Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! (At National Theatre)

Say it once, say it twice… you know the rest.

Beetlejuice has materialized at the National Theatre, bringing a boisterous blend of Broadway spectacle, supernatural silliness, and (surprisingly) sincere storytelling back to DC. Based on Tim Burton’s beloved cult classic, and newly energized by the blockbuster sequel, the musical is every bit as weird, witty, and wildly entertaining as fans could hope.

It’s a ghost story. But it’s also a story about grief, growing up, and finding family in the unlikeliest places.

Lydia Deetz (Leianna Weaver), a “strange and unusual” teenager navigating the loss of her mother, becomes an unlikely ally for the recently deceased Maitlands (Kaitlin Feely and David Wilson) and an irresistible target for the delightfully demented demon determined to escape the Neitherworld. (Ryan Stajmiger).

Thankfully, sentiment never overstays its welcome. Beetlejuice thrives on rapid-fire one-liners, razor-sharp pop culture references, gleeful fourth-wall breaks, and the kind of irreverent humor that keeps audiences laughing from curtain to curtain. It’s clever without taking itself too seriously, delivering comedy that’s as chