By Sherrie Rose in San Diego
The music propels the story of Lydia Deetz and the ghost-with-the-most with brassy fanfares, swirling strings, and choral flourishes that feel playful and slightly unhinged. From the first notes, it’s clear this Broadway San Diego production isn’t a meditation on mortality. Death arrives with flair, personality, and a wink to the audience.
True fans arrived at the San Diego Civic Center in black-and-white striped attire to match Ryan Stajmiger, who stepped onstage as Beetlejuice. His performance carried sharp timing and a fearless streak of gleeful mayhem. The fourth-wall breaks landed cleanly, and his responsiveness to the audience gave the evening a sense of spontaneity. Younger viewers leaned into the physical comedy, while adults caught the layered wordplay and self-aware edge woven into the script and songs. Caution: strong language and mature subject matter.
At the heart of the musical, Leianna Weaver’s Lydia grounded the spectacle in emotional truth. She stole the show. Her voice carried clarity and ache, giving weight to the story’s exploration of loss and longing. When she sang, the room stilled. The same score that fueled the chaos softened around her, creating space for vulnerability and reminding us that beneath the jokes sits real grief.
David Wilson as Adam and Kaitlin Feely as Barbara bring warmth and comic precision to the newly deceased couple, grounding the absurdity with genuine heart. Their bewilderment at becoming ghosts plays with just the right mix of panic and politeness, making their haunting attempts both charming and hilariously ineffective.
The lighting and stage design worked in seamless partnership with the cast, shifting from eerie to electric in seconds. Together, the ensemble created a world that felt fully inhabited yet ghoulish and very much alive. The eye-catching sets contain haze and fog, sudden loud noises, pyrotechnic and strobe lighting effects.
The musical foundation lives vividly in Beetlejuice: The Musical, adapted from the movie Beetlejuice. The film’s iconic music by Jewish Los Angeleno Danny Elfman, with gothic whimsy and macabre sweep does not carry into the stage production. Instead, composer Eddie Perfect delivers an all-original soundtrack charged with theatrical bravado and mischievous energy.
In a pivotal scene in the second half, Beetlejuice lifts a toast: “L’Chaim, to Life!” The Hebrew phrase, familiar at Jewish celebrations, lands with unexpected weight in a story preoccupied with death. It is funny, yes. It is also pointed. In a world of ghosts and unfinished business, the reminder feels unmistakable: life itself is the gift.
By the final curtain, laughter rose freely and applause followed with conviction. This upbeat musical, filled with ghosts, grief, and gleeful chaos, leaves behind more than spectacle. What lingers is the electricity in the room and the echo of that unexpected toast. Even in a story about the afterlife, the message comes through clearly. Choose life.
Beetle Juice: The Musical plays through March 1.
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Sherrie Rose is a masterwork advisor and author integrating digital legacy with future vision and AI.