choreographed quite a few of um some of the other tours as well. So there was a big scandal at one of the Denver stops of the route because US representative and right-wing horror nasty Trump supporter Lauren Boebert ah was removed from the show, I don't know if you remember this news story, after she was caught vaping, singing along, filming the show, and to chop it all off, touching her male companion, inappropriately, whilst the show was going on! Oh my god. I know. That's the state of American politics. And then she like, the two days later was like giving a speech somewhere. Jesus Christ.
00:27:19
Speaker
I know. And she was like, oh, I just got carried away. It's like, girl, why are you vaping? Why are people vaping indoors now? Why are people vaping in theatres? Not to be like annoying, but like, where's the decorum gone? Also the singing along that is the worst musical. It's very rich. Yeah. Unless you're at Rocky Horror. No.
00:27:40
Speaker
I think that's like a, removal like if I was running a theater, I'd be like, you get one strike. yeah Like actually no strike system. if you If I catch you, you're gone. Yeah, you're a slinger. I'm the worst though. Like even if someone like, ah even if someone has like a packet of sweets, I'm like, you're dead to me. Like I literally, I have to be in like complete silence.
00:28:01
Speaker
And if anyone just like even, oh, sorry, this is such like a going off. I went to go see Edith Puss the other day and it was bloody brilliant. Like honestly, incredible. If you can go see it. The woman Mark Strong, not the one at the, uh, Old Vic. Haven't seen that one yet. Um.
00:28:16
Speaker
And this lady next to me, like, so it goes like, please don't have your phones. The lady next to me was on her phone and the lights go up and she was there looking through her emails. Mark Strong comes on, starts his big speech and she was there just like, and my mum lent over and was like, can you turn your phone off? She was like, if you say please. I was like, no.
00:28:35
Speaker
Do you know who you're talking to? I was like, I can't believe this. I was like, where the hell? Like manners, like you're watching a live performance. If you don't have the time to not be on your phone, why are you here?
00:28:51
Speaker
yeah do do Yeah, exactly, don't come then. Angry. It made me so angry. Because also what you think is like you're not only disrupting it for me, but for everyone else. Yeah, yeah that's the thing. You're disrupting for and like everyone. I don't care if you want to be on your phone when you watch a movie at home. Yeah, go for it. Don't wild. But you're disrupting other people. Not in public. Do you know what's my worst, actually? I was at Juno and the Peacock with my mum last night. Very, very good production, I must say. um And I think people forget about this. They're Apple watches, so they turn their phone off. They almost forget the Apple watches and then you just see like a little flick and then suddenly it's like a little square lights up. That really annoys me. yeah I think there should be reminders about that. Turn off your smartwatches. Turn them off.
00:29:34
Speaker
turn them off.
Tour Success and International Productions
00:29:35
Speaker
So unlike the Broadway production, this tour actually did make some money, which is good. And productions have been staged in other countries as well. So there was a South Korean production in 2021. There was one in Rio de Janeiro in 2023, one in Sao Paulo in 2024. The Norwegian Viva cruise ship had an onboard production in 2023. And then there's planned productions in Sweden, Prague, and Australia opening in the next few weeks and then into next year as well.
00:30:03
Speaker
So I will just round off by saying and obviously Casey's seen it so she I've only ever seen and like kind of listened to clips and stuff like that. I've obviously listened to the full soundtrack but I've never seen the actual stage show. My feelings are, which if you've listened to this podcast you will know, ah most kind of cult maybe to musical stage adaptions just runs into kind of like classic issues with like plots wrapping up in the second act I always think.
00:30:29
Speaker
and then like really bad song placement they're like oh that's a good idea of a song but it doesn't actually fit it but also things are just fun sometimes and I think this review really sums up like Beetlejuice the musical. So this is from Sarah Holdren um writing for New York Vulture.
00:30:46
Speaker
and she wrote that the show openly embraces the theme parky aspects of an enterprise like the one it's engaged in. True to its source material, it's loud, it's cheeky and it's all about excess. It's also, thanks in large part to Alex Brightman's spot-on performance as the incorrigible titular ghoul, a pretty fun time.
00:31:03
Speaker
Which I just, yeah, I don't know. I just like that. Like, it's like, we're just going and we're having a great time. It's just fun. It is very fun. And I think what helps with the, I see, I'm kind of the opposite. I quite like it when a movie gets made into a musical. I mean, nine times out of 10, they are bad. But for me, I like seeing the, I don't know. Like if I enjoy a movie, I'm like, oh, I have something else to kind of,
00:31:28
Speaker
take in. It's an extension of that world. yeah so yeah um But with this I think it really lends itself to being a musical because the original is so campy and like takes the piss out of itself anyway. So I think making it into a musical which does the same thing I think that really worked and it didn't kind of... It's already quite like a heightened show in terms of like expansionism so like it's not that big of a leap to then make it to the stage. kind Yeah exactly, exactly it does kind of lend itself to being a musical.
00:32:05
Speaker
And just like that, she's back. You've got your muso girl back. Woo hoo, she's back. I'm going to talk about time signatures, everything that you've missed. ah So, Beetlejuice, the musical music, as we just heard, was um created by a lovely guy, I don't know, I actually don't know him, but a lovely name, um Eddie Perfect. um And to be completely honest, when I first heard the soundtrack, I kind of thought it was like,
00:32:35
Speaker
Hamilton meets Legally Blonde meets a rock musical meets rocky horror like that's generally what this all sounds like like if you listen to each track individually you're like that kind of sounds like there's like a Hamilton rap in there, but then there are moments like, there was one moment where they're like, they started singing about being positive. And I was like, sorry, Legally Blonde, and which was just like, so bizarre. But yeah, I feel like it's one of those, it's one of those soundtracks, which is like very modern, very modern musical theatre. It's giving Paramore a lot, like it's giving that kind of like,
00:33:12
Speaker
I'm complicated, like I'm Aveline, but like also I'm trying to appeal to the younger audience. It's that kind of it's that kind of vibe. um But today or tonight, whatever time you're listening to this podcast, um I've chosen to do a deep dive on Dead Mum, um which is one of the kind of, I think it's one of the top tracks on on the on the um the album.
