A ‘Beetlejuice’ with more Beetlejuice is in Philly with over 100 tricks up its sleeve

Close your eyes and only say it twice — a third time may turn your home into a haunt — Beetlejuice is playing the Academy of Music until June 11.

The musical, based on Tim Burton’s whimsical fantasy-horror film, follows a recently deceased couple who struggle as ghosts trapped inside their Connecticut home. Things turn eerie when Delia and Charles Deetz move in with remodeling plans, and their goth teenager Lydia is drawn to the dead couple.

To drive the New York family out of their old country residence, the dead couple awaken the creepy, bug-eating title character Beetlejuice.

“There’s a lot of us who worked to bring that Tim Burton spirit to life,” said Jeremy Chernick, the show’s special effects designer, who worked on over 100 special effects, puppets, and optical illusions. “We’re basically putting a really fun haunted house on stage, so it needs a lot of spooky smoke machines to create that atmosphere and some magic tricks throughout the show.”

Illusion designer Michael Weber said the aim was to pay homage to the film while adding visual and narrative twists. Some characters are more fleshed out, some environments are further explored, and some story elements are tweaked, but, as Weber said, it’s all in service of Burton’s vision and the magic of the original story.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at some of the show’s newer (and stranger) additions.

The house itself plays a big role in the musical. Not only does the set change upon the Deetzes’ arrival, but “once Beetlejuice takes over and it becomes this crazy Beetlejuice house, that alone is a show in and of itself,” Chernick said.

With the use of projectors and a combination of lighting and costume work, Weber said the home’s furniture pieces and sculptures will be brought to life. There will also be puppets.

He added that a lot of these effects will flash across different parts of stage, so if you blink, you might miss the action.

While Michael Keaton’s turn as the stripe-loving character was a memorable one, his screen time was fairly limited. Chernick said the Broadway version of Beetlejuice, played by actor Justin Collette, spends a lot more time with the audience. “We don’t just save him for 12 minutes,” Chernick said.

“He’s sitting in on the whole show and popping in and out. That’s fun and exciting because he’s super funny and really irreverent. He’s both mean and a villain, but you still root for him and it’s fun for the audience.”

Not only does Beetlejuice help narrate the story, he even jokingly critiques the work of the special effects team during a moment in the show.

“This is a classic unreliable narrator, so you never know where you stand with him,” Weber said. “You won’t be in your seat very long. This Beetlejuice breaks down that fourth wall, or at least penetrates it beautifully without affecting the realism and the drama of the show. … It’s really satisfying how quickly and how deeply you form a relationship with this hilarious trickster.”

The film’s Handbook for the Recently Deceased also plays a larger role in the musical, as a navigational device through a more expansive Netherworld,Chernick said. And yes, there will be sand worms.

“[Puppet designer Michael] Curry and his team have created a real world-sized version of these comical but terrifying creatures,” Weber said. “It’s really the only thing that scares people. You never know if the giant, sharp-toothed creature is going to burst through a doorway, slip through a window, or where else it’s going to show up.”

The film’s plot is largely intact, but Weber said there are moments where things deviate a bit.

“There’s Easter eggs throughout the show, so that if you’re already a Beetlejuice fan, there are moments, certain language, and visuals that you’ll recognize that are often used in new ways.”

While not revealing the plot changes, Weber is confident fans of the ‘80s flick will walk away surprised and satisfied. “As a magician, I think we keep secrets for our audiences, not from our audiences,” he said.

“Beetlejuice the Musical” runs May 30-June 11 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.

Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased online or in person at the Academy of Music Box Office daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit kimmelculturalcampus.org.