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After a fan-led revival, Beetlejuice will end its Broadway run Jan. 8, 2023.

The Broadway musical, based on the 1988 Tim Burton film, originally opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on April 25, 2019, and later announced a June 2020 closing (which was moved up due to the industrywide shutdown in March 2020). The closing notice, prompted by the theater owner, was notable because it came as the grosses for the musical were on an uptick, which the production credited to growing fan engagement. However, The Music Man was slated to take that theater.

The musical reopened at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway in April 2022, with most of its original cast.

Since returning to Broadway, the musical has experienced more of a struggle at the box office. In recent weeks, the production has grossed less than 1 million and has been playing to capacities of 60 to 70 percent.

This is the...

The spring return of Broadway’s Beetlejuice will feature much of the cast that was in place prior to the March 2020 pandemic shutdown, producers announced today. Joining the previously announced Alex Brightman in the title role will be returnees Kerry Butler, David Josefsberg, Adam Dannheisser, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Kelvin Moon Loh, Danny Rutigliano and Dana Steingold.

New to the production will be Elizabeth Teeter as Lydia Deetz, Michelle Aravena as Miss Argentina and Zonya Love as Maxine Dean/Juno.

The musical begins performances at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre on Friday, April 8.

Teeter, in the Lydia role originated in 2019 by Sophia Anne Caruso, has appeared on Broadway in The Crucible, Young Elizabeth and Mary Poppins. Other stage credits include The Secret Life of Bees, The Sound of Music and The Glass Menagerie.

Aravena has appeared on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, Rocky, Jersey Boys and A Chorus Line. Love’s Broadway...

Apparently fans have been saying his name three times: Alex Brightman will return as Broadway’s favorite ghost when Beetlejuice resumes performances this spring.

As previously announced, the musical, directed by Alex Timbers and adapted from the 1988 Tim Burton film, will resume performances on April 8, this time around at the Marquis Theatre.

Additional cast will be announced shortly..

Brightman’s return is yet another chapter in the rather strange tale of Beetlejuice: The musical opened at the Winter Garden on Thursday, April 25, 2019, to mixed reviews and so-so business, but word-of-mouth built steadily to turn the show into one of Broadway’s most popular new musicals.

That fan base...

Anousha Zarkesh and Nathan Lloyd have once again led the charge at the annual Casting Guild of Australia (Cga) Awards, scooping the major prizes across television and film at Saturday’s virtual ceremony.

Lloyd followed up his two awards from last year with Best Casting in a TV Drama, TV Miniseries and Telemovie for The Newsreader, and a second consecutive Achievement in Casting gong for web series All My Friends Are Racist.

Zarkesh – also a multiple winner in 2020 – took out Best Casting in A Feature Film for her work on High Ground.

‘High Ground’

Of the other television and film categories, Kirsty McGregor won Best Casting in a TV Comedy for Fisk, while Daisy Hicks received ‘Best Casting in a Short Film’ for Tough.

The Cga also highlighted its annual list of Rising Stars as part of the ceremony, with the 2021 group made up of Albert Mwangi (Bump), BeBe Bettencourt...

The casting directors behind Nitram, The Dry, High Ground, and The Furnace will battle it out in the feature film category of the Casting Guild of Australia Awards to be held later this month.

Nominees across eight categories were announced today ahead of the virtual ceremony on November 20.

Nikki Barrett has two nominations in the feature film, getting a nod for The Furnace and also Nitram with Alison Telford and Kate Leonard. Rounding out the category is High Ground‘s Anousha Zarkesh and The Dry‘s Jane Norris.

Barrett also features in the Best Casting in a TV Drama, TV Miniseries and Telemovie nominees for her work on Fires, going up against Eden‘s Danny Long – who has a total of four nominations – The Newsreader‘s Nathan Lloyd and Wakefield‘s Marianne Jade.

For Best Casting in a TV Comedy, Kirsty McGregor is recognised for Fisk and season two of Frayed,...

You just can’t keep a beloved ghost dead: Beetlejuice is coming back to haunt Broadway, with a return engagement of the increasingly popular musical taking possession of Broadway’s Marriott Marquis Theatre on Friday, April 8, 2022.

Casting will be announced later.

“We sincerely thank the Beetlejuice fans,” said producers Mark Kaufman (Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures) and Kevin McCormick (Langley Park Productions). “It is because of their support that we will be able to blow the roof off the Marquis Theatre three-times over with fun and laughter, laughter and laughter!”