00:33:36
Speaker
um And as always, I'm going to go straight in. um For any kind of musos out there, this one goes out to you. ah So the whole kind of song is written in 4-4. So as you may know from previous episodes, 4-4 is a very kind of standard time signature.
00:33:52
Speaker
four beats in a bar, nothing kind of, nothing kind of too crazy. um It's written in F sharp minor um and at its heart it is a rock song. It's not really, when I first heard it I was like this doesn't feel like a musical theatre song, it feels like a rock song um and I feel like every element in the music is also pointing it towards it being a rock song rather than kind of like a stereotypical musical theatre song. Even the way that it's um the way that the music is written it literally says at the very top of the music you know how sometimes it says like legato or sing this softly it says in the kind of quotation bit it says bedroom grunge rock
00:34:31
Speaker
So they literally label it like, bang, this is what this song is. So if you were kind of like a singer, or an actor approaching it, you're like, right, thank you for the instructions. And if anyone's heard it, it's stunning. Like her voice on it is crazy. Like it's so, it's so like electric. To be fair, when I listened to it, I kind of felt like her voice was almost like an electric guitar. Like that's kind of what it sounded like. It was like really bright and like brassy. um So yeah, so she's got a stunning voice. It's very kind of bright. um And straight away, we kind of enter with chords right at the very beginning, ah which are written, and then users out there, they're written as fifth chords. And for anyone that's like, what the hell is a fifth chord?
00:35:15
Speaker
It basically means that from a scale, it uses the first note and the fifth note in a scale, and it misses out the third. um So ah what that kind of, again, what that kind of hints towards is it being a rock kind of, a rock song, because a lot of rock music, um the guitar actually plays the first and the fifth chords when you kind of strung, when it's trying to make like a rock sound.
00:35:42
Speaker
because if you play the first, the third and the fifth together on a guitar, it sounds really muddy, which is why in rock music they just play the first and the fifth. So it's just interesting that they're mirroring that already from the very, very beginning in the chords. And oddly enough, it's weird. the The song sounds syncopated when you listen to it, because it's kind of got like a i've got like a driving rhythm, but the bass below is actually just playing a solid beat throughout. The actual syncopation comes from the fact that um the rhythm itself starts half a beat before the bar even begins. So you've got four beats in a bar and it begins the half beat before the bars even started, which makes the which makes the music feels like
00:36:28
Speaker
it's syncopated even though it's not, if that makes sense. um That was a very like long convoluted way of describing that. ah But I mean, if anyone's like what you're saying, it basically makes the music feel surprising and it makes it feels like you don't know where it's going to go. um And it has this kind of sense of urgency as the song kind of goes on. um And like any classic pop song, um she sings the verse twice, which is just like classic pop, you can't go wrong. um And then it comes into the chorus.
00:36:57
Speaker
ah which again it's like standard kind of pop song layout um and what's very interesting in the chorus is that she chooses to highlight certain certain kind of um words or sayings with silence ah with the music so you hear kind of like loud music kind of underpinning her singing and then when she sings forget ah um forget your mum ah the music cuts out below and it kind of holds the chord which is kind of interesting because as the listener it makes you really hear those lyrics and as Lydia as the character you kind of um I think at the very beginning it's kind of established that she's kind of like I don't really care like I'm just a rock chick at heart but then I feel like because of the silences it kind of shows like her vulnerability of actually losing her mum which is like a yeah it's it's like a really lovely kind of moment in the chorus
00:37:50
Speaker
um And again, continuing with the a chorus, they also highlight particular moments, because daddy's in denial, um with this kind of rhythm underneath, um which is a little bit like in the verse before, um where the rhythm ah is instead of kind of having that drumming rhythm that you hear right in the very, very first verse,
00:38:14
Speaker
um Instead they decide to hold it as just a single chord which again creates this kind of like clever way where the listener again is like being drawn into hearing the important things that she's wanting you to hear.
00:38:26
Speaker
um So, I mean, I love this song. It's such a brilliant song. ah So, yeah, so she sings first, first chorus, and then my favourite bit of any song is The Bridge because it's like, it's just like, i for me, I always love The Bridge because it's like, it's a new sound. um And this definitely does sound like a new kind of musical idea. Up until now, she's been like, I'm going to give you a bit of Avril Lavigne mixed with Paramore.
00:38:50
Speaker
I'm a groovy chick and like, I don't really care. And then all of a sudden it sounds, it almost kind of sounds like, you know, on a Paramore soundtrack, I keep going back to Paramore, but it's because it does sound like a Paramore song, on a Paramore soundtrack where it's like, I'm going to sing like Loud Screamo. And then one of her songs is like, you are. It kind of, it feels like that. It feels like the lovely kind of like lyrical kind of sound to a Paramore song. And that's when she kind of comes into the bridge and actually the bridge moves to a different key.
00:39:18
Speaker
It decides to move to E minor. Again, love a good key change. and Can't help it. um And the rhythm ah is now coming in on the beat rather than half a beat before. So again, from kind of like an actor's perspective, it feels like the character is a bit more grounded in what she's singing about.
00:39:40
Speaker
um And again, it's kind of her showing her more kind of vulnerable side. um Whereas before we kind of seen her very, very comfortable in this like rock style. I guess it's showing the fact that she is uncomfortable talking about.
