[INTERVIEW] 'Beetlejuice' restaging director says 'Seoul run will be highlight of my career'

Alex Brightman in the Broadway run of the musical "Beetlejuice" / Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

By Park Ji-won

Poster for the musical "Beetlejuice"

"Beetlejuice," the musical adaptation of Tim Burton's 1988 film, which premiered on Broadway in 2019, will hit Korea from June 18 to Aug. 7 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, which is its first run outside of Broadway.

The musical revolves around Beetlejuice, a ghost who lived for 9.8 billion years by himself, and Lydia, a strange and unusual teenager who can see ghosts. As Lydia's family moves to a new house, which used to belong to a deceased ghost couple who were killed in a recent accident, the ghosts try to scare the new inhabitants out of the house. Beetlejuice, who can be summoned by Lydia when she calls his name three times, tries to keep the couple there so that he will not be left alone again.

For the Korea performances, A-list actors Jung Sung-hwa and Yu Jun-sang will play Beetlejuice while the rising actresses, Jang Min-Je and Hong Na-hyun, will play Lydia.

The show is famous for its extravagant spectacles and special effects. To replicate the show, all necessary props, sets and staff were brought over to Seoul from Broadway ― where the show is no longer being run due to the pandemic ― including the costumes and most of the stage sets, along with the key original staff members, including restaging director Matt DiCarlo, music supervisor Kris Kukul and choreographer Connor Gallagher.

The cast and production staff of the musical "Beetlejuice," pose during an online press conference Monday. Courtesy of CJENM

Matt DiCarlo, restaging director of the musical "Beetlejuice" / Courtesy of Davy Mack

To mark the first run of the performance in Korea, The Korea Times interviewed restaging director Matt DiCarlo and asked about the details of the upcoming show. He has been working with Alex Timbers, the original director of Broadway's "Beetlejuice," since the beginning of 2015 on the piece. He also served as director for the musical "The Play That Goes Wrong," and associate director for the musical "The Color Purple," while serving as the stage manager for multiple Broadway shows.

The Seoul run of "Beetlejuice" is the first international production in his career as director, and it is also his first trip to Asia. He said that this musical is the best show for the pandemic, as it talks about the connections between people when they become isolated. He evaluated highly the level of performers and staff in Korea and found Korea's double- and triple-casting system different, as on Broadway, there is only one cast for each production. He emphasized that he is fully enjoying the production process here, which he was initially forced to miss due to the pandemic. The following is a transcript of an interview with DiCarlo, which was edited for clarity.

Q: What is "Beetlejuice" and what is the key point of this musical?

A: What is great about Beetlejuice is that it is a big, flashy, fun, exciting, musical comedy full of spectacles, incredible visual special effects, big musical numbers, lots of a fun, and beautiful design work. You can expect a really incredible and varied score. The music spans the genres: indie rock, pop, contemporary musical theater and big band.
Also, it is intimately centered on the story of Lydia, who is a teenage girl grieving the loss of her mother. And it's a story about family connections and love.
The pandemic in so many ways has felt isolating and makes people feel apart. "Beetlejuice" is a show about death and the netherworld in the afterlife. But it is actually a show about life, living in the present, connecting and family ― not only the family you are born into, but the family you meet along the way. It is about being seen and not being invisible. I feel like, in a time like this, with the pandemic, there's no better time to tell a story like that.

Matt DiCarlo, restaging director of the musical "Beetlejuice," directs actors and production crew members in this undated photo. Courtesy of CJENM

Q: What is the trickiest part of directing this show?

