Ghosts, demons and moody teenagers are set to haunt the stage this season with San Benito Stage Company’s production of “Beetlejuice Jr.,” opening Oct. 24. This dark dramedy runs for three weekends in Hollister with eight performances, including two shows during Halloween weekend.
“It’s a show about death—be warned, but it really is just kind of discussing how family can come together and how families can be different,” said Avery Crivello, 15, a Gilroy Early College Academy sophomore who plays the role of “Barbara Maitland,” a recently deceased ghost.
The musical follows Lydia Deetz, a 15-year-old struggling with the recent death of her mother while her father avoids confronting his grief. In his attempt to move forward, he quickly remarries without consulting his daughter, leaving Lydia feeling forgotten and abandoned.
“He doesn’t want any form of closure,” said Tiana Torrencillas, 17, a Hollister High senior who portrays Lydia. “He doesn’t want to think about it, doesn’t want to talk about it, anything. So she tries so hard to just get her dad to notice her that she tries bringing her mom back from the dead.”
Meanwhile, newlyweds Adam and Barbara suffer an untimely end in their home, becoming “newlydeads,” as they are called by the musical’s eponymous villain and anti-hero Beetlejuice, a ghostly demon who aims to take advantage of the forever-young couple’s spectral state by manipulating them to aid his scheme to return to the living world.
“He’s very exploitative. He’s always trying to get something for himself out of everything,” said Brody Thiessen, one of two actors portraying Beetlejuice in the split cast. “Very selfish interactions with pretty much everybody, even if it seems good at first.”
The story evolves beyond its macabre setup into something more touching. After the Deetz family move into the Maitland couple’s recently vacated home, Lydia bonds with the spirits of Adam and Barbara, finding the parental figures she’s been missing.
“Us finding Lydia really is kind of like finding the kid that we wanted,” Crivello said. “It’s really cute.”
The junior version condenses the original Broadway production’s 2.5-hour runtime into a brisk 90 minutes, making it more accessible for younger audiences and easier for theatre companies to stage.
“We also cut down on some of the more vulgar and crude humor,” said Anthony Barrientos, 18, a Gavilan College freshman who portrays Lydia’s father, Charles Deetz. “They made it more family-friendly.”
Despite dealing with dark subject matter, the show is “definitely for all ages,” Torrencillas said. “The way it’s approached is very entertaining.”
Despite the cuts, cast members say the show maintains its emotional depth while becoming more comedic.
“The junior version does cut out a lot of those long dramatic scenes, which aren’t necessary but helpful if you want every little detail,” Torrencillas said. “The plot itself is very dramatic, but the way it’s really approached just makes it hilarious to watch.”
The show is rated appropriate for all ages, with mature themes handled through humor.
“I think for a younger kid, if there are any jokes, they’ll just go over their head, but it’s very comedic,” Torrencillas said. “It’s one of those things where you have to rewatch it when you’re older to get every single context.”
Matthew Young, 18, a Gavilan College freshman playing Beetlejuice, praised the show’s eclectic score.
“Almost every single song is a different genre. It goes from rock, and there’s also some very cheery, happy songs, and then there’s some very sad songs,” Young said. “This show, and especially the music in it, is like no other show I’ve done before.”
The contemporary nature of the musical, for which rights have only recently been released, offers cast members a break from the predictable patterns of traditional musical theater.
“There’s more opportunity for improvisation and interpreting lines differently,” Thiessen said. “I’m allowed to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience and stuff, which is quite unusual for a show.”
Torrencillas highlighted the production team’s dedication.
“The producers are so on it,” she said. “The costumer has been working for so long, hand-sewing and altering everything. Our choreographer Bailey—I’ve never seen choreography like this. Everything is just so unique to this show specifically.”
The production’s Halloween weekend performances add extra atmosphere to the spooky material.
“Since we’re doing it in the fall, it’s spooky season,” Barrientos said. “There’s not a lot to do in Hollister, so we give you a perfect opportunity just to live in another world for around an hour and a half.”
Young emphasized the show’s visual appeal, noting its “Tim Burton-coded” aesthetic, referencing the director of the original 1988 film.
“This is one [show] I feel is great for any newcomer to watch, even if you’ve never seen a stage show before, just because there are so many aspects,” he said. “It’s deep, it’s funny, there’s even kind of a love story—there’s a little bit of everything in there.”
Eight performances of “Beetlejuice Jr.” are scheduled on the weekends Oct. 24-Nov. 8 at the San Benito Stage Company theater, 549 San Benito Street in Hollister. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/2zxhwrnx.