00:39:53
Speaker
the fact that she does miss her mum and she's in this like weird situation where she's with this dad who doesn't understand or or see her and she's now got this like awful stepmom figure um and so um and that whole section has been labeled to be played in legato which again any musos out there you already know this it basically means the music is played in a very kind of like slurred, connected sound, um which is again, like a really lovely contrast to the rock rhythm and the punchy sound that we hear before. But also it's weird, I don't know if you girls felt this as well. There's also like a hauntingness to the way that she sings this bit. Like it sounds very like ghostly. um And yeah, I don't know, it's it's interesting. Like there are kind of sounds that she makes that, and and also in the music it sounds,
00:40:40
Speaker
um Yeah, like they have like there's there's dissonance with the notes where the notes are clashing and again It kind of adds to that feeling of feeling quite wanted. It's the bridge the bit where she's like won't you send iset that yeah Yeah, yeah the chords are quite like oh What, in the background, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. um Yeah, I think, yeah, so that that is kind of like the bridge and then we kind of, then we get hit back into the chorus. And another key change, surprise, surprise. You know what's really fascinating about this key change is yeah she actually goes down a key change, but it doesn't sound like it. It's really, really weird.
00:41:22
Speaker
It's fascinating cause I was like, no way. like For some reason, the key change that she makes to the to the bridge, um she goes up, I think. And then when she goes back to the chorus, she actually goes down, but then she sings her highest note in that lower key change. And I think it's probably just to suit the singer's voice. It's just that she can hit her highest note, but without going, cause I think if she took it up, if she took it up another key change, she'd be singing something mental, like like in Defying Gravity.
00:41:52
Speaker
so by taking it down like something silly but it's like you're goingnna get thing men you're gonna get but I think because they take it down I think her highest note that she goes to is like an E flat which is still really high um but yeah it's just it's interesting that they make that choice and for me I feel like that last chorus feels like she's like at the peak of the song um And yeah, I mean, I love this song. I can talk about it for hours. I feel like it really establishes who Lydia is as a character. um And I also love that it comes back right at the end. I'm like, love it. it's It's one of those songs that you're like, I want to hear that song all over again. I love a little reprise moment. Me too. I love a little reprise.
00:42:32
Speaker
Have you ever sang this for? No, I haven't, but I do love this song because I also like, i I just love singing pop. I love singing pop. I love singing rock songs. I love jazz actually, a bit of everything, but I do love pop and rock. I just, I love jazz. No, I do love a little little bit of everything, but I'm a big Paramount fan. And actually I remember when I was 18, I did this ah talent show, which was called Lack of Talent and at my school.
00:42:58
Speaker
Um, but I proved them wrong. Um, I remember I sang hallelujah by parable and I literally came out being like, here we go. And I, I like, I like now I'm like the balls. I was like 16 years old. I was like, here we go. I love that song. Like I actually loved it and everyone was like, I can't believe you sang that song. And I remember afterwards, um, but but my boyfriend at the time, one of his housemates was like, Oh my God, is your girlfriend like an email or something? but Rock song, I was like, I don't think you can call me that. Just because I have a love for the paramour. No, like, yeah. Interesting. Oh my God, that's so funny. It's your girlfriend, like an e-boy. It's pretty. I was like, number one, I'm not dressed in all black, but okay. Yeah, bazaar. Wow, that's... The emos didn't really, the emos were slightly different. Yeah, also I was like, that's just labelling me off. But they also liked neon. They weren't strictly into the Phil Black, like Goths were. But also like, I wouldn't say that if you like Paramore, you're an emo. Like, I just feel like... No. Emos, like, raw means I love you and dinosaur. That's exactly what emos mean. Love it.
00:44:15
Speaker
It's giving Tumblr, it's giving Tumblr. Total, like, swooped frames. That was the big thing. Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Freddie listeners, Flo just hit us with a little heart there. A little heart out of Tonga, actually.
00:44:30
Speaker
I was gonna say I used to get so bullied that I was an emo, but I really wasn't. I think like when my friends look on my pick like back at my pictures, I had like a swoopy fringe, but that was just the, I didn't have like the the straightened bits over this. Really like any twee way though. That was like a theater kid way. Yeah. I had like the swoopy, like the circular fringe. It wasn't so jagged. Yeah. yeah But I did used to take pictures from like that angle where you'd be like, Oh my God, everyone did that. Everybody did that. It's a classic. And also everyone did.
00:45:00
Speaker
Everyone did that. Sorry, that was... Flo was just doing the... What was that called? 2K1? I don't know what it was. I don't know, actually. Why did we do that? I don't know. Yeah, it's the finger guns that you kind of put on your chin. Yeah. Oh, dear. What was that called? it That was called 2K8 or something. 2KY, 2K...
00:45:25
Speaker
two k Got it, Casey, this is with like right now for any listeners ah listening, we're obviously all on video chat and Casey especially, she's in like a slightly darkened room. Yeah, she's throwing it back. Headphones on, she's got glasses, like it actually looks like it could have been taken on like a webcam in two hours. I always get really, it's always really dark when I'm on the podcast, but I really hate big lights. I'm literally, oh I turn into like the, I'm like,
00:45:54
Speaker
like A wicked witch. Do you know, actually that tracks because when I was younger and I'd play in my room, my mum would come upstairs and I'd be like playing with like dolls in total darkness. She was like, open the blind. It's two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. I'd be sat with like the blind shot like in the dark. Like a bat boy. Yeah. I've just always hated the big light. It just makes everything worse. I look, I understand people's need for atmosphere.
