Broadway Access Review -
Beetlejuice

General:

• I would recommend bringing earplugs to this show to offset the lighting design, though with both in I couldn’t quite understand what was being said– I had one in the entire show which was the perfect volume level

• Any time smoke is utilized, it does not spill over into the audience 

• Lydia has a camera with a bright white flash, it’s always fairly clear when she’s going to take a photo and it’s usually pointed away from the audience 

• There is an occasional flying leaves projection scene transition that moves quickly

• There is also this effect that can be best described as sketchy or shifty where the outlines of everything onstage get kind of fuzzy and move around a bit which can be disorienting.

• the sensory accessibility is similar to that of Death Becomes Her, Moulin Rouge, Six

Pre-Show: medium volume music, hazy quality to the theater, and green and purple lights moving slowly over/at the audience

Act I:

• Starts with white wash over the audience after a red lightning, followed by full stage white strobes around the proscenium pointed at the audience + on stage smoke (~10-15 sec) 

• The Whole “Being Dead” Thing - 

• quick loud switch to green flashing after the ukulele “on the other side” - brief

• ~10 sec down strobes at half power after “there’s a giant snake here” 

• full stage strobe for ~3-5 sec after lightning 

• When they put the two plugs together there’s a big electrical noise and flash with a lightning (not strobe)-like quality 

• The Whole “Being Dead” Thing Pt. 2 - this whole song is very flashy, mostly green, for the entire time, beginning after he starts spelling. It is under 2 min total

• Some quick brief downlights on Beetlejuice after “Get in there Babs!”

• “She just needs more time” - thunder crack & single lightning flash

• “New best friend” ~5 sec green downlight strobe 

• Say My Name - ~7 sec of flashing on adults after “dangerously unstable individual” and a big white flash during the applause after

• Day-O - this song has a lot of quick transitions in it

• ~10 sec back wall strobe at like 30% strength after “the house is haunted” 

• 50% power strobe when she says his name for ~15-20 sec – then the whole stage strobes green for some time 

• The set gets sketchy/shifty, there is smoke and moving downlight and it gets really loud– primary color scheme is blue and green

Intermission: the lights and music return and the stage has a slowly expanding pinwheel on it

Act II:

• Begins with a jumpscare thunder crack, followed by ~15 sec of purple slightly spinny flashy projections

• Girl Scout - a few quick red flashes after “wrong with me” – also she screams a lot

• 50% strength down strobe for ~5 sec after “check this out!”

• Suddenly loud with flashing lights for ~15 sec after “don’t leave the house” “why not?”

• Beautiful Sound (reprise) - quick green downlight strobe, followed by a white one on “in for a shock” 

• Thunder & blue flash, along with sketchy walls after the dad yells “LYDIA!!” – followed by more thunder and lightning and some strobey blue lights and sketchy walls with a sort of tilty/spinny/expanding quality. This sequence ends with a ~5 sec green/white strobe 

• 25 sec of full white strobes after blackout, then smoke

• ~5 sec of big red flash when Lydia goes through security, followed by slow moving textured downlights + slow expanding wall projection during the chase for ~30 sec

• Blue moving lights over audience that then switch to red & yellow, totaling ~30 sec at the end of Home

• Short strobe after Kevin exits

• Creepy Old Guy

• Quick blue strobe at “here comes the bride”

• Some moving downlights during the dance sequence 

• Quick on/off purple on the final note

• Whole stage is flashy, sketchy, & hazy for ~5-7 sec after “I do”

• Brief white strobe after “but that’s only because–“

• Very flashy & loud for ~20 sec after “you wanna be together?”

• “Bye!” - thunder & lightning 

• Bows - wash over audience at the start, then quick flashes each time they say Beetlejuice, followed by blue/green on/offs after applause for the sandworm –– streamer canon after “shake it all the time”