While I won’t deny I had hope of the infinitely small possibility of Alex Brightman dedicating a couple of years of his life to travel down to Australia and perform as Beetlejuice in the titular musical Beetlejuice the Musical, Australian producer Michael Cassel Group has chosen a rather fitting performer to fill the shoes of the character – one who arguably knows the most about the music of this production. Eddie Perfect, the Australian composer and lyricist of the musical will take on the lead role when it opens at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre on 7 May 2025 – seeing him both starring in the role and performing the songs he originally wrote for the show.
Based on Tim Burton’s cult classic film, Beetlejuice follows the story of Lydia Deetz, a teenager obsessed with death, who finds herself living in a haunted house. With the help of a recently deceased couple and a chaos-loving demon named Beetlejuice, Lydia embarks on a plan to rid her home of her parents. The musical, filled with eccentric characters and dark humour, promises a mix of exorcisms, surprises, and fourth-wall-breaking antics.
Eddie Perfect expressed his excitement about returning to Australia with Beetlejuice, sharing:
I had the privilege of watching Alex Brightman create the role of Beetlejuice from the ground up. Alex wasn’t afraid of anything in rehearsal. I’m hoping to harness some of that fearlessness when I rehearse the role for myself,” he said. Perfect added, “Beetlejuice is a taboo-busting, shape-shifting, fourth-wall-smashing, free-lovin’ ball of neediness, and I’m excited (and a healthy amount daunted) to play the role and represent the wonderful work of my collaborators.
Mark Kaufman, Executive Producer for Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, highlighted the significance of Perfect’s role:
Anyone who has seen Eddie perform will know that he is a consummate performer with a wildly mischievous sense of humour. For Australia to be the very first to see him play this role and perform the incredible music he created for BEETLEJUICE is a phenomenal opportunity
Australian producer Michael Cassel also emphasised Perfect’s connection to the title role, sharing:
When we knew we were bringing BEETLEJUICE to Australia we knew it had to be Eddie in the title role. When you listen to the songs you just know he was born to play the world’s favourite spook – it’s almost as if he wrote these songs for himself! Australia is in for a real treat when Eddie takes on this role.
Tickets for the Australian premiere of Beetlejuice will go on sale to the general public from 6 November, with a presale available from 31 October. Fans can join the waitlist at via the Beetlejuice Official Website to gain early access to tickets.
Can you hear that sound? That beautiful sound? Well, come May 2025, those sounds will certainly be coming from Melbourne’s Regent Theatre!