00:46:24
Speaker
I have terrible eyesight, okay? I'm needing the big light. Otherwise I don't know what's going on. Usually, you see, I've actually got the bigger lamp on. If I wasn't on video cam right now, I'd just have the salt lamp on, which is like barely, like I may as well have- That's like orange light. That's nothing. I may as well have like an 18th century candle, like in the corner. That's-
00:46:50
Speaker
Moving on to the plot which slightly differs from the film and the musical, so I'm going to basically give you the general overview and then any bits that I find very significantly changed. I'll i'll let you know. So, Beetlejuice opens with Adam and Barbara Maitland, a typical married couple who enjoy the mundane lifestyle they've created for themselves, kind of just doing like little chores together and like enjoying each other's company. And it just it it sets it sets it up that this is just like the perfect all-American couple. like That's the setup for them. and Now, in both the movie and the musical, there is an accident in which Barbara and Adam both die. So in the movie, they are killed when they crash into the side of a bridge and fall into the river, eventually drowning. ah So that's their cause of death. Whereas in the musical,
00:47:42
Speaker
um it's clearly just changed to be kind of adaptable for stage. They fall through like a faulty floor in the house and kind of fall and and they both die that way. um So with Adam and Barbara struggling to come to terms with their death, they engage in dabbling in the afterlife. After learning about a new family that has moved into their home, they are set on trying to rid the living from their home so they can continue to live in their house in eternal peace. So they kind of go through this like the the five stages of grief basically where they're kind of like in denial that they're dead they kind of come to terms and accept it but up all the time is kind of warped in the Beetlejuice world so when they're missing from the house it's like two hours to them but it's actually been like three months and things like that so it all gets a little bit complicated there.
00:48:31
Speaker
The family that moves into the Maitland's house consists of Charles Deets and his teenage gothic daughter Lydia. The main difference between the movie and the musical, I think this is one of the biggest like changes that they did. So in the film, there's Charles, Lydia, and then Delia, which is Charles' wife, um and Lydia's stepmom.
00:48:52
Speaker
In the musical, the characters completely change, so Delia in the musical is actually a grief counsellor slash life coach that Charles has hired to look after Lydia following her mother's death.
00:49:05
Speaker
However, they do eventually begin an affair. So towards the end of the musical, they are ah like a confirmed couple, but at the beginning, yeah, there's no sort of stepmom figure or anything like that. Delia is like this really, and the character is massively different too. She's still really quirky, but Delia in the musical is very like this upbeat, like ultra positive life coach, like hell yes, sister, everything's great.
00:49:31
Speaker
Whereas in the in the film, as we know, it's Catherine O'Hara who's quite like solemn and very negative. and like So that that's the biggest difference, I'd say. um Anyway, so with the couple becoming increasingly frustrated with the new family's changing of their home, they enlist the help of Beetlejuice, a bio-exorcist demon who can only be summoned properly when his name is said three times.
00:49:57
Speaker
His job is to scare the living away so the dead can remain in their home in peace. So kind of basically what it says like he's the hiring like an exorcist to get rid of the living rather than the dead. After meeting Beetlejuice with his cheap tricks and slimy personality the Maitlands decide against enlisting his help after they form sort of a parental type bond with Lydia.
00:50:20
Speaker
However, Beetlejuice has already wormed his way into the home and convinces Lydia to say his name in order to save Barbara and Adam. So that kind of happens in both the musical and the movie, but different ways. So in the movie, the ghosts become kind of like the centre of attention and everybody kind of wants to to see them, like everybody starts believing in ghosts and they kind of get a bit like, what's the word I'm looking for?
00:50:46
Speaker
exploited Like the, everybody kind of wants to sell the story on the ghosts that are in the house. Yeah. And people are like, Oh, let me come and see. Yeah. So that's the kind of premise in the, in the film. And then they summon some, like they do some sort of weird.
00:51:03
Speaker
like ancient voodoo spell and it starts killing them basically and Lydia it gets Beetlejuice to help. Whereas in the musical um it's the same sort of thing, everybody kind of wants to take the ghosts and like exploit them as well.
00:51:19
Speaker
and but Lydia wants to go to the afterlife to get her mum. So that's that's though are the key difference. So she goes try and find her mum to help. It ends with basically Beetlejuice tricking her. So Beetlejuice hatches a plan to marry Lydia so that he can forever roam free in the living world. So that's the plot in both. However, in the movie, this is stopped by Adam and Barbara who sent him back to the netherworld.
00:51:49
Speaker
and learn to cohabit with the deetses in their home after all. Whereas in the musical the wedding is a trick in order to bring Beetlejuice back to life so that Lydia can kill him once again and send him back to the netherworld. So yeah the wedding is still a thing whereas in the film I think ah Lydia does it to try and save Barbara and Adam because Beetlejuice is like yeah if you marry me I'll save Barbara and Adam. Whereas in the musical That's kind of already happened. Babra and Adam are saved. They all kind of hatched this plan to send him back, which is the marriage, which is one of the great songs of the musical, which is creepy old guy, because I'm really glad that they focused on that, which is just brilliant. and
00:52:31
Speaker
Yeah, it is, ah because that is like the, and I don't think like in the Tim Burton movie, like I'm not for one minute suggesting that like, like he very much like it's set up so that we're all like, oh, like he's horrible, but he's like an ancient demon. me Yeah.
00:52:48
Speaker
And no one's ever like, everyone's always like, Oh God, he's horrible. Um, but I can see how they had to be a bit more purposeful when it was translated to stage because it can easily fall into the like, Oh, like, do you know what I mean? Like a little bit slapstick a bit, you know? So they probably had to be a bit more like, uh, yeah, just purposeful with the way that they were presenting. Yeah, definitely. Which I think they do do a good job of, I will say. I think even now they, like I, um, like a couple of weeks ago, I rewatched the old Beetlejuice.
00:53:16
Speaker
And the moments where I was like, I don't know if they could do this now. like There are moments where I was like, that just makes me feel kind of like uncomfortable. I don't know, maybe that's just me. Just like the way that like women were portrayed in the movie, I was a bit like, not too sure about that. Still love the movie. It's a great movie. um But yeah, just moments where I was like,
00:53:35
Speaker
Well, probably don't touch it there. Probably don't do that. Yeah. I mean, but then that's the thing, isn't it? Like there's there's nothing that's ever going to stand the test of time. Yeah. And you just have to, when you're watching things that are, you know, 20, 30 years old, you have to.
