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Mickey Jo
And the one that people are gonna ask me about every single time is Beetlejuice. Let's also talk about Beetlejuice. There is going to be a new show at the Prince Edward. Wait for it. Beetlejuice. Well, I don't know why you're all acting so shocked. I said it at least three times. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you if you're listening to this news on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo and I'm obsessed with all things theatre. I'm a theatre critic, I'm a content creator. We don't have time for the intro this morning because the news that you have been pleading with me for for not even months, years at this point, every time I have spoken about a new musical opening in the West End or a theatre becoming vacant or a potential Broadway transfer, the comments beneath have always been Beetlejuice. Is it Beetlejuice? When are we getting Beetlejuice? And even though you have all been saying it certainly more than three times in a row, it has taken a decent while. But the news this morning is beautiful because Beetlejuice the musical is finally set to open in London's west, and you can bet that we are going to talk all about it. We're going to talk about a brief history of the show thus far and some of the reasons why it took so long to get to London, what we can expect from this production, when you're going to be able to get tickets, where it's going to be, whether I think this theatre is a good fit for it, and by extension, whether I think the show is going to be successful in London. Because there are some details about this planned run that aren't necessarily what you might have been expecting when it comes to a big, splashy Broadway musical opening in the West End. Let's just say it's not necessarily planning on sticking around forever. It is being billed, in fact as a limited haunting or something playful like that to suggest a limited run. And I'm going to tell you exactly why that is. And maybe if we feel like it, we might speculate just a little bit about some casting possibilities as well. Is Alex Brightman going to reprise his performance, having originated the role on Broadway? He has said before he might be interested in doing it in London. Do I think that seems likely? You will have to stay tuned to find out. In the meantime, I would love to know what you think. How excited are we? Who's planning on getting tickets? Is anyone planning on traveling from elsewhere to come and see the show in London next year? Let us know all your thoughts and feelings as always in the comments section down below. And if you want to stay up to date with all of the latest West End and Broadway theatre news. And if you want to make sure you don't miss my review of Beetlejuice in less than a year when it finally opens at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, make sure you're subscribed right here on YouTube with the notifications turned on or go follow me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, my Hawaiian Beetlejuice shirt, my large hat and I am having an insane hair day. Don't even question it. Are going to finally talk about Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Okie dokie. So we're going to start with the exciting news and I'm going to read from the press release that finally arrived. This is not necessarily a huge surprise. We've been hearing rumblings about this for the past couple of months, which is how I was able to tease it in some previous videos. At one point on I thought this was going to be announced while I was at sea. Thrilled to just, you know, be on land so that I can tell you about it. Anyway, at 10am this morning the good news arrived to my email inbox. It's Showtime London. Beetlejuice the musical to make its highly anticipated. You can say that again. Highly anticipated transfer to the West End Performances begin at the Prince Edward Theatre in May 2026 and I am a little bit surprised. I thought this was going to be earlier simply because MJ the musical is closing. Is it not closing around the the January time? Oh no, I lied. MJ is closing a little later than I thought. That's closing at the end of February next year and I guess they're going to have to spend a little bit of time getting that set out of the theater and getting the Beetlejuice set in. That is going to be a complicated changeover. The Savoy Theatre is currently having a lot of work done in anticipation of Paddington opening, so the Prince Edward may have the same. It may be that the Prince Edward might benefit from some refurbishment. I don't know when it last had the opportunity to have a little bit of refurbishment. Anyway, this is being presented by Crossroads Live British Production Company and Warner Bro Theatre Ventures. It's Showtime London. Welcome to the time of your afterlife. A slogan that's sort of giving spooky Dirty Dancing. Now this is some newish Beetlejuice artwork because normally it is just black and white, but we have a very sort of wicked movie inspired green and purple lights on the Beetlejuice logo. I like that. I