BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL - Live At QPAC
A Musical To Die For!
Friday 12th June 2026
Written by Tom Wilson & Abigail Wilson
Photography by: Cameron Grant & Eugene Hyland
Unlike a lot of people in the audience tonight, I didn’t see BEETLEJUICE as a kid. I used being offered an interview with Karis Oka as an excuse to finally sit down and watch the original and its sequel, and I was shocked at just how little the character of Beetlejuice appears in the original film, having only 17 minutes of screen time despite being front and centre on the poster. For the musical adaptation, the pinstriped menace has a lot more time in the spotlight, joining us from the very first scene as an unhinged 4th-wall-breaking master of ceremonies. He has the whole theatre cheering when he’s little more than two pairs of knuckles holding a newspaper, and whenever he’s onstage, mayhem isn’t far away.
Replicating movie special effects in a live theatre environment is no easy feat, but there are several dazzling examples tonight, none more impressive than the first time they draw a door to the Netherworld, and the glowing green edge appears before our eyes perfectly synchronised with the piece of chalk. Other elements, like a prop book that grabs an actor’s face when he tries to read it, are implemented so naturally that you almost take it for granted. In the era of the Dune reboots, Andy Karl isn’t the first actor to ride a Sandworm, but he looks like he’s having more fun than Timothy Chalamet did, and if a few cast members get eaten when its onstage, then that’s just the cost of doing business. Eddie Perfect’s script walks a great balance between heartfelt and raunchy, scoring some big laughs like Beetlejuice mocking the audience for paying “theatre prices” for a glass of wine or saying that he feels invisible, “like a gay Republican.” A lighting designer getting to design a musical based off a Tim Burton movie must be like a makeup FX artist being told they’re doing a new Dawn of the Dead, and Kenneth Posner has showed absolutely no restraint with a powerful light show of vivid greens and blues. Even little touches like a real flashlight being used by the actors to navigate through darkness, swinging the beam into our eyes, emphasise the sense of theatre, and takes advantage of the beautiful architecture of QPAC.
In my interview with Karis, we talked about the challenge of putting on a performance that is just as good for the mezzanine as it is for the front row, and at the risk of sounding unsophisticated, every cast member treading the boards tonight absolutely crushes it. Tom Wren and Erin Clare are clearly having heaps of fun as Charles and Delia Deetz, the over-amorous couple who have to keep their relationship secret from Lydia but can’t keep their hands off each other, and Delia’s haphazard attempts to relate to teenage Lydia get some huge laughs. As for the man himself, Andy Karl sinks his teeth into the title role, taking the punk rock aesthetic, belching and swearing of Michael Keaton’s performance and adding about 100mg of caffeine, turning him into an all-singing, all-dancing agent of chaos. The last time I reviewed a theatre show I was 17, and I didn’t get a very good grade, so as you read this, my second attempt at age 40, please forgive me if I forget to mention anyone. I normally review heavy metal concerts, and there are a few more moving parts here than I am used to!
Enormous thanks to Shout and QPAC for having us, and helping me get some serious dad points by taking my daughter Abigail to her first musical. But nothing’s free in this world, and you’re never too young to be introduced to the glamourous world of unpaid music journalism, so I put her to work. Please enjoy this review from Abby, age 11:
Beetlejuice The Musical is an intriguing and extravagant spectacle. The choreography and music were awesome, especially Say My Name, which I recognise from a Youtube trend when the second movie dropped. You can tell that people worked really hard on the music. The thing that got me was the acting, especially Beetlejuice, who was incredible in the role. The humour can be crude, but there are a lot of hilarious jokes and relatable takes on our society right now. The show came to life with incredible special effects and lights. The scene changes were dazzling, as curtains rise to reveal brand new worlds. This is the charm of large musicals: the beautiful sets were amazing and very arty and interesting, with even the stage representing Beetlejuice’s insane energy, with it being very disproportionate and wacky, just like him! The scenes I found the funniest is when Beetlejuice kept breaking the fourth wall. Even the graphic design has funny little quirks, like the front cover saying “The Musical” three times. Overall, the Beetlejuice musical is the best musical I’ve ever seen. I give huge respect to everyone involved in it.
Meet the reviewers: Tom & Abby Wilson
Beetlejuice The Musical is showing in Brisbane at QPAC in June, then travels to Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. Find out more here.