00:53:51
Speaker
be able to watch it within the context of that and be like, ugh, not great, but also it's like the whole Rocky Horror thing that's happening right now, right? Where people are like, oh my God, Rocky Horror is so problematic. And people are like, yeah, it was written in like the sixties guys. yeah like Of course it's not going to be like a perfect, you know, to the standards that we have now, because it's a continuing conversation and you know, but it's like, that was really fun. That was a big thing on like musical theater, where wherever everyone was like, yeah,
00:54:20
Speaker
I think that's fine though, it did come out in 1967. How dare they? 50 years later.
00:54:30
Speaker
So, Beetlejuice the movie was released in the United States on March 30th 1988, which I love, fun fact for probably only me, and is that the musical was released on March 28th and the film was released on March 30th. My birthday is March 29th.
00:54:48
Speaker
Oh that's cool. I'm literally like sandwiched in between those two dates which are quite, I mean the years mean absolutely. Three key dates. and I also held up four though. Can't count.
00:55:01
Speaker
um
00:55:04
Speaker
So the film was released by Warner Brothers, and this surprised me actually, it was like received with critical and commercial success. um So it actually grossed 84 million on a 15 million budget. why and Which I am shocked by because I feel like when you watch films like Beetlejuice, they kind of come across as one of those movies where you're like, I bet this absolutely flopped at the time. yeah Yeah, and then it kind of- They call it a cult classic, but actually,
00:55:30
Speaker
Where's the cult? Exactly. It kind of does have a cult following. Like there's definitely like Beetlejuice cult classic fans but then also it's kind of like... It was really successful when it came out, which does make sense now because I feel like when you talk to everybody, everybody likes Betelgeuse. I feel like there's a very rare like instance. It kind of like spans generations and everyone is always like, oh yeah, Betelgeuse. Even people who aren't a big fan of Tim Burton's other stuff, I think. Yeah, exactly. It just quite it was very like very popular. So it does kind of make sense, but I was surprised that it grows so much.
00:56:02
Speaker
and So it won an Academy Award in the 1989 Oscars for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards, which I've never heard of, but it won Best Horror Film, Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney.
00:56:16
Speaker
um The music was by Danny Elfman, which I love Danny Elfman's music. He does he's he does a lot with Tim Burton, so chances are... Never for Christmas. Yeah, so if there's any music in it, I'm sure he also did Edward Scissorhands as well, the music for that. so I think so, that like the theme with the snow. and Yeah, yeah. and So yeah, music by Danny. And production design by Bo Welch, who, fun fact,
00:56:43
Speaker
and was really really shy and didn't want to speak to any of the actors on set and Tim Burton convinced him to talk to the actors especially Catherine O'Hara and they ended up getting together and they're still married?
00:56:57
Speaker
So they met in 19, well, I'm guessing they would have been filming 87. So they met in 1987 during like the production of Beetlejuice and have like stayed together ever since they've sure they've got two children. That is so sweet. That is so Catherine O'Hara as well. Like big, gorgeous personnel, a gorgeous woman. Like she would be just the type, like that, what gorgeous little romantic like, I brought you out of your shell. Yeah. Like, oh, I love that. I just thought that was really sweet. So yeah, apparently Tim Burton was like, yeah, go talk to her.
00:57:26
Speaker
I mean, she's gorgeous I would absolutely be like starstruck. Like I wouldn't be able to speak to her. But then at the time she wasn't as like, we all know her now as like legend, Katharine O'Hara. But at the time she was like, maybe, ah I hate to say,
00:57:45
Speaker
Like maybe like a B-list character actress, very brilliant character actress, but she wasn't necessarily like a star. No, and that brings onto to my next kind of tidbit of information that Angelica Houston was originally cast as Delia Deets.
00:58:00
Speaker
but dropped. Oh, I do kind of love that. But dropped out. She dropped out like really, really early on due to film it ah due to illness. So she couldn't film because she got too ill and then the kind of enlisted camp, which does make sense. She would have been very good as well. yeah I feel like Angelica Houston has that Tim Burton look. Yeah, 100%. You know what I mean? She's a grand her witch. Yeah, exactly. she's also She's also the really sassy um headmistress in Tiny Take It. She is. I love her in that movie.
00:58:30
Speaker
I love her in that movie. She's also Morticia Addams. So she does have that Tim Burton-esque look, although I don't think she's actually ever been in one of his films, but she has done a lot of like spooky things. Daddy Daycare. She is. That broccoli and that carrot fighting. you She is quite scary in that film to be fair. She is. Especially when like the bees come and attack her, I'm like, that's not a good thing.
00:58:56
Speaker
ah So the movie was Tim Burton's second movie he directed, so his first was actually Pee Wee's Big Adventure, which I did not know that. I could not imagine that being a Tim Burton film, but apparently it was. So the story and the screenplay were written by Larry Wilson, Warren Scarran and Michael McDowell. Just a few more little tidbits here. So despite the movie using his name, Beetlejuice only actually has 14 minutes of screen time.
00:59:21
Speaker
He's hardly in it. It's really weird. Yeah, he is. It was also the first ever DVD sent out by Netflix. So when Netflix, yeah, when Netflix first started up, they were like an online film service in which you would like, it was kind of like an online blockbuster. It was like a blockbuster. Yeah. So, but like, it was the very first one that they had that they, like, that they'd send out for people to rent.
00:59:42
Speaker
and Also, Kirstie Alley was the first choice for the role of Barbara, and but the producers of Cheers wouldn't let her out of her contract to take the role. I do love her in Cheers, I'm glad.