think it's very cute and I've always enjoyed Beetlejuice being called Beetlejuice the musical, the musical, the musical. Now in the copy it calls this the most anticipated Broadway musical transfer in years. Crossing over to the Prince Edward Theatre from May 2020 for a limited haunting. And I am not about to disagree with that. I think this probably is based on my own market research. The most anticipated transfer we've had in a very long time, which idly makes me wonder, and this is an opportunity for you to all weigh in in the comments down below what the next one to cross off our lists is. Because for the longest time, for years of my life, it was next to normal. When are we going to get next to normal? There was a lot of anticipation for in the Heights when we finally got that Mean Girls took a long time to come over. And then now Beetlejuice. What is the next one that we are all universally going to try and manifest together as that's going to make it happen any faster? Let me know in the comments, but here are the all important details as laid out in this email. Hold on to your Sandworms everyone's favorite ghost with the most Beetlejuice is finally crossing the pond. Following multiple smash hit Broadway runs, we will circle back to that and a major US tour. Crossroads Live and Warner Bros Theatre Ventures are delighted to confirm that Beetlejuice the Musical will make its West End debut at London's Prince Edward Theatre, a Delfont Macintosh Theatre with performances beginning in May 2026. And that is currently specific as those dates are getting. But the other important date that we are told is that tickets are going to go on general sale on Thursday 30th October. Very spooky, very Halloween. And if you want to be the first to hear from the other side, they've had a fun time writing this one. I can tell Sign up for Priority News ticketing information and the chance to win a trip to see the show on Broadway at beetlejuicemusical.co.uk no, that just www.butterjuicemusical.com.co.uk and that's for Priority News ticketing information to be the first to get the chance to buy tickets when they go on sale, but also a competition to win a trip to see it on Broadway. If you don't know Beetlejuice is about to return to Broadway for a limited festive season as part of the show's US Tour. It's doing a little tour stop, which is something that is happening a little bit this season. Mamma Mia. Has just done the same thing at Beetlejuice's original home, the Winter Garden. But when Beetlejuice comes back to New York in a couple of weeks time, it's going to be at its third New York home, which is the Palace Theatre. It was first at the Winter Garden, then it went to the Marquee and now it's going to be at the palace, but also at London's Prince Edward. And as I mentioned the West End debut. The UK premiere. I think the European premiere, unless we count the cruise ship production. Random footnote in the show's history that ought to be included. Even though it hasn't made its way to the uk, it's technically been sailing around Europe on the Norwegian cruise line in a condensed version of the show. Hilarious that cruise line passengers got to see Beatle the Musical before London's West End. But for any Americans watching, this is actually going to be the first time that Beetlejuice has ever been in the uk. I know he has taken his sweet ass time about it. This is the original Broadway production. By some technicality it might be the US tour set. I dare say that's probably the version that we're going to get, which is often what happens when shows come from the US to the uk. I haven't seen either production, so people who have are going to have to let us know in the comments whether there are extensive differences between the Broadway version and the US touring version. I could also be misleading you and maybe we're going to get a new exciting UK set that more closely replicates the original Broadway one. I don't know. But it is confirmed here that the London production resurrects its otherworldly Broadway creative team. Every line's a pun. Featuring a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect, who recently played the role of Beetlejuice himself in the Australian production, Fun Fact. And it will be directed by two time Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, who is also known for having directed Moulin Rouge, the musical still running in the West End and on Broadway, and my beloved yet short lived, Here lies love. All of this to tell you that this is the news you have been waiting for. Beetlejuice is coming here and it's going to be the original production. I know the third thing you want is Alex Brightman doing it. Or that's what many people want at least. We will talk a little more about casting later on, but before we do, there are some words here about Beetlejuice's history which I'm going to combine with my own interpretation of them. Because you know, this is. This is PR speak. And when it calls it the most successful smash hit Broadway musical of all time, it's not necessarily the entire higher truth. So let's talk through this.