The producers aren’t exaggerating about the fan power: Beetlejuice, which got off to a relatively slow start when it opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre in April 2019, with both box office and critics’ review rather hit and miss. But a funny thing happened on the way to the haunting: Over the following summer, ticketbuyers began to materialize, seats started filling.

“Well, this is not the way I wanted to say goodbye.” So begins Real Housewife and Chicago star Erika Jayne’s farewell to New York and her theater colleagues, one of many social media responses to today’s immediate shutdown of Broadway productions because of the coronavirus.

“Harsh and heartbreaking to the industry,” tweeted actress Audra McDonald, “but necessary.”

More from DeadlineActors' Equity: "Uncharted Territory" For Union Members As Broadway Goes DarkTelecharge To Automatically Refund Broadway Tickets During Shutdown'Hamilton' Performances Suspended On Broadway And Hollywood Pantages Amidst Coronavirus Concerns

Stephanie J. Block, who won a Tony Award last year for her starring role in The Cher Show, wrote, “We will rise again as artists…My finances may be emptied but my heart, body & soul Knows this is the right thing to do for All.”

Anaïs Mitchell, composer of last year’s Tony-winning musical Hadestown, tweeted in part, “Sending love to everyone — casts,...

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the immensely popular Broadway musical Beetlejuice, an adaptation of the Tim Burton classic movie, would be forced out of the Winter Garden Theater by an incoming revival of The Music Man, starring the immensely popular Hugh Jackman.

Many theatergoers were incensed, causing the hashtag #SaveBeetlejuice to rise the top of trending on Twitter and celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda to rally support for the show. But no one was arguably madder than teens on TikTok, which has fostered a large following for...

Producers of Broadway’s Tony-nominated Beetlejuice said Monday that the comedic musical based on Tim Burton’s 1988 cult movie will play its final performance at the Winter Garden Theatre on June 6. A national tour is being mounted to kick off in fall 2021.

Beetlejuice the musical opened April 25, 2019 and was nominated for eight Tonys including Best Musical. It just broke the eight-performance house record at the Winter Garden during Thanksgiving week with $1,589,839, taking the crown from School of Rock ($1.506M in 2015).

Alex Timbers directed the musical which featured an original score by Eddie Perfect, and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. It centered on Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Rider in the movie and Sophia Anne Caruso on Broadway), the unusual teenager whose life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice (Tony nominee Alex Brightman), a demon with a thing for stripes and his own ideas...

Ghostlight Records and Warner Records will celebrate the vinyl release of Beetlejuice - Original Broadway Cast Recording with an exclusive in-store signing and performance at Barnes Noble on Friday, December 6 at 430 Pm. The album, also available on CD, digital download and streaming platforms, was released on vinyl as a two-lp picture disc set today, Friday, November 22. The event - which will include the show's current Broadway stars Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, David Josefsberg, Kerry Butler, Adam Dannheisser and Leslie Kritzer, in addition to the show's composer and lyricist Eddie Perfect - will feature a performance of musical selections and an album signing. The store is located at 150 East 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues on the Upper East Side.

Fans of the Netherworld showed up for “BeetlejuiceBlack & White Ball” hosted by TodayTix on Monday night in New York City to see actress Sophia Anne Caruso, composer Eddie Perfect, and more of the cast of the Broadway musical Beetlejuice. The unusual celebration featured performances of songs that didn’t make it to Broadway from the Washington, D.C. run — including “Mama Would” and “Everything Is Kinda Meh” — as well as several debuts of Eddie Perfect’s compositions that have never been heard or performed before by a living soul.

Broadway...

Rachel Perkins (Photo credit: Leon Mead).

Director Rachel Perkins will receive the inaugural Animal Logic Entertainment Illuminate Award at the Australians in Film (AiF) Awards Gala and Benefit next week, in recognition of her work behind the camera, including recent series Total Control and Mystery Road.

Phillip Noyce will present the Award to Perkins at the ceremony which takes place in Los Angeles.

“Rachel Perkins is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and talented Australian directors of her generation,” said AiF president Kate Marks.

“AiF is thrilled to be presenting this inaugural award to Rachel with long-term partner Animal Logic Entertainment, one of Australia’s leading international production companies.”

Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian said: “As both an animation studio and production company, we are always looking for ways to celebrate the incredible and often unsung talent that exists behind the camera. In our inaugural year, Animal Logic is proud...

Naomi Watts.

Australians in Film (AiF) will present Naomi Watts the 2019 Orry-Kelly Award at the organisation’s annual gala awards evening later this month in Los Angeles.

