Displaying items by tag: Will Burton

For so many children of the ‘80s, the revisiting and repurposing of our childhoods’ intellectual and emotional property is comforting. Maybe I’m more cynical, but so many of pop culture’s attempts to cash in on my nostalgia don’t do much for me. And so, when Tim Burton’s beloved tale of a recently deceased married couple and their debauched and equally dead ghostly exterminator became a Broadway musical, I was unsure about yet another attempt to take my fond memories and put them on the stage.

All that to say, I went into the Auditorium Theatre for Broadway on Chicago’s current production of Beetlejuice the Musical. The Musical.The Musical. a skeptic. And I came out smiling like I haven’t smiled in years.

For real, this is the most enjoyable production I’ve seen since before the pandemic.

It began with the set, which won me over immediately. I’ve found that shows put on in the Auditorium face the challenge of living up to such a large, looming, living house as Adler and Sullivan’s 19^th-century masterpiece. Sometimes it can overshadow shows. Sometimes it can swallow them up. Sometimes it’s just too much, itself. Not in this case. The set, designed by David Korins, already faced the challenge of living up to the zany and iconic look of the film, straight from inside Tim Burton’s head. But the set does live up to Burton’s vision—from the BETELGEUSE sign and spooky lighting—designed by Kenneth Posner—that greets you to the ever-changing innards of the soon-to-be-haunted house that hosts the show, as do the costumes (by William Ivey Long), the projections (by Peter Nigrini), and especially the puppets (by Michael Curry). This production not only recreates the brilliance of Burton’s movie, but it also recreates the BIGNESS of it. This Beetlejuice is a real spectacle, as it ought to be.

The music, too, of this 21^st-century reimagining of 20^th-century classic totally works. Going in, I knew the songs would be good, as my daughters have played the original Broadway soundtrack around the house since it came out in 2018. With words and music by Eddie Perfect, these are really good songs. And the orchestra, produced and supervised by Matt Stine and Kris Kukul and directed by Andy Grobengieser and Julia Sunay, is really tight throughout, something as a musician myself I notice and appreciate.

Yes, if the wonderful scenic and sonic experience I had at Beetlejuice was all I had to talk about, it still might rank up there with the shows I’ve most enjoyed. But I haven’t even gotten to the show’s cast yet. And—as they would be filling roles first played by none other than Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Winona Ryder—that was my main area of concern. Could anyone live up to those names and those performances?

This cast does.

Justin Collette takes on the title role with ghoulish glee. While Collette nails the gravelly voice of the original, he doesn’t try to perfectly recreate the grubbiness of Keaton’s spectral chiseler. Collette’s Beetlejuice is a bit more modern, a bit more fun—more carnival barker or social media attention hound than used car salesman—while every bit as irreverent and foul-mouthed (and actually Rated R to the 1988 PG-rated poltergeist). And Collette can sing. He’s on all night long—all over the stage, interacting with the audience like a standup comic, dancing with the ensemble, shaking a leg, breaking off an arm, evading a sandworm, holding a minute-long note—without breaking a sweat. I was out of breath just watching him, but Collette proved himself a real pro.

Also, a real pro—in her professional debut—is Isabella Esler as poor little broken-hearted gothic girl, Lydia Deetz. Now, again, I’m a 1980s kid. And Winona Ryder will always be everything to me—especially as the original Lydia. In fact, in the clips I’d seen of other performances from other productions of Beetlejuice, Lydia was the one who could never live up to the original. But Esler does that. She not only keeps up with an ever-changing set and never-tiring ensemble, but she also leads them. Confident, coordinated, and with a face so expressive it seems to pop right off the Auditorium’s giant stage and right into the seats, Esler was every bit the star of the show as Beetlejuice. And like Collette, Esler can also really sing—always finding another gear and a higher or more emotionally compelling note—sing like someone who’s been doing this for decades.

The rest of this cast, too, are professionals, or even better than the great professionals I’ve come to expect in such productions. Baldwin and Davis were (and still are) reliable, benignly attractive icons in the film. But as recently deceased husband and wife onstage, Megan McGinnis and Will Burton play up the boring and benign, which only highlights how extraordinarily talented the two are. They sing, they dance, they act as ensemble side pieces when needed, but carry whole scenes themselves.

While those two expand on the film’s characteristics, the two other principal characters are much different, and for the better in this case. The book—by Scott Brown and Anthony King—takes license throughout, even referring to the fact that this isn’t the Beetlejuice many old fans like me might be expecting. Because of the big plot changes, the roles of Lydia’s parents completely change. Instead of sleezy Jeffrey Jones’ standard 80s sleaze he brought to this or other film classics, Jesse Sharp’s Charles Deetz is someone you can—or come to—root for. And as Catherine O’Hara (always the perfect film mom from that era) is inimitable, the show doesn’t even try. Kate Marilley’s Delia Deetz is a completely different character than O’Hara’s, and Marilley is a complete hoot—maybe the most fun physical comedian on a stage that’s full of them during this production.