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Mickey Jo
So Based on Tim Burton's beloved movie classic, this wildly funny and weirdly life affirming musical tells the tale of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager sharing her home with a pair of newly deads and the demonic ghost with the most Beetlejuice. He's dead trouble, but if you really want to feel alive, just say his name three times. It must be spoken unbroken. With a gleefully irreverent book, a head spinning set design and a score that's out of this netherworld, Beetlejuice is a feast for the eyes and soul. That's a quote from Entertainment Weekly. Outrageous, but with a big cold heart. This is screamingly good fun. That's from Variety that'll make you want to live and make the most of every day. Oh, which is a reference to the Harry Belafonte song, which is included alongside the show's original score. It's very catchy, very popular original score because like many of the other musicals over the last 25 years, which have been adapted from films that include a particular iconic musical moment, it retains that song in the stage version. Just like I'm A Believer is still in Shrek. Now we have a statement here from the brilliant James Lane, who is a producer with Crossroads Live, who says the wait is over. We are beyond thrilled to be working alongside Warner Bros. And the ingenious team behind Beetlejuice to bring this highly anticipated Broadway hit to London's West End at last. There is nothing else quite like this show and audiences really are in for a terrifyingly hilarious treat at the spectacular Prince Edward Theatre next year. Truly one of our greatest West End theaters and one which bears something of a resemblance to a lot of Broadway houses. So it's never a surprise to see a Broadway musical, especially a big one, transfer to that very large venue. Also worth talking about its capacity, however, especially in comparison with Beetlejuice's previous Broadway homes. Now we will talk about how successful Beetlejuice has been at each of these venues in just a moment. But its original home was the Winter Garden Theatre with a capacity of of 1526. The Marquee Theater that it subsequently moved to when it was ousted by the Music man has a capacity of slightly more 1611. And when it opens at the Palace, I don't know if they're selling the Balcony. I assume they are. No, that's the London one I wanted. Palace Theatre, Broadway, that has a capacity of 1648. So still moving a little bit upwards, but all generally in the same kind of area. The Prince Edward Theater means while that is among the West End's largest theater and it has a capacity of 1727. So excluding the many theaters that it may have played internationally or on its US tour, this is going to be one of Beetlejuice's largest homes, with the Prince Edward having previously been home to the likes of Mary Poppins and Aladdin, big popular, large production Disney musicals. Currently the home of MJ, the Michael Jackson musical, a big revival of Miss Saigon, produced by Sir Cameron McIntosh, it is a Delont Macintosh theater. And for a while, when we were hearing Beetlejuice rumors, his was the name attached to the possibility of the show. There were rumors that he wanted it and then LW Theaters wanted it, but this was all happening around the time that it had been brought back to Broadway on the basis of its success. What happened subsequently is that the show, in spite of its online virality, still closed, I believe, without recouping, and that may have diminished the enthusiasm of London theater producers and impresarios to bring it over. In any case, it is Crossroads Live who are now co producing it here in London. Now, what was I talking about before we started playing the Price Is Right with theatre capacities. Here we go. We have more of a quote. After three successful Broadway engagements, one of which hasn't actually happened yet, but this is going to be. After that, they're preemptively calling it successful. The theatre could burn down. Here's to hoping it doesn't. But, you know, I. I would touch Wood after writing this a record setting 88 city North American tour. Gosh, that's a long tour and captivating audiences across international stages in Tokyo, Seoul, Abu Dhabi and Melbourn, Melbourne, Beetlejuice will finally arrive in the United Kingdom. Continue Producers Mark Kaufman from Warner Bros. And Kevin McCormick from Langley Park Productions. We are thrilled Beetlejuice will make its debut in London's West End with its signature wit and irreverence. You and me both. And there's a little bit more further down about the show's history. It opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2019 and again at the Marquee Theatre in 2022 following the COVID 19 shutdown, playing 679 combined performances. From what I can tell from a hasty Google I don't believe that it recouped during Broadway run. But it has been reported that the US Tour did recoup its investment. And these are, as we keep saying, financially trying times for Broadway with many, many musicals, especially larger ones, struggling to recoup even in the face of huge success. The likes of Death Becomes her and the Outsiders still have not reported recouping their initial investments. So it's not necessarily any kind of an indictment of Beetlejuice that it didn't during its time on Broadway. But it's also interesting how we now frame the show's time in Manhattan that we are calling it this huge smash hit success, when in reality the show got off to