The Orry-Kelly Award is given to an Australian whose body of work has provided inspiration globally in film and television and who continues to give back to the Australian industry.

Watts is a two-time Academy Award nominee, most recently seen in Showtime series The Loudest Voice alongside Russell Crowe and Sienna Miller. Watts also produced and stars in Penguin Bloom, which has just finished shooting in Sydney, directed by Glendyn Ivin.

Her other credits include Luce, Ophelia, Mulholland Drive, The Impossible, 21 Grams, I Heart Huckabees, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), St. Vincent, The Ring, King Kong, Eastern Promises, Fair Game, J. Edgar, The International and The Painted Veil.

Watts joins previously announced AiF honourees Ruby Rose, Sarah Snook, Dacre Montgomery,...

In today’s TV news roundup, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow are among the celebrity contestants on “25 Words or Less.” Also, Ruby Rose, Sarah Snook and Dacre Montgomery will be honored at the Australian in Film Awards.

Castings

Fox TV announced Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Chelsea Handler, Jane Lynch and Rick Fox are among the celebrity contestants to appear on new game show “25 Words or Less.“ The half-hour game show is produced by Dino Bones Prods. and executive produced by Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Mary McCormack, Michael Morris, Michael Canter (who also showruns) and Bruce Sterten. Two teams comprised of celebrities and civilians are pitted against each other as they compete to see who will win the top prize of $10,000. Hosted by Meredith Vieira, “25 Words or Less” will debut Sept. 16.

Renewals

Food Network has renewed “Delicious Miss Brown” for a 13-episode second season. Starring Kardea Brown, the daytime series, shot on-location in South Carolina,...

Ruby Rose.

Ruby Rose, Sarah Snook, Dacre Montgomery, Anthony Maras and Bill Draper are among those who will be honoured at the 2019 Australians in Film (AiF) Awards, to be held in La in October.

Rose, who plays the lead CW’s upcoming series Batwoman, will be presented with the Create Nsw Annette Kellerman Award, which recognises a screen industry figure who has been a trailblazer for Australian women. Previous winners of the award, introduced in 2016, include Hannah Gadsby, Kate Dennis and Rebel Wilson.

Rose said: “I am so proud to receive this award. As an Australian woman who also had to carve her own path to get to where I am today, I can only imagine the barriers Annette Kellerman had to break to accomplish what she did. Thank you to AiF for this incredible honor.”

Actors Snook and Montgomery and director Maras will each be honoured with the Screen Australian Breakthrough Award,...

Two of Broadway’s more imposing figures are calling it quits: King Kong and The Cher Show have posted closing notices, the latest exits in the annual post-Tony culling.

Each production will play its final performance on Sunday, Aug. 18.

Though Cher star Stephanie J. Block and costume designer Bob Mackie won Tony Awards at the ceremony June 9, the wins apparently didn’t translate into a big enough box office boost to keep the beat going on. For the week ending June 23 – a prime week for the post-Tony b.o. benefits to make themselves known – The Cher Show grossed $858,578, about 58% of its potential at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Written by Rick Elice, directed by Jason Moore and starring Block, Teal Wicks and Micaela Diamond as Cher at various points in her life, the jukebox bio-musical opened Dec. 3, 2018, to mixed reviews, with most critics praising Block even when less than dazzled with the glitzy rest.

It was showtime for Catherine O’Hara on the Tony Awards red carpet Sunday night.

The actress, 65, showed up at Radio City Musical Hall for Broadway’s biggest night wearing a black and white stripe gown reminiscent of one her character Delia Deetz wore in the 1988 comedy classic, Beetlejuice.

Of course, the choice was intentional, as O’Hara is at the Tony Awards to introduce a production number from the musical adaptation of Beetlejuice, which is up for eight trophies including Best Musical at Sunday’s show.

Tim Burton’s cult classic is reborn in the deliciously dark and hilarious new musical,...

The new musical “Hadestown” emerged as an early winner at Sunday’s Tony Awards, picking up eight prizes, including for director Rachel Chavkin, composer Anaïs Mitchell and featured actor André De Shields.

Meanwhile, Jez Butterworth’s Irish-set drama “The Ferryman” earned four awards, including Best Play as well as one for director Sam Mendes.

“Glee” alum Ali Stroker made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to win the Tony Award, for her turn as the flirty Ado Annie in the Best Musical Revival winner “Oklahoma!” “This award is for every kid who has a disability, a limitation or a challenge who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena,” she said just minutes after belting out “I Cain’t Say No” from the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic.

