A cast of 47 young performers will bring “Beetlejuice Jr.” to the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse later this month, bringing the dead back to life onstage just in time for Halloween.
The Morgan Hill-based children’s theater group Theater Fun will stage the musical Oct. 22-25.
Based on the 1988 film, the show follows Lydia Deetz, a grieving teenager with a mysterious ability to see ghosts. Deetz befriends the spirits of a recently deceased couple named Adam and Barbara Maitland after moving into the couple’s former home, then crosses paths with a mischievous and ancient ghost named Beetlejuice, who has a plan of his own.
Director Carol Romo said the choice of script came from the students. After the group’s production of “Shrek” last spring, several asked her to consider “Beetlejuice.”
“I had a bunch of students last spring after Shrek, and I go ‘What should we do next?’ and they all went, ‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!’” Romo said. “Especially because the theater gives us a week in October, and that week happened to be the week before Halloween, so that’s perfect.”
Romo said she had not directed the show before, and the large number of small roles has kept rehearsals busy. She said working with the students has made up for the challenge.
“Working with the kids, pulling out that inner person and seeing them form and grow … it’s been rewarding,” Romo said. “I’m at three other schools right now in the area doing other shows, and I’m tired, but after I leave rehearsals (for Beetlejuice) I’m all happy. It energizes me like crazy.”
Heidi Kruse plays Lydia, whose mother has died as the show opens. Kruse said the role has stretched her as an actor.
“She’s really depressed and grieving and angry and full of a lot of emotion,” Kruse said. “It’s been a little bit of a challenge for me to play into that emotion and portray it well on stage.”
Marshall Roberts plays the title role, a ghost who has been dead for hundreds of years. Roberts said the part gives him room to improvise.
“He’s not really choreographed. He just gets to do what he wants during the songs, which I really like, because it gets me to be creative,” Roberts said.
Coco Cady plays Miss Argentina, the “tragically glamorous” receptionist to the Netherworld. Cady said theater has helped her come out of her shell since she began performing three years ago. She began her acting endeavors in “Willy Wonka,” also directed by Romo.
“I have always been a very, very shy person on the inside, and now look at me, I’m blue and in all these sparkly things,” Cady said. “It’s all because of Ms. Carol.”
The cast members said they hope audiences leave with an emotional ride and a message about making the most of life.
“Even when you feel like nothing can be fixed, you can still try, and it can still be mended,” Kruse said. “It might not be perfect, but it’s better than it was before.”
Romo said the show’s ending, which brings the living and the dead together as a new family, resonated with her.
“Instead of just giving up, you try a little bit harder, or go a little bit further, to maybe connect with an old friend or a new friend or call someone to talk,” she said.
Showtimes are 7pm Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23; 2pm and 7pm Saturday, Oct. 24; and 2pm. Sunday, Oct. 25. Tickets are available through the group’s website at theaterfun.com.