a little bit of a slower start. Often when movies are turned into musicals, there isn't as much of an enthusiastic immediate uptake in New York as there seems to be in London. We liked shows like Pretty Woman and Doubtfire, a heck of a lot more over here, but those shows that do eventually pick up steam on Broadway are the ones with just really great material and writing. Death Becomes her being a great example of this, and one which is tonally very similar to Beetlejuice and adapted from a film from a similar era, one that you could potentially call a little bit of a cult classic, certainly not one with broad family appeal. Now, Beetlejuice has a fascinating Broadway history because something very unique happened with this show because during its initial Broadway run it became one of the very first musicals to go viral on TikTok in the early days of the app, and it's becoming more widespread and musical theater kind of finding its way onto it. There were some Heather sound bites, but before the Days of Death becomes her, telling everybody that that was rude, you had Beetlejuice going super viral. Lots of people making Beetlejuice content and earning the show fans worldwide in the millions. But as exciting as that was, and as beneficial as it proved for building the show's brand ongoingly and, you know, directly engineering all of the excitement and enthusiasm that there has been in the UK and in London for the show to transfer, that wouldn't have happened without this big online buzz and the cast recording and all of the social media. We also learned at that time media virality is not enough to keep you open on Broadway, especially if the theater owners would rather have Hugh Jackman tap dance his way through the stage door. Because Beetlejuice, in a slightly controversial but an entirely legal move, was ousted from the Winter Garden Theatre in favor of a limited run revival of the Music man starring future lovers Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, simply because the theater owners, the Shuberts, believed that that show would have a higher grossing potential, that it would make more money. And it did. But if Beetlejuice' following wasn't enough to keep it on Broadway in the face of more attractive productions, it was enough to bring it back. Because the show returned, like I said, to the Marquee Theatre, although once again it didn't really run there for a hugely long amount of time, it once again closed before recouping. And because social media and the intersection of it with musical theater is this very new and largely unexplored thing, there are some brilliant pioneers out there. Catherine Quinn I'm looking through my camera directly at you, trying desperately to wrestle the world of musical theatre and Broadway into the social media age fully. There are a lot of question marks around the extent to which huge social media popularity can really keep a show open and can translate into individuals in the theater, because you can find huge popularity for something. But there's a big difference between trying to brand something like K Pop Demon Hunters online and something like Beetlejuice on Broadway, because you can watch K Pop Demon Hunters around the world, but to watch Beetlejuice on Broadway way, you have to buy a considerably more expensive ticket and get yourself to Manhattan. In other words, it is all very well, Beetlejuice going viral and getting fans around the world, but if those fans can't get to the theater to go and see it, then they can't help it stay open and be really financially successful. So, you know, it's interesting to see all of these international productions happening subsequently, with the groundwork having been laid for them by the work that the Broadway production did on social media. But I'm also interested to find out exactly how much mileage Each of these productions has, which ushers us very nicely towards a conversation about whether or not I think Beetlejuice is going to be a huge West End hit. But before we jump into that particular topic, let's talk a little bit about some potential casting ideas. Now, whenever an exciting musical transfer is announced, this inevitably is the the next conversation that is going to happen. And I think because it has been a decent number of years since the original Broadway production, there's no reason for us to anticipate multiple members of the original Broadway cast reprising their roles. It's not like it was just on Broadway last season. And we're wondering, like, is the whole original Broadway cast going to come over? More to the point, I think this is really exciting for West End performers, many of whom I'm sure have been on the phone to their agents this morning, and the possibility that they are going to have a chance to play some of these iconic roles, potentially including Beetlejuice himself. Now, if there is one character who I think is more likely to be portrayed by a Broadway performer, it is probably Beetlejuice. I wonder whether Alex Brightman has any kind of first refusal or whether the powers that be have during the many years that this has been a possibility for London and that they've been looking at all of these different theaters. That's what I've been hearing, hearing for the longest time been in conversation with him about whether or not he would want to do it. I heard recently that I think he shared on a convention panel that he would be really enthusiastic to reprise his performance in London, that he would be eager to do it in the West End. For