Beetlejuice

Newlyweds Adam and Barbara die suddenly and find themselves ghosts haunting their own beloved home, now sold to the gloomy, grief-stricken Deetz family and their teenage daughter Lydia, the only living person who can see them. Unable to scare the Deetzes out on their own, Adam and Barbara turn to Betelgeuse, a foulmouthed, rule-breaking bio-exorcist who promises to help, though his chaotic methods and hunger for attention quickly threaten to spiral out of anyone's control.

The musical has music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, based on the 1988 Tim Burton film. It had a pre-Broadway run at Washington D.C.'s National Theatre in 2018 before opening on Broadway in 2019, later returning for a second Broadway run and a national tour, alongside a junior edition, Beetlejuice Jr., licensed for young performers.

The score is loud, comic and theatrical, mixing rock and vaudeville with big ensemble numbers, and Betelgeuse himself narrates and interrupts the show directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall throughout. Watch for elaborate practical stage magic, sudden appearances, disappearing performers and a memorable sandworm effect that draws gasps every night. Lydia's ballads give the show its quieter, more sincere moments amid the chaos, and the ensemble fills out the haunted house with comic ghosts and neighbors who add to the sense of controlled chaos on stage. It suits families with older kids and teenagers who enjoy dark comedy and a Tim Burton style, and anyone who likes a musical that knows it is a musical and jokes about it.