At 87, Elaine May won her first acting Tony for her lead performance in the Kenneth Lonergan revival “The Waverly Gallery,...

The new Broadway musical comedy Beetlejuice is surprising audiences with its distinct adaptation of the Tim Burton movie that has become a beloved cult classic. (Read our review.) With a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King and music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, and directed by Alex Timbers, it’s a wild ride that is both naughty and nice in unexpected ways. For those who haven’t experienced this macabre production, we have an exclusive first listen to one of the standout songs, “Say My Name,” which Perfect describes as a “battle of wits.

Warner Chappell Music Wcm today announced that it has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Australian multi-hyphenate Eddie Perfect. The songwriter's work recently made its Broadway debut in two highly anticipated musicalsKing KongandBeetlejuice.King Kong, based on the classic 1933 film, opened at the Broadway Theatre in October of 2018, andBeetlejuice, based on the 1988 Tim Burton flick, recently opened at the Winter Garden Theatre.

The complete list of nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards has been released. This year, Hadestown leads all nominees with a total of 14 nominations including Best Musical. Other serious Tony contenders this year are Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations which is nominated for 12 awards and Tootsie which garnered 11 nominations.

In Plays, The Ferryman and To Kill a Mockingbird each received 9 nominations, tied for most in Plays and fourth overall. The Ferryman is up for Best Play, while Jeff Daniels is up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird.

The nominees were announced live today from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center by two-time Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth and Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon. Neuwirth garnered the Tony Award in 1986 for Best Featured Actress in a...

Refresh for updates The lush, very-downtown musical Hadestown topped the Tony Awards nominations list with 14, with the more traditional jukebox musical Ain’t Too Proud coming in at second with 12, a one-two punch as clear a sign as any that Tony voters are in a very expansive mood this year.

At #3, Tootsie has 11 nominations; The Ferryman 9 and Beetlejuice 8.

But the big surprise were the no-votes in the Best Play category for both To Kill A Mockingbird and Network, particularly for Aaron Sorkin’s gloriously reviewed and wildly popular adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel. That omission might be the single biggest Tony snub in years, if not decades.

Deadline will examine that omission and other surprises in a complete analysis of the Tony nominations by Deadline theater critic Greg Evans, coming shortly. Check back soon.

The nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards were announced live by Brandon Victor Dixon and Bebe Neuwirth...

“Welcome to a show about death!” the ebullient chorus of “mourners” sings. Then Beetlejuice — as interpreted for the stage by actor Alex Brightman, as a shameless, gravelly voiced vaudevillian huckster — reiterates in his own gleefully glib way: “That’s the thing with life, no one makes it out alive!”

This opening number, “The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing,” gives audiences permission to laugh at their own mortality and have a little fun when it comes to rotting while others are grieving. It also serves as a blunt declaration that this is...

Maybe if they’d said it a fourth time. Three times – “Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!” – summons to life the stripe-coated, fright-wigged demon that made a superstar of Michael Keaton way back when. Could a fourth have magically conjured that extra something needed to transform Broadway’s Beetlejuice into something beyond the realm of good enough?

Directed by the busy and talented Alex Timbers, a long-in-the-making musical comedy Beetlejuice, based, faithfully if not enough, on Tim Burton’s 1988 film opens tonight at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. There’s plenty worth a haunt here, from David Korins’ off-kilter spook house set to Alex Brightman’s raspy-voiced title performance and, most of all, the deliriously gorgeous singing of young Sophia Anne Caruso, and it all comes within reasonable reach of exorcising the bad vibes that attached themselves to the production during its pre-Broadway run in Washington D.

Writers Scott Brown and Anthony King, along with composer Eddie Perfect and director Alex Timbers, approach the 1988 Tim Burton cult comedy with the giddy excitement of rabid fanboys in their imaginative musical adaptation of Beetlejuice. That enthusiasm translates to the audience, too, with every visual reference lifted directly from the movie yielding huge laughs. The show is a loving homage to a wonderfully weird original, reconceived for the stage with eye-popping design, full-throttle performances and a mischievous sense of fun that literally seems to drip from the Winter Garden Theatre's chandeliers, tinged a ghoulish green for the occasion.

While ...

Writers Scott Brown and Anthony King, along with composer Eddie Perfect and director Alex Timbers, approach the 1988 Tim Burton cult comedy with the giddy excitement of rabid fanboys in their imaginative musical adaptation of Beetlejuice. That enthusiasm translates to the audience, too, with every visual reference lifted directly from the movie yielding huge laughs. The show is a loving homage to a wonderfully weird original, reconceived for the stage with eye-popping design, full-throttle performances and a mischievous sense of fun that literally seems to drip from the Winter Garden Theatre's chandeliers, tinged a ghoulish green for the occasion.