a lot of actors from New York, that's a really exciting prospect. I also think, like shows like Doubtfire and Legally Blonde before it, it's likely to be received in a much more positive way here. Not only because it's already be a big success with fans, but also because we seem to have less reservation about giving nominations and awards to those kinds of roles. So there's actually, I think, a distinct possibility, if he were to do it here, that he could get nominated for and win an Olivier at the same time. I'm sure I heard a little while ago that Alex Brightman is not a big fan of flying, to which I humbly suggest a transatlantic Disney cruise. I'm just saying, perfectly great option, no planes involved. Now, when it comes to the rest of the cast, my immediate question mark is whether we are going to have the two roles separated as they came to be when the show came Back after Covid, which is Delia and Ms. Argentina, originally played on Broadway by Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer. She played both parts, but there's no real connection between them in the material and in later versions of the show they were played by two distinct performers. I'm curious about whether that's going to happen again. For a long time I wanted Hannah Waddingham to do one or both of those roles, but she is certainly frying bigger for fish at this point. Although we can dream that she may be considering a musical theater return. She has teased a stage project recently. Certainly we have a lot of brilliant, funny ladies here in the uk. Maz Murray has just left Mamma Mia. Rebecca Locke is only doing part of the Here and Now Steps musical tour. Julie Atherton, currently starring in Just for One Day, might be available by next May to play either one of those roles or Barbara. Actually Carly Mercedes Dyer is another one who I think would work really well for a bunch of roles in Beetlejuice. She's enabled I'd love to see in the mix when it comes to Barbara and Adam. They are the sort of more conservative and suburban couple who sadly die at the beginning and are ghosts living in Delia's house. I'm wondering if we're going to see casting a little bit more down the lines of like maybe Gabriel Vic, who shared another Rob McClure played role recently when he was the UK's original Mrs. Doubtfire. Maybe Gina Bett, maybe Hayley Flackerty, who has been a brilliant Miss Honey and a Janet in the Rocky Horror Tour. This is not a million miles from that. And since I'm throwing names around, let's consider the possibility for a moment that Alex Brightman doesn't end up reprising his performance. We have had entirely West End cast for a bunch of Broadway transfers before, like Hamilton, like Mean Girls, in which case, who do we think would be a great British Beetlejuice? Jack Malone, Olivier Antoni Award winner from the original cast of Operation Minster Meet, has said before in interviews that he would love to play this character. He's a big horror movie fan and I know he said this in an interview because it was an interview with me, but when this was first coming over years ago, the name I immediately thought of was somebody like Simon Lipkin. There are a lot of question marks around this character and who actually has the capacity to do that voice, but Simon is someone who I feel pretty confident could because of his history playing Trekkie monster in Avenue Q in the original London production. Right now he's starring as Fagin in Oliver and there's similarities and differences between those two characters, but he is hugely charismatic, certainly full of showmanship, just a brilliant performer. Having said, Gabriel Vick for Adam, he is another one who has fascinating command of his voice and we saw in Doubtfire he can do all of these different impressions. Maybe he would actually be a more interesting Beetlejuice. I don't know. I dare say people have some interesting ideas about this one and I would love to hear them in the comment section down below. Who do you want to play Beetlejuice Juice when the show arrives in the West End next year? Of course you might also be fan casting Delia. Now she is often cast very young. There is every possibility this is going to be a performer right out of drama school, but it could also be an alumnus of the Musical 6. That show has seen so many of the UK's most talented young women in the industry going through it, either in the West End or on the UK and international tours. And the Australian production of Beetlejuice had a former Six Queen in that role. I think had Beetlejuice come to London very soon after its original broad Broadway run, had the world not been ending, this probably would have been someone like an Evelyn Hoskins. Now Zoe Athena is a name that I'm just going to throw right out there. If you don't know her, get to know her. She's been brilliant in a bunch of shows recently, but if there's one role that I'm really not worried about them being able to cast in the uk, it's that one. We have an abundance of talent, particularly young talent. And for those of you who know the show better than I do, I would love to hear more of your thoughts about who else you would like to manifest scene seeing in the original London production. What is the casting that you are dreaming of right now? Chuck it in the comments. But as promised, there is one more thing that we need to talk about. Do I envision Beetlejuice being successful in London? And why is it not necessarily planning on sticking around for a very long time? Let's talk about.