00:59:56
Speaker
I'm glad. as um I mean, Scientologists. But not her as a person, but she was very funny. and she Yeah, she was. But I do love Kirstie Alley. But then I am like, oh, Scientologists. But I'd be. Yeah. Sigourney Weaver, Linda Blair, Goldie Horn, Laura Dern and Linda Hamilton were all also considered for the role. Sigourney Weaver. Love.
01:00:24
Speaker
Sorry, but like she's literally about to be good. and I actually love her as an actress and she's hit love. so She's about to do The Tempest, which I was like, no way. yeah I was like, that's the most rogue casting. Me too. But it's so rogue. I was like, I love that. that Goldie Hahn is cracking me up because I just think that would have been so like weird.
01:00:46
Speaker
Yeah, I love Goldie Hawn, but she would have been doing like a pratfall. Do you know what I mean? I think maybe, I don't know, when did Death Becomes Her? Death Becomes Her came out like that. Was that 1991? Yeah, so maybe it was like, it's seen her in that and thought, because that is very campy. That's very like horror camp. So you could kind of see. It's like Gurney Weaver. It's like Gurney Weaver. I love her. I loved her in Holes with, excuse me.
01:01:16
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And when she's like, she whacked him with a nail polish and he had like all those scars down his face. I know. And then what was the whole, that was because the nail polish had the snake thing. It had snake movement and she's like, it's harmless when it's dry.
01:01:35
Speaker
got in the whole thing with the pumpkin seeds and holes. And there was a guy that was quitting smoking and he had the pumpkin seeds. The holes is a weird movie. I remember watching it as a kid being like, this is like a weird fever dream. Like it's just like, there was so much weird stuff. I'm obsessed with that film. There was a lot going on. There was a lot happening.
01:01:52
Speaker
kind of dealing with like historic racism in the South and also like the foster care system and like the cycle of poverty like and like how the criminal justice system feeds into that and the industrial like the prison industrial complex and it was like a Disney produced TV. It was just like lot going on but it was very good. So in the original cast Adam Maitland was played by Alec Baldwin Barbara Maitland was Gina Davis, which loves Gina Davis. ah yeah What a woman. Exceptional woman. Beetlejuice was played by Michael Keaton. Lydia was Renona. Lydia was played by Winona Ryder. Charles Dietz was Jeffrey Jones. Delia Dietz was Katherine O'Hara. Otha was played by Glenn Shaddix. And why do I feel like you've talked about Glenn Shaddix before?
01:02:48
Speaker
Glen Shaddix, I think we did a, um we cast a show using the characters of, of the, using the cast of Beatle. Yes. Uh, Juiced had been on. Because what I was- And then I think we were talking about Glen Shaddix. When I was writing it down, I was like, I've really got Rosa's like voice in my head going, Glen Shaddix. And I was like, Glen Shaddix. And then, uh, Juno was played by Sylvia Sidney.
01:03:17
Speaker
And she won a Saturn Award! Yeah, I don't know if she was probably majorly famous before that because she's in the film for like two minutes. I mean love that for her, Saturn Award winner! What about Glen Chaddix though? I'd like to risk his award please. Are you a Glen Chaddix superfam? I'm a Glen Chaddix superfam, it's funny. So nice. Alec Baldwin is so funny in the original because he just almost doesn't look Like, not at all. It's not at tool pretty good his face completely changes. So strange. And I, God, you're gonna hear me say this, and I'm not in the context of Beetlejuice the film, but in the context of everything he's ever done. um Michael Keaton. I love him! Have you guys seen, did you guys see that, it sounds so weird, that McDonald's movie he did,
01:04:14
Speaker
where it was about how it got franchised. Yeah, it's really good. I've watched it being like, this is gonna be really bad. It's really good. Where he's like, he orders a hamburger and they give it him and he's like, wow. Like, then it came out on like 30 seconds. But it's like it's fascinating. It's actually a really, really good movie. Yeah, that was good. He's also good in the spotlight where he plays the editor. He's also great in Batman. Well, thank you, Tim Burton's Batman. And I think this is like the power of Michael Keaton to me is that most people You're either a Batman, so you're either kind of like a leading broody man, right? Where you're kind of like typically quite handsome, like Ben Affleck is a Batman. He's got like the darkness and he's got like the kind of commerciality or you're a Joker. So you're like, you're off beat. Like you're a little wild. He's played both of those character types. Like he played Batman and he's playing Beatlejuice. He straddles both of them. Beatlejuice is very like Joker coded, but if like the Joker was a bit more like camp.
01:05:12
Speaker
it's a joke at war kate If the If the Joker slayed. yeah um If the Joker was in a musical, which he is, I don't know, has anyone seen Joker too? No, apparently it's absolute dog shit. Really? I've heard that it's dog shit. Oh no! Apparently everyone's like... Well did you see that video of Wacky and Phoenix ah like they had a video of him leading out of the screening and it someone Basically like a lip reader said it looks like he's like he's like clapping at the end and then he's like whispering to her what it looks like he says is like that's really bad. Yeah apparently he was like and then she's like stop no it's not and he's like no that was bad like that was awful. They've just watched it. Wait so was that the first time they'd ever watched it back?
01:05:57
Speaker
Probably. Yes, the screening. So they've probably seen a lot of playback, but it'll be the first time that they've seen a lot of it. That's such a shame because that first Joker was just so iconic. I feel like they would maybe try... Was it? Or was it just a rip-off of K.A. comedy?
01:06:11
Speaker
I don't know. I i've i really liked it. I really liked the first one. um But I just think, well from what I've heard of it, the fact that they've made it into a musical i just was a bit like, there's just too much happening. But they're not calling it a musical because everyone hates the word musical. It's giving mean girls. It's giving mean girls. Right. But he was like, it's not a musical. The characters just um use the expression of music to get from one point to another. And people were like, so it's a musical. Yeah.