So, yes, this production, wonderfully directed by Alex Timbers, not only won over this old, pessimistic grump (and completely charmed the audience, regardless of age), it wowed me. From the sights to the sounds to the stars on the Auditorium Theatre stage, Broadway in Chicago’s current production of Beetlejuice—running now through November 19—is an event you do not want to miss.

Marriott Theatre brings yet another high-energy, song and dance production to its audience, this time mounting the regional premiere of ‘Holiday Inn’, a sentimental musical based on the 1942 film of the same name featuring the music of Irving Berlin and starring such great as Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones and musically directed by Jeff Award winning Ryan T. Nelson, ‘Holiday Inn’ might just be one of Marriott’s greatest triumphs over the past few years.

“I am completely elated to revisit my work from the Broadway production of ‘Holiday Inn’ at the Marriott Theatre,” says Jones. It’s an honor to celebrate some of the greatest works of Irving Berlin and join forces with some of the most talented actors in theatre. With mesmerizing costumes and equally enthralling performances, audiences will leave with a few holiday surprises and a whole lot of holiday spirit.”

And though classics such as “White Christmas”, “Easter Parade”, “Blue Skies”, “Heat Wave”, “Be Careful, It’s my Heart” and “Shaking the Blues Away” are performed to perfection, it is the dance numbers in this production that truly steal the audience’s breath.

Jim Hardy (Michael Mahler) and Ted Hanvover (Will Burton) are best friends. The two entertainers have found a tremendous amount of success in New York as a song and dance trio that also stars Lila Dixon (Kimberly Immanuel). Lila and Jim are also quite the item and Jim wants nothing more to marry her. But the New York scene has run its course with Jim, so he also wants to hang up his tap shoes and take to the country. He proposes to his Lila, who accepts, and then shows her the deed to a farmhouse in Connecticut that he has just purchased in the hopes she would also want to give up show biz for a quiet life in the country. So, maybe he should have discussed such a major decision with Lila prior to making such a large purchase. When the three are offered a six-month touring engagement, Lila breaks Jim’s heart and hits the road with Ted. So it’s off to the country, alone, for Jim.

Dejected, Jim soon arrives at his newly purchased farmhouse ranch only to find Louise (Marya Grandy), a self-proclaimed “fixit man”, kind of comes with the house. In exchange for room and board, Louise will tend to the farmhouse but her title of “fixit man” extends much beyond the home itself. It isn’t long before the daughter of the previous owners, Linda Mason (Johanna McKenzie Miller), stops by to pick up some of the things that were left behind when the farmhouse was foreclosed upon. It isn’t long before a friendship develops and perhaps a spark ignites between them. It also isn’t long before Jim realizes farming might not be for him and longs for the stage again. And, as it turns out, Linda just so happens to have some performing experience of her own. But why go back to New York when you can bring New York to you? Just after Jim gets a surprise visit from a large group of performing friends, he comes up with the idea of turning the farmhouse into an entertainment getaway. After all, he’s got the floor space and plenty of rooms for guests. When his performer friends cannot commit to regular shows because of their own hectic schedules, it is decided shows will only be staged over the holidays – thus, ‘Holiday Inn’.

As chemistry builds between Jim and Linda, a drunken Ted reappears during opening night who briefly dances with Linda and soon has his sights on her as his new dance partner since Lila has left him for a Texas millionaire. Jim quickly finds himself in a similar situation, so we can only hope things will turn out differently for the all-around nice guy who may have found love once again.

‘Holiday Inn’ is filled with big, spirited dance numbers that are pure visual delights and the highlights are many. Will Burton’s recreation of Astaire’s “Let’s Say it with Firecrackers” is certainly one of them as he brilliantly taps his way around the stage with a bang – several bangs in fact. Johanna McKenzie Miller also leaves a strong impression, beautifully showcasing her amazing voice in such songs as “Nothing More to Say” and “White Christmas”. And throughout the talented dancing and singing offered in this production, Marya Grandy balances out the show with her incredibly funny performance as Louise, adding plenty of laugh out loud moments. A world-class ensemble that includes the familiar faces of Joe Capstick, Adam LaSalle, Laura Savage and Alejandro Fonseca pushes this musical into overdrive, while Lorenzo Rush Jr. as agent Danny Reed is a pleasure to watch in every scene he graces and child actor Patrick Scott McDermott also adds several moments of well-delivered humor.

Marriott Theatre presents a gem of a holiday treat that can be enjoyed by everyone. ‘Holiday Inn’ runs through January 6th and is highly recommended. For tickets and/or more show information visit www.MarriottTheatre.com.