While ...

The Ferryman, Network, To Kill A Mockingbird and What The Constitution Means To Me are among the Broadway and Off Broadway productions taking nominations in this year’s New York Drama League Awards.

The 2019 nominees were announced today in the categories of Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the Distinguished Performance Award. The roster was read this morning by the current stars of Broadway’s Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan at Sardi’s Restaurant.

The 85th Annual Drama League Awards will be held on Friday, May 17.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-broadway Play

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties

by Jen Silverman

Directed by Mike Donahue

McC Theater

Dance Nation

Written by Clare Barron

Directed by Lee Sunday Evans

Playwrights Horizons

Fairview

Written by Jackie Sibblies...

Gold Derby’s 2019 Tony Awards prediction center is now open! Broadway productions must open by an April 25th cutoff date in order to be eligible for Tony consideration. So it’s time to make your early predictions in the race for Broadway’s highest honors.

Last year, “The Band’s Visit” stormed the ceremony with a whopping 10 wins, including Best Musical. David Yazbek finally became a Tony winner for his intimate Middle Eastern inspired score, and he will be back in contention this year for “Tootsie.” The musical adaptation of the classic film stars previous Tony nominee Santino Fontana (“Cinderella”) in the role Dustin Hoffman made famous. The show will face serious competition from “Hadestown,” a riff on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth with a folk opera score from Anais Mitchell. Director Rachel Chavkin (“The Great Comet”) has guided the show through successful runs Off-Broadway and in London, and is...

I recently had the opportunity to attend a press event with the cast of Beetlejuice The Musical. I love going to these events. It's the best time to be at the beginning of a show's journey on the Great White Way. I got the chance to talk to the main cast Rob McClure, Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Adam Dannheisser, and Leslie Kritzer, the composerlyricist, Eddie Perfect, and the director, Alex Timbers.

Still more of last fall’s pre-Broadway Beetlejuice cast will be making the move to Broadway when the new musical begins previews next month: Jill Abramovitz, Kelvin Moon Loh, Danny Rutigliano and Dana Steingold were confirmed in principal roles in a full-cast announcement today.

The production also released a new cast photo. See it below.

The newly-announced cast members join the previously confirmed Alex Brightman (in the title role), Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Adam Dannheisser and Leslie Kritzer when Beetlejuice starts previews Thursday, March 28 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Opening night is April 25.

The casting was announced by producers Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Mark Kaufman) and Langley Park Productions (Kevin McCormick).

Rounding out the 25-member cast include Tessa Alves, Gilbert L. Bailey II, Will Blum, Johnny Brantley III, Ryan Breslin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Brooke Engen, Abe Goldfarb, Eric Anthony Johnson, Elliott Mattox, Mateo Melendez, Sean Montgomery,...

Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso and four other principal stars of the pre-Broadway run of Beetlejuice will repeat their roles when the new musical begins previews March 28 at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, Deadline confirms.

Reprising their roles from last fall’s Washington, D.C. engagement are Brightman, Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Leslie Kritzer and Adam Dannheisser. As previously announced, Beetlejuice opens April 25.

Directed by Alex Timbers, with a score by Eddie Perfect, book by Scott Brown & Anthony King and choreography by Connor Gallagher, Beetlejuice will star Brightman as the title character, with Caruso as Lydia, the morbid teen who summons him. The characters were played by Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder in Tim Burton’s 1988 movie.

Butler and McClure play the recently deceased couple haunting Lydia’s house (played in the film by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), with Kritzer and Dannheisser as Lydia’s parents.

The...

As we’re now about halfway through the Broadway season, there are currently seven productions of musicals set to open this spring. Could we be seeing any of them contend at this year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each musical as well as the awards history of its author, cast, creative types, the opening, and (where applicable) closing dates.

“Be More Chill” (previews begin February 13; opens March 10)

In this musical adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s 2004 novel of the same name, Jeremy Heere is your average, nothing-special teenager at Middleborough High School in nothing-special New Jersey. That is, until the day he finds out about ‘The Squip.’ Thus begins a journey that pits Jeremy’s desire to be popular against his struggle to remain true to his authentic self.

With a book by Drama Desk nominee Joe Tracz and a score by Joe Iconis, this production is...