01:06:40
Speaker
Yeah. So onto the sequel that came out last month, um we had a lot of familiar faces. So we had Catherine O'Hara reprise her role as Delia, along with Winona Ryder as Lydia, who was now like fully grown up with a child, and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Beetlejuice, which was just, it was just great. I feel like it's like riding a bike for him. He just slipped back into that role. So it felt, it, it genuinely felt like they had just like done a cut from the original and then been like an action. Like it just felt like nothing had changed. It was so weird. Yeah. A hundred percent.
01:07:18
Speaker
and Joining them in the cast for the new one was Monica Baluchi as Dolores, Jenna Ortega as Astra Deets, Justin Theroux as Rory, Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson and Arthur Conti as Jeremy. I mean what a fucking cast. Monica Baluchi. Monica Baluchi is absolutely stunning but I did ah did kind of feel like those scenes with Monica Baluchi were just kind of Pardon the problem. I'm Monica Bellucci. We're stapled in for Tim Burton to be like, look at my hot and sexy girlfriend. Yeah. Oh, completely. And do you know what? And if I was going out with Monica Bellucci, I would do the exact same thing. Yeah, 100%. But I was kind of like, do we need like seven slow motion shots of Monica Bellucci, like walking towards the camera? Yes, we did. We absolutely fucking did. I thought it was actually giving like Kiss of the Spider in a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I did love it. I loved it. But I can see why people were a bit like,
01:08:15
Speaker
Come on now. let's like I felt like I, don't get me wrong, I did love the sequel, but I do feel like there was so many good concepts there that were, like it felt really slow at the beginning and then it was like, ro and then yeah they shoved everything in at the end. I completely agree. Yeah, so I'm kind of like, if you would like maybe cut out maybe like three or four of the slow motion Monica Baluchi like walking down a hallway scene. Yeah. Maybe we could have developed the actual plot a little bit more. Have you guys ever seen Mr Bean's Holiday?
01:08:49
Speaker
Yes of course. You know the guy um who plays like the famous actor who's like really up for himself and he's like I made this film and then he's like welcome to the preview and it's literally just him walking like walking down an elevator being like what is life? That literally literally was what that was giving like it was giving like an unnecessary long like sexy scene and like for no reason.
01:09:13
Speaker
And I was like, she's absolutely stunning. It's never gonna be unnecessary to me. It's never gonna be unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I was living, like the whole scene where she's stapling herself back together. Oh yeah, that was cool. That was really cool. And she kills Danny DeVito and then like tragedy by steps is playing in the background. I was like, yes. Yeah, that was a lot of fun.
01:09:31
Speaker
I agree, though. I felt like ah like at the beginning, like I was like, oh, it's kind of like it's like exciting. And then I was like, oh, no. like I felt like it was very slow. And I was like, oh, no, it's very boring. And then suddenly it was like, bang, we're into the movie. And I agree. like I felt like they could have just like, because I feel like with the original, they didn't they didn't waste time. They were just like bang straight into the story.
01:09:55
Speaker
and i Well they would die like immediately and they're like get to fucking grips with it there's new people in the house. Exactly but I kind of like that though because you're like okay right this is the story rather than being like here's all these sexy actors and like we're gonna like it's really fancy now because like we've got a huge franchise just get straight into the story like the actual story was very interesting I'll tell you the bit that was gagged was the bit with a boyfriend when When you actually find out his parents are dead. I was like, Oh my God. I was like, get out of there. That was very much like when, when they weren't showing his parents, I became suspicious. That's a bit creepy. And I was like, are they dead? Yeah.
01:10:34
Speaker
um But like, yeah, they're just things seem rushed when they were like, oh, ah which really annoyed me anyway, people on Twitter were like, ah I really want Gita Davis and Alec Baldwin back in this film, which true me too. yeah I'm never going to excuse Gita. But it wouldn't have made sense. Everyone was like,
01:10:52
Speaker
they should have made a cameo and I was like but they were like they're like 40 years older now that wouldn't make sense because they're not supposed to age and everyone's like well Beetlejuice is in it and I'm like okay but he's wearing like a shit sort of makeup yeah exactly like he's wearing so much makeup that it's fine yeah I think the slowness probably comes from basically when you're having to do those like sequel things what you it's a new audience that may not have seen the original obviously most people will have There's almost like a thing where execs are like, you've got to make sure that they could watch it and having not watched the original, which is stupid because it's a sequel. So I think a lot of it was like just annoying exposition that like, yeah it was all like overly expositioned. Like we didn't need all that. Yeah, agreed. And the other thing that really bugged me, like that was like my main thing. And then the other thing that really bugged me was, so obviously Jeffrey Jones, not in the sequel, very bad man.
01:11:49
Speaker
Yeah. But they showed his face too much. And actually talk like they they literally could have been like, oh, he died. Like, okay. But they kept showing his face. Yeah. And it it made me feel a bit uncomfortable when they were like, oh, you're back.
Movie Scene Analysis
01:12:04
Speaker
I was like, oh, this is just weird. Like it's, I mean, also just like really odd because of like, okay, spoiler alert. In the movie, he gets eaten by a shark.
01:12:12
Speaker
So like all you see is his legs, but I just kind of thought like that's just weird like you're still referencing him But you're just showing his legs. I was just like this is just weird like yeah I think ada it could have opened with that like it opened with the funeral he said like done But then it was kind of like they showed his face on the tombstone Then they kept talking about and then his face was in the newspaper Yeah, then his face was on like the passport thing like that and I was a bit like We are talking about him too much. like I completely agree though with the feeling of like, I felt like near the end they were like, oh shit, we're we're we're we're running out of money, we're running out of time. And they rushed loads of the bits. Like, the fact that like Catherine O'Hara, another big spoiler, Catherine O'Hara, she dies.
