First Published: 2024 January 14 (because I forgot to post, not bc forgot to write.)
Hi!
You may have noticed that I’ve been gone for the past few days. Sorry about that, the beginning of a new year always comes with a lot of upheaval, and a new invigoration for the research I do does mean that my energies are focused there rather than on this blog. As a result, I not only have not been writing this blog, but I also have not been working on the Saturday musings that I wanted to do. So, today we’ll be going back to old school blog: reviewing a show I just saw.
I just got back from a matinee performance of the musical Beetlejuice. Unlike most musicals that I’ve been to , I went into the show today with absolutely no idea what to expect. What do I mean by that?
Most of the time, I have listened to the entire soundtrack of a musical almost ad nauseum before seeing it performed. It is always fascinating to listen to the difference between a cast recording and a different cast performing the same songs. More than that, though, most of the time I try to be familiar with the show that I am about to see. I read up on the show, and I try to get a sense of what is going to happen within it.
I think that I can name on one hand the things that I knew about this show going into it. It was based on a 20th century Tim Burton film. There’s a guy named Beetlejuice, and he wants a girl to say his name three times. Oh gosh that’s far less than one hand. Those two facts were both true, and they both remain true. The show, however, is so much more than that.
It opens at a funeral, where we meet our main protagonist: Lydia Deetz. She sings a ballad about how invisible it feels to be sad. As the song ends, the show begins in earnest, as Beetlejuice comes out to break the fourth wall and explain the premise of the musical. It is clear that the entire show is meant to be a parody of many things, the classic musical form amongst them.
And yet, the show treats everything it does with a shocking amount of love and care. The sets and scenery were absolutely stunning. Sorry, I’m going to take a step back from the plot to just gush about the technical aspects of the show.
As the show opens, an animation begins to play on the backdrop. I had never really thought about the options that using projected back sets could have, but it was mesmerizing watching the way that a clouded moon and trees could be drawn in, starting with what seemed like a single shaky hand. The technical mastery remained in full force throughout the rest of the show. Each room of the house is built with multiple forced perspectives, making the entire home feel disorienting. The lights were completely invisible, drawing no attention to themselves, only to suddenly spring out at the audience when the parody sections of the show came back. The blend between set and backdrop was also amazing. Anyways, that’s lighting and set, the two parts of technical theater that I care about.
The show is so obviously a parody, but one made in good faith. The classic Broadway musical solo where the lead woman gets to play the role of a classic prima donna is played up, and the actress playing Lydia shone in all of those moments. The show, for all that some of its jokes fell a little flat, never ceased acting earnest.
I’m sure there’s more I could say about the show, but anything else would really start falling into the realm of spoilers, which I don’t always love in my reviews. Anyways, I am so glad that my new research group mate told me about the show and that I ended up going today.
Oh! I was just about to say pulling back from the review, but that is one thing that I want to discuss. The fourth wall is a tenuous concept in art, and one of the biggest trends I’ve noticed in my life is the general dissolution of it in most media. One way that’s often manifested in musicals is through this idea that I can’t remember the name of that I encountered back when I studied music. The general idea, though, is that music in a show is either part of the world of the show, where the characters are aware that they’re singing and dancing, or something strictly for the audience.
In the early parts of the show, it is clear that the music coming from everyone exists in the real world, not in the world of the show. Beetlejuice is the only one to directly address the audience, or whose music even seems directed outward. As he is complaining about the people next to him, however, they mention that they can hear him. At that moment, the fourth wall, which I thought had been shattered, reasserts itself. We are once more separated from the antagonist, who is once again brought into the show.
As the show continues, the wall starts falling down more and more, and the classic scenes where groups come out and pose for the audience are numerous. When the curtain call comes, it is hard to know whether the event is taking place within the universe of the show or outside of it.
I also really liked that the show had likeable characters. I find that one issue I have with a lot of musicals lately is that we aren’t really supposed to root for anyone, and nobody really grows. Everyone in this cast, however, has a plausible and sympathetic goal, and everyone changes throughout the show to become someone more likeable. It was nice to be able to root for the main character, and even for the antagonist, to some extent.
Now pulling back from the telos for this specific post, and moving to the telos of posting generally, I have been more lax about writing my daily reflections on days that I do not blog. I wish that wasn’t true, but alas, it has been. With that in mind, though, I do think that my daily reflections are best saved for my private notes, which I have been keeping more regularly. If anyone is particularly interested in reading them, I could be easily convinced to bring them back.
3 recently meaning the past almost decade, now that I think about it. I still think of high school as a somewhat recent phenomenon, but it was almost half a life ago wow
8 I think? I’m assuming that she’s meant to be a teenager, both because of the climax song and the fact that the attitude is general “theatre idea of a teenager”