When Broadway’s King Kong opened earlier this month, critics did their best to one-up Beauty on how to kill a Beast. Big, hairy gloom might have settled over the cast following the show’s Nov. 8 opening, particularly after the publication of a New York Times pan that was unorthodox, if not downright bizarre. In place of a traditional review, Times critics Ben Brantley and Jesse Green published their back and forth conversation, taking turns lobbing brickbats. (“Ugh,” said Green; “aaaaaaaaargh,” responded Brantley)

Escaping the crossfire was Eric William Morris, the talented and appealing actor who plays Carl Denham, the 1930s-era New York movie director who heads off to Skull Island, along with unknown actress Ann Darrow (Christiani Pitts) in search of the legendary gorilla. Morris turns in a fine performance as Denham, playfully manipulating audience perceptions. Is he a hero? A scoundrel? Or worse?

Familiar to theater-goers and TV watchers alike,...

Update, with video Eighth wonder of the world? King Kong probably isn’t even the eighth wonder of Broadway – those kids in The Ferryman aren’t giving up their spots anytime soon – but the big ape does provide some roaring good thrills.

Picking over Hollywood’s Depression Era beauty-and-the-beast tale for what still works and ditching what doesn’t – the casting of the African American Christiani Pitts as Ann Darrow swiftly does away with the freighted Fay Wray blonde beauty ideal – director Drew McOnie has captured a wildly impressive 1.2-ton puppet, even if the musical surrounding it is considerably less memorable.

So let’s cut to the chase. The monkey in this reported $35 million production is amazing, a 20-foot-tall hybrid of animatronics, puppetry and human performance. Fifteen puppeteers, mostly onstage, work the beast with ropes, poles and pulleys – a show in themselves as they slide down cables like ninjas. Each...

Broadway’s mighty King Kong is taking Halloween afternoon off. Producers announced today that the October 31 matinee has been canceled to allow for “final adjustments” prior to the November 8 opening.

The opening night and the press dates beginning this weekend are unchanged and will not be impacted by the canceled matinee.

“Because of the scale of the production, we couldn’t have an out-of-town tryout before coming to Broadway,” said lead producers Carmen Pavlovic and Roy Furman. “We scheduled a reduced performance schedule during previews so we could keep working on the show while it played in the Broadway Theatre.”

The Kong character is realized through an elaborate mix of robotics, puppetry and stagecraft. The producers said Kong is “in great shape mechanically and the cast is ready.”

“After years in development, we are now in the homestretch with King Kong on Broadway and we want to support [director] Drew McOnie...

The Ghost with the Most is heading to the stage — and he’s ready to make a killing.

Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice is the latest film to get the stage musical treatment, with Tony nominee Alex Brightman (School of Rock) stepping into Michael Keaton’s shoes as the title role of everyone’s favorite freelance bio-exorcist.

People and Entertainment Weekly have the first look at Brightman in Beetlejuice’s iconic striped suit costume.

It’s a look director Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) tells EW took multiple wig, makeup, and costume tests to perfect — his team trying ones...

A new Broadway season is gearing up, and there are currently three productions of musicals (all new) set to open this fall. Could we be seeing any of them contend at next year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each musical as well as the awards history of its author, cast and creative types and the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

“King Kong” (previews begin October 5; opens November 8)

In this musical adaptation of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s classic 1933 film of the same name, an ambitious young actress and a maverick filmmaker voyage from the bustling streets of 1930s New York to an uncharted island to capture the greatest wonder the world has ever seen. At the center of this 21st-century reimagining: a 2,000-pound, 20-story gorilla, and the woman who risks everything to help him.

With a book by Tony-winning playwright Jack Thorne...

Broadway’s beast is offering a peek at its beauty: Check out the photo below of King Kong‘s Christiani Pitts, seen in costume and with the big ape for the first time.

Pitts (A Bronx Tale) plays Ann Darrow, the character made famous by Fay Wray in the 1933 film (and later played by Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts on the big screen). Written by Jack Thorne with a score by Marius de Vries and songs by Eddie Perfect, King Kong is directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie.

King Kong begins previews at the Broadway Theatre on Friday, October 5, with an opening on Thursday, November 8.

Kong, a 20-foot-tall, 2,000-pound mix of animatronics and puppetry, is designed by Sonny Tilders. Check out the behind-the-scenes video above for a good look at the creature.

Co-starring with Pitts are Eric William Morris as Carl Denham, and Erik Lochtefeld as Lumpy. The musical is...

Beetlejuice will begin haunting Broadway in March 2019 at the Winter Garden Theatre, producers said today. The official opening will follow in April.