A: Coming over here, I kept wondering what that might be like. What I found in our first week of rehearsal or so was that it was instantly easier than I thought it would be. It's amazing how much like home it is here and how much the rehearsal room functions like it does at home. It is so similar. I don't know if that's because we just have an incredible group of people in the room and there's a lot of mutual trust, though.
Even though we've done the show before, I do try to make sure that the conversation stays open all the time for everybody in the room. It's not just about me telling them what the show is; it is about us finding what the show is together. I do the same thing when I'm working with people in English. I wake up every morning and can't wait to go see everybody. It is one of the most exciting and fun processes I have ever been in. So we have a lot of fun as we continue to sort of work our way through and find what the show is here. The cast makes me laugh so hard. This is a career highlight to be here in Seoul directing the first international production of "Beetlejuice." I think I will certainly never forget it, and it will be at the top of my bio next time.
It's amazing how well things translate sometimes. The style and tone really do bridge the sea. The performers of "Beetlejuice" are incredibly talented, as is their toolkit in musical theater. I teach them the show but I learn from them every day, too.

Q: How was the casting process? What were the criteria in casting the roles of Beetlejuice and Lydia, who are the most important roles in this show?

A: We really looked for people who are dynamic and smart, of course, who can sing and move, but also who had a real sense of comedy and could deliver the material in an exciting way.
For the character of Lydia in the show, she spends a lot of time on stage alone singing big numbers. We were really looking for a young woman with incredible emotional depth and who could really fill the space of the Sejong Center ― an incredibly vast venue. Also, we looked for those who were likeable and lovable, but also strange and unusual. That's a complicated and virtuosic role to play.
Beetlejuice in the musical functions as our host for the evening. Beetlejuice is the only character who can see the audience during a show. He has to be able to really emotionally sort of ground himself in what Beetlejuice wants ― which is that he's desperate to be alive, for human connection. He has to be able to do big musical theater numbers. So we were sort of looking for a jack of all trades who could command the stage in a smart, exciting and virtuosic way.

A scene from the musical "Beetlejuice," on Broadway / Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

Q: What was new in restaging the show in Seoul that is different from staging it on Broadway?

A: Cultural references ― sometimes even the rhythm of the way a joke works, or a piece of dialogue that may work so well at home, we find just doesn't translate in quite the same way. So working with our translator, Kim Su-bin, who translated the book in the score, then also with the actors, we look for "what is the reference here that will translate."
On Broadway, in commercial theaters, musicals run on an ongoing basis. Broadway shows are continuously open. Here in Korea, musical runs are limited. So from what I understand, it's really exciting to try to get a ticket to see a show during its limited run. We also don't do double or triple casting at home. That's a very different model.

Q: What musicals did you see in Korea and how were they?

A: I saw "Wicked" and "Great Comet." I am amazed and so excited by how much the city embraces musical theater. I was blown away by the talent in both shows.
Unfortunately, in New York, we haven't had anything since March of 2020. So it was more viscerally emotional than I thought to walk into a theater full of people and sit and watch a show, because for most of my life, I have been in a theater every day.

Q: Did you experience any emotional shift in valuing art during this pandemic?

A: I grew up with the theater. The only thing I've ever wanted to do with my life was to do theater, ever since I was a kid. I went to theater summer camp. I studied theater in high school. I have been a professional theater maker since I graduated college. It's all I've known and all I've done. It was a huge awakening to have that sort of quickly taken away in March of 2020. It did make me think about and recommit to not only why I do it, but also why I love it, what fuels me and what charges me. There were days when I really, really missed it. It certainly does fill you with a new sense of gratitude to be back. After our first couple days of rehearsal, I was like, "So right, this is what my life is." It's been so refreshing and it makes me so hopeful to be here doing it again.

Q: Do you have any comments to theatregoers in Seoul?

A: "Beetlejuice," specifically, is a show where we want the audience to have a wonderful time. We are encouraging people to laugh and clap and come together to experience a really beautiful story. We cannot wait to unleash the show. I hope that everyone has a great time when they come and see it ― as much fun as we have making it.

Production staff of the musical "Beetlejuice" pose during an online press conference Monday. From left are choreographer Connor Gallagher, music supervisor Kris Kukul and restaging director Matt DiCarlo. Courtesy of CJENM