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Beetlejuice the Musical review: What in the Tim Burton did I just watch?
Beetlejuice the musical is supernaturally good fun, fun, fun.
- Olivia Garrett
Published: Friday, 29 May 2026 at 10:58 am
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A star rating of 4 out of 5.
For a film that premiered 38 years ago, Beetlejuice has had one hell of an afterlife. Since 1988, the cult classic has been re-birthed into a dead end sequel and a 2019 Broadway musical, now transferred late (in every sense) to London's West End.
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Beetlejuice the Musical is an explosion of colour dressed up in the classic black and white stripes. The show has the macabre outer shell of Tim Burton's original, but crack it open and a rainbow of popping candy falls out.
Here's what I mean: this production is far more mainstream than its source material. Despite its repeated efforts to set itself out as the West End's weird embarrassing cousin, it often swaps the unsettling kookyness of the film for unashamed, SNL-style humour. I'm not saying this isn't effective – like when the infamous Day-O scene gets upgraded to a full-blown dance number – but I think it's worth knowing before you go in not to expect Michael Keaton.
That being said, this show is still delightfully weird. Its ear-wormy rock soundtrack is packed with a nice range of teenage angst, laugh-out-loud humour and genuine heart. Meanwhile, the script has the perfect balance of satire about itself... and satire about everything else.
Credit: Johan Persson.
David Fynn carries the weight of the humour on his striped shoulders. His Beetlejuice is a chattering, Jonah Hill-esque tour guide who clearly relishes his time in the spotlight. He hops from being edgy, to being ridiculous, to out-and-out parody, and does a great job at folding the audience into his crazed schemes.
Meanwhile the rest of the cast have a strong rapport. Chelsea Halfpenny and David Hunter are the perfect milquetoast Maitlands and Hannah Nordberg as Lydia is able to give genuine emotion a place in the madcap script. Also a shoutout to Aimie Atkinson for having the bravery and the nous to put a completely new spin on Delia, thus avoiding any attempt to copy the late, great Catherine O'Hara.
Aside from the cast, the biggest hero is David Korins's set design, which is a living, breathing entity on stage. The Maitlands' house feels like its own character as it moves from cosy den, to Deetz show-home, to Beetlejuice hell-hole. Plus, the lighting displays between scenes are pure Tim Burton in the best way.
My only real critique would be that a lot of the dialogue still felt a bit placed and some of sound cues and transitions felt clunky, which I can only infer to be due to a lack of preview time. The show only opened its doors on 20 May and it was clear that it hadn't reached the level of smoothness which comes with a long build-up and audience feedback.
I'm sure these kinks will soon be ironed out, however, as cast and crew get further into the run – but it's worth remembering that even shows that hit the big time on Broadway need workshopping on the West End (and vice versa).
But overall, dare I say that Beetlejuice the musical is supernaturally good fun, fun, fun.
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When and where can I see Beetlejuice the Musical?
Beetlejuice. Johan Persson
Beetlejuice is running until 17 April 2027 at the Prince Edward Theatre.
If you've not been before, the venue sits just off Leicester Square, which means your best bet is the Northern Line or Piccadilly Line.
Buy Beetlejuice the Musical tickets at London Theatre Direct
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Authors
Olivia Garrett
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