The premiere dates and venue were announced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Mark Kaufman) and Langley Park Productions (Kevin McCormick). The new musical, based on Tim Burton’s 1988 movie, will have its pre-Broadway world premiere at the National Theatre in Washington D.C., with previews beginning Sunday, October 14 and opening on Sunday, November 4.

Directed by Alex Timbers, with a score by Eddie Perfect, book by Scott Brown & Anthony King and choreography by Connor Gallagher, the pre-Broadway engagement stars Alex Brightman and Sophia Anne Caruso as the title character and Lydia, respectively. The characters were played by Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder in the Geffen Company film.

Other previously announced casting includes Kerry Butler and Rob McClure in the roles played in the film by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin.

Complete casting for the pre-Broadway production of Beetlejuice The Musical is set, with Tony Award nominees Kerry Butler (Mean Girls) and Rob McClure (Something Rotten!) nabbing the ghostly roles immortalized by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in Tim Burton’s 1988 movie.

Butler and McClure join the previously announced Alex Brightman and Sophia Anne Caruso, who’ll play the title character and Lydia, respectively. The characters were played by Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder in the film.

Rounding out the musical’s principal cast (not including the large ensemble) are Adam Dannheisser as Charles; Leslie Kritzer as Delia; Jill Abramovitz as Maxine Dean; Danny Rutigliano as Maxie Dean; and Kelvin Moon Loh as Otho.

The pre-Broadway run of Beetlejuice begins performances in Washington D.C. at the National Theatre on Sunday, October 14, with an official opening on Sunday, November 4.

The casting announcement was made today by producers Warner Bros. Theatre...

You don’t have to be a Broadway baby to scratch your onstage acting itch. In fact, all around the country—and outside of it—there are bustling theater communities producing works so vibrant they’d have Edward Albee rolling over in his grave. Want in on that action? You’d be wise to know the ins and outs of industry happenings, and this is a good place to start: From across the pond and back again, here is the week’s biggest regional theater news. It’s (almost) showtime for “Beetlejuice.”A first round of principal casting has been announced for the pre-Broadway run of “Beetlejuice.” The musical adaptation, which will begin performances at Washington, D.C.’s National Theatre Oct. 14, will star Tony nominee Alex Brightman in the title role and Sophia Anne Caruso as Lydia. Featuring a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, and score by Eddie Perfect,...

Alex Brightman from the School of Rock musical is taking on the role of Beetlejuice in the new stage production and Sophia Anne Caruso, who appeared in the David Bowie musical Lazarus, is playing Lydia Deetz. The Beetlejuice musical has been in development for quite some time, and it's now getting ready to wreak havoc on the stage. The show is holding pre-views starting October 14th in Washington D.C. and will later make its way to Broadway for the 2018 - 2019 season, if all goes according to plan.

Alex Brightman, the Tony-nominated star of the School of Rock musical, is excited to bring Beetlejuice to life on stage alongside Sophia Anne Caruso. The actor revealed that show is going to be bit over-the-top, which makes sense to fans of the original Tim Burton film. Brightman also hints at a different take on the story. He had this to say.

"If...

David Crow Joseph Baxter Oct 15, 2018

The Beetlejuice musical just cast its lead Ghost with the Most and Lydia. You better start learning to say their names three times fast.

You better get ready to say Alex Brightman’s name three times fast, because his title role of Beetlejuice in the upcoming musical adaptation just released a first-look photo. Brightman will play the Ghost with the Most in the first theatrical adaptation of the beloved Tim Burton classic from 1988, which is scheduled to make its out-of-town debut in Washington D.C. later this year before eventually summoning itself into the grand hereafter that is Broadway.

Indeed, the first image of Brightman as Beetlejuice has been released, via EW/People, giving us a glimpse of his stage version of the famous picaresque poltergeist. While we only see him from the back, Brightman – with a visible Cheshire grin – is sporting a sartorial choice...

The pre-Broadway Beetlejuice has found its ghost and the teenager who summons him: Alex Brightman (School of Rock) will play the title character, and Sophia Anne Caruso, who knocked ’em dead with her rendition of “Life on Mars?” in the David Bowie Off-Broadway musical Lazarus, has been cast as Lydia.

The actors join the previously announced creative team – including director Alex Timbers and choreographer Connor Gallagher – for the pre-Broadway staging at the National Theatre in Washington D.C.

Performances in D.C. begin Sunday, October 14, with an official opening on Sunday, November 4.

The casting announcement was made today by producers Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures’ Mark Kaufman and Langley Park Productions’ Kevin McCormick. Additional casting will be announced shortly. The musical adaptation of Beetlejuice features an original score by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown & Anthony King.