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Mickey Jo
Now you would be forgiven for scanning through this press release and not pick on the fact that it is a limited run. They haven't shared their full dates yet and it hasn't yet gone on sale, so we can't see the booking period. But right up at the top here it says the most anticipated Broadway musical transfer in years crosses over to the Prince Edward Theatre from May 2026 for a limited haunting. It doesn't say the words limited run, but that is what it is conveying. This is not, in other words, open ended, and that is a big surprise certainly for a show as popular as this one is. An example of an open ended production would be like when Mean Girls came over here or when Back to the Future the musical opened, or when Hadestown returned from Broadway and came back to London. Those are all shows that are running in the West End continuously. Sometimes Broadway audiences get confused because we do this a little bit differently and we announce new booking periods for months at a time rather than just like putting one new month on sale every subsequent month. We do it in little like six month extensions, but it doesn't mean that the show is not planning to extend further beyond what's on sale. Beetlejuice, however, is letting us know already that this is only going to be at the Prince Edward Theatre Theatre for a limited time and this is not the first time that it's happened when Ain't Too Proud, the Temptations jukebox bio musical opened at the same venue that was always going to be a limited run because MJ the Musical was already booked to come in about a year afterwards. As it happened, Ain't Too Proud ran shorter than anticipated and so other shows had to go in to fill the gap similarly, after Frozen closed at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Disney installed her Hercules, which is actually doing much better it seems than they might have anticipated. Because that also is not planning on running at the theatre ongoingly. That is just filling a gap before the Greatest Showman can transfer there from its world premiere production regionally at the Bristol Hippodrome. And so the situation with Beetlejuice at the Prince Edward Theatre could be a similar one. It could be the fact that there is another musical set to open at the venue in 2027, the name of which I am not going to tell you, but I have absolutely alluded to in a previous video. You're welcome to go and try and find that. Or it could be the producers hedging their bets to a certain extent and planning to have be produced to one really successful very well sold year at this huge venue in London. And you know, if it sells well enough it will be able to recoup because things can recoup way faster in the West End than they can on Broadway. Evita did it in weeks and then after that embark on a UK tour. And I know there are a lot of theatre fans in the UK for whom getting to London London is a logistical or financial struggle who would love to see the show visiting a theater nearer to where they live. Hopefully that is what they have planned. Mean Girls is heading off on a UK tour after their West End run. Clueless going on a UK tour as well. Maybe if Beetlejuice is way more popular even than the producers are anticipating, it could open in the West End, go on tour for a bit and then maybe even come back to the West End just like it is on Broadway. There's nothing to say Beetlejuice couldn't go and haunt a different West End theater a few years down the line. Line. The point is that it will have had that original West End production and that's the one that they want to get right. After it's had that, then you know, other things can happen then. Maybe a tour, maybe a West End return, maybe regional non replica productions, drama schools. The future is looking bright and spooky. And because it is only planning to do this limited run at the Prince Edward Theatre, even though this is a vast auditorium, I think it's guaranteed to be pretty successful. Especially if they make that clear from the beginning that fans only have have a limited window in which to go and see this show. I don't think casting needs to be star studded in terms of like pseudo celebrity names. I think Beetlejuice is the name It's a property that people are familiar with. It's a show that dads and families might be a little more interested