01:12:56
Speaker
And they were just like, she's dead. There was no, like, oh my God, she's dead. It was just like, oh yeah, lol, I'm dead. I was like, sorry, where's that emotional arch? Like, I will see. Also, sorry, standout was Catherine O'Hara. Like, the moment she was just screaming, I was like, obviously. She was just, since she she was the star. Like, and she was actually the only, she was the only character I'd generally, like, laughed out loud at.
01:13:18
Speaker
Well, a couple of my, ah I think so sometimes people juice, but I do think her character but in particular, just like she had some very, very funny one-liners, which I was like, that was actually quite funny. she i I loved the bit where like she cu she gets bitten by the snakes. She's got the like blood on her neck. And then she like finally meets up with Charles in the afterlife, and he's like bitten in half by a shark. And she goes, oh, what happened to me?
01:13:45
Speaker
yeah
01:13:47
Speaker
I loved that bit. She was giving a lot of Moira Rose in that. Oh, but I was living for it. Yeah, I was living for it. But then Part of me was kind of like, this feels a little bit different to actually her character in the original. This feels a lot more Moira Rose, but I feel like that may have been deliberate.
01:14:04
Speaker
I'm not sure, but anyway, I was eating it up. I think that's the thing with sequels, right? with it's like beloved Because that's a beloved character like of hers. they probably were like They always love to hammer out. yeah yeah Not Catherine O'Hara, execs and writers. like If you know that a character is beloved, why would you not then in the next iteration make that like yeah like a big focus yeah exactly like i was eating it up but i was a bit like oh this feels this doesn't really feel like delia this feels more like moira rose yeah but like you were eating it up but you were spitting little bits out i was a bit like you were like i was washing it down with some water yeah i'm sorry justin through his character didn't need to be in it like
01:14:51
Speaker
No, but he is also fit, so. Really? He's also fit.
01:14:58
Speaker
I think I'm judging a lot of this, I'm like Monica Blue Chief, gorgeous. But I was a bit like... Justin Throom, hot. That's why I feel like, I feel like some plot points didn't need to be in there, like did it... I feel like they could have come up with some other way. I think a lot of it was about men's manipulation of women like ah Justin Thoreau's character was very manipulating with Winona Ryder and then the Beetlejuice character was also very manipulating and it was all kind of around her being like taken advantage of but I do kind of feel like they could have come up with some other way to kind of show that Justin Thoreau's character just took up a lot of time. I kind of I kind of also felt like Lydia's character
01:15:38
Speaker
In a weird way, she felt a little bit, like, weaker than in the first movie. Yes! She became like a wet wipe. Yeah, and I was like, hang on. Because in the first movie, Lydia is like, Lydia's a really funny character because she's the one that's like, doesn't take any bullshit. And like, and that's why like I really liked, like, the young, like, like, I think I be preferred the younger Lydia. Whereas in this one, she was kind of giving like, stranger things, like the moment stranger things where she's like, well,
01:16:04
Speaker
Like it was kind of giving that it was giving that energy where I was like, yeah that's not Lydia. Like Lydia would be more like headstrong. She wouldn't be like, okay, I'll go with a guy who's just using me for my money. Like she would she would be with some, I don't know. It just was weird. Yeah, I think I get what you mean actually.
01:16:21
Speaker
She did feel a bit like... It was a bit more subdued. Yeah, and she kind of had this whole, like, she was like this the whole time. Yeah, just like, like, this, like, puppy dog. Oh, it was very starey acting. Yeah, it was, like, puppy dogs, I was like, Winona. Which I will say, I love Winona Ryder, but, like, that was a big thing in Stranger Things. I was like, oh my god. Unwiden your eyes.
01:16:40
Speaker
Yeah, it was a lot of like wide eyes like, huh? Well, I do love that woman. Yeah, I love where i yeah do. I do love Winona Ryder. Stand out of the sequel for me was Bob.
01:16:53
Speaker
I loved Bob. yeah When she came and killed Bob, I was like... I was actually yeah you i literally went on the day after it like the day after it had come out, so the cinema was pretty like packed and everyone went, no! And literally everyone in the cinema was like, no Bob! I did form an emotional connection to Bob.
01:17:16
Speaker
I do love it when like you're in the cinema and you have that like that collective experience. yeah and we had So Twisters, the new film. ah I mean it's like a fun remake of like a classic bad film but like it was really fun and Glenn Powell's really fun and kind of wields that he's kind of got like a Kevin Bacon quality which I like um it was just a fun time but there's a bit because I live in West Norwood in London where the English journalist in the car they're like they say something like uh where are you from and he's like
01:17:52
Speaker
ah I'm from ah West Norwood, ah like in from London, where he says like, I'm from a little place between Gypsy Hill and Stratton, West Norwood. And literally everyone in the cinema was like, blah! Like where I was, it's so good. So funny.
Play Transfer Announcement and Social Media Reminder
01:18:16
Speaker
All right, well, thank you so much for listening, everyone. We are very happy to be back and kicking off the podcast again after our lovely summer break. Flo actually has some quite exciting news coming up. I will hand over. um If you didn't already know, I have just come back from the Edinburgh Fringe with my new dark comedy play called Yes, We're Related.
01:18:39
Speaker
um And um I have a very exciting London transfer to Bill Kenwright's The Other Palace. um And if anyone's around, they're kicking around. um I've got a run from the 12th to the 17th of November. Would love to have any of you there.
01:18:58
Speaker
um and if you do come along please do say hi off the show because I'd love to like chat have a little photo chat about musicals have a good sing song ah but also I feel like I feel like if you're listening to this podcast you probably quite like the show because it's a bit of a kooky it's a kooky comedy about squirrels which I think people would really like
01:19:19
Speaker
Yeah definitely head over to the other palace, go and support Flo, we support her here, whoop whoop! And we support Monica Balochi as well. A reminder again you can keep up with us on socials we're at Sunday on the Pod on Instagram and on X and you can also find us via our Facebook page which is Sunday on the Pod. And just like that we've been... Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.