Brightman will take the role made famous by Michael Keaton in...

Alex Brightman will follow in Michael Keaton’s footsteps, assuming the title role in “Beetlejuice” on Broadway. It’s a familiar challenge for the Tony Award nominee. Brightman previously had to put his own spin on a character made famous by Jack Black when he portrayed a hard-playing guitarist/substitute teacher in the Broadway musical “School of Rock.”

In addition, the show’s backers, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Langley Park Productions, announced that Sophia Anne Caruso (“Lazarus”) will co-star as Lydia, a goth teenager who forms a bond with ghosts. Winona Ryder played the part in the Tim Burton film — it helped put her on the map.

“Beetlejuice” is eying a Broadway engagement, but first the musical version of the 1988 hit film will have a trial run at the National Theatre in Washington D.C. It begins performances on Oct. 14 and officially opens on Nov. 4.

“Beetlejuice” is directed by...

Welcome to Rumorville! Here you can learn about casting news that’s about to break in Hollywood. These speculations might be only rumors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow the trail all the way to the audition room. “Beetlejuice” on BroadwayIt’s a thought so nice you can say it thrice. The long-in-development “Beetlejuice” musical, based on the Tim Burton classic film, has set dates for a pre-Broadway engagement at Washington, D.C.’s National Theatre this October. And then, of course, the next stop should be New York. Eddie Perfect, who’s currently also at work on Broadway’s “King Kong,” is writing the music and lyrics for the show, with a book written by Scott Brown and Anthony King, and direction from “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” helmer Alex Timbers (also currently working on a stage version of “Moulin Rouge”). Telsey + Company is currently casting for the Washington,...

Tim Burton's Beetlejuice is now officially 30 years old and it's been revealed that the original ending of the beloved film was much darker than the song and dance routine that we're all so familiar with. Beetlejuice is the project that officially gave Tim Burton his original voice and style that many have copied since. The bizarre mix of horror and comedy is a common fixture throughout all of the director's projects, even if it's subtle.

In a new interview, Beetlejuice co-writer Larry Wilson says that the original ending was much different. The happy ending is wonderfully bizarre and only fits because, well, it's a Tim Burton project. However, Wilson reveals that the ending wasn't always so uplifting and happy. Wilson explains.

"Our first ending was Lydia, she died in a fire and was able to join Barbara and Adam in the afterlife. A couple of people said to us,...

On Broadway and beyond, a curtain can rise as quickly as it can fall; a star can be swapped as easily as Bernie Telsey can say, “That’s enough.” Theater is the beating heart of New York show business and, if you want to make it here, it’s crucial you’re up to date on incoming projects, latest castings, and other industry news. Don’t worry, Broadway baby, Backstage has your back. Every week, we’re rounding up the can’t-miss stories no thespian should live without, so you can focus on important matters like hitting your high F. Curtain up and light those lights! “Beetlejuice” is Broadway-bound.After years of speculation, “Beetlejuice” is in fact en route to Broadway. The musical comedy, based on the popular film of the same name, will have it world premiere in Washington, D.C. this coming October, with Broadway dates to follow.

This week marks 30 years since the release of Beetlejuice, the quirky horror-comedy that launched director Tim Burton into the big leagues and provided star Michael Keaton with one of his most iconic roles (probably just second to his portrayal of Batman). Even after several decades, the film is still a cult favourite with a legion of fans. Enough, it seems, to get the movie its very own stage musical.

The Hollywood Reporter is telling us that Beetlejuice: The Musical will hit the boards for its preview run in October, ahead of its pre-Broadway stint at Washington’s National Theater. The music and lyrics have been supplied by Eddie Perfect, while Scott Brown and Anthony King have co-written the book, which is inspired by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson’s script for Burton’s classic movie. Alex Timbers is signed on to direct.

The cast has yet to be announced for the production,...

Beetlejuice is making his way from the screen to the stage. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has announced that their Beetlejuice musical is heading to Washington D.C. this October for its initial run. The hope is that the play will eventually make its way to Broadway in New York, but the current roadmap for those plans has yet to be revealed. Much of that will probably have to do with how this run of shows in D.C. goes, but those of us who have been waiting around somewhat hopelessly for Beetlejuice 2 may have the next best thing to look forward to.

This Beetlejuice musical serves as an adaptation of Tim Burton's 1988 classic movie, which starred Michael Keaton in the titular role, alongside the likes of Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. As far as we know, none of the cast members from the movie are involved in the stage production.