in going to go and see, maybe families with teenagers. But it has been brought back to the forefront of people's memories by the recent sequel film. So the Beetlejuice IP and brand is doing well again. It's already been resuscitated a little bit, but certainly I think it's musical theater fans who are going to initially really supercharge this one at the box office. And I have been surprised by the way that they have been showing up, I should say the way that we have been showing up for transfers of Broadway musicals of late. Hadestown is doing so well in the West End did a fantastic first year, and I think if anything, that's more niche than Beetlejuice was. Doubtfire did very well over here. Pretty Woman did well over here. These recognizable titles I think people are going to find very intriguing and exciting. There's not a lot of other shows like Beetlejuice for West End audiences, and it might also do a little bit better for having taken just a few more years to get here. What I mean by that, and this is still something of a working theory, is that audiences, I think, are gradually warming to the idea of these funny, offbeat, spooky, throwback, cult parody esque musicals, with the Addams Family having been an early example of that, which was comedically and tonally way ahead of its time. Beetlejuice having arrived just when audiences were starting to get it. And Death becomes her now thriving in that understanding. It's a combination of the creepy and the kooky and the camp that serves each of these shows well. So if you were to ask me whether I think Beetlejuice is going to run for three to five years in the West End, I might be a little bit more uncertain. But do I think it's going to be hugely successful in a limited run? Yes, absolutely I do. But that, of course, is just my prediction. Glancing into the future, the future we will have to wait and see, which means waiting until May 2026 when the show opens in the West End. I am so excited. Hopefully I might be able to give you a little bit of an insight into the production before it opens. Maybe they'll do some kind of a rehearsal event or an interview opportunity. Certainly. I hope to attend the show's opening night next year and bring you a full review of the West End production. That might not be the first time I will have seen the show right now. Now I'VE never seen a production, but I am hoping to get the chance to see it in New York before it arrives in London. Let's call it professional homework. In the meantime, if you don't want to miss any of that theatrical content between now and next year, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Turn on those channel notifications so you don't miss any upcoming videos or go follow me on podcast platforms. Share all of your thoughts about the Beetlejuice West End transfer in the comments down below. You never need to ask me if it's going to happen happen again. It's happening everybody. We're there. I hope you're as thrilled about this news as I was. And I hope, as always, that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo the oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: Mickey Jo
Date: September 26, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode dives into the much-anticipated transfer of “Beetlejuice: The Musical” from Broadway to London’s West End. Mickey Jo unpacks the reasons for the long wait, the details of the announced production at the Prince Edward Theatre, its “limited haunting” run, potential casting choices, and whether Beetlejuice is poised for success in the UK.
Venue and Dates:
Run Structure:
Mickey Jo ends with infectious enthusiasm, reminders to subscribe for future reviews, and a rallying call: “You never need to ask me if it's going to happen again. It's happening everybody. We're there.” [34:50]
TL;DR:
Beetlejuice: The Musical finally comes to London in May 2026 at the Prince Edward Theatre for a limited run. Despite viral popularity and years of fan requests, its transfer has been cautious and calculated. Major Broadway creative forces will lead the West End production, but casting details are wide open (with fans hoping for Alex Brightman or a star UK Beetlejuice). Given its established fan base and increasing British appetite for quirky cult musicals, Mickey Jo confidently predicts a "terrifyingly hilarious treat," primed to sell out—even without a celebrity headliner.