It's Showtime: MTI Acquires Rights to Beetlejuice!
It's Showtime: MTI Acquires Rights to Beetlejuice!
Music Theatre International has secured worldwide licensing rights to smash-hit musical Beetlejuice from Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, the live stage division of Warner Bros. The musical is based on the Geffen Company cult classic film presented by Warner Bros. It was nominated for eight Tonys this year and has been hailed by Variety as "Screamingly Good Fun!"
Based on Tim Burton's wonderfully demented film, the dearly departed are alive and well in this hilariously-morbid musical comedy currently waking the dead eight shows a week at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway . Beetlejuice tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole "being dead thing." Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium, and the biggest sandworm Broadway has ever seen.
Beetlejuice features a Tony-nominated original score by Eddie Perfect ( Strictly Ballroom, Gutenberg!) and a book by the Tony-nominated Scott Brown & Anthony King. It debuted on Broadway on April 25, 2019 with direction by two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers ( Moulin Rouge!, Peter and the Starcatcher) choreography by Connor Gallagher (The Robber Bridegroom), and music supervision, orchestrations and incidental music by Kris Kukul ( Joan of Arc: Into the Fire).
Continuing to strike a relevant chord, Beetlejuice remains in the cultural zeitgeist as much today as it did when the film premiered over 30 years ago. Beetlejuice was the most watched Tony performance from this year on CBS's YouTube page with over 2.2M views and counting. "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing" is also currently featured on Amazon Music's Broadway "Showstoppers" playlist where Beetlejuice has taken over the playlist cover this week.
"Beetlejuice is now thrilling Broadway audiences and building a large and fervent fan base among all age groups," said Drew Cohen, Music Theatre International's President and CEO. "The response from MTI's customers around the country and indeed the world has (already!) been nothing short of astounding. We look forward to delivering this hilarious and touching musical to professional theaters and amateur groups everywhere. Bravo to Eddie Perfect, Scott Brown and Anthony King for bringing the title character so vividly to life...figuratively speaking, of course."
The whole "being licensed" thing. @BeetlejuiceBway https://t.co/lNOP3NXmcA
— Music Theatre Int. (@mtishows) November 4, 2019
Beetlejuice was nominated for eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best New Musical.
Beetlejuice is based on the 1988 Academy Award®-winning Geffen Company motion picture presented by Warner Bros. and directed by Tim Burton. The smash-hit comedy starred Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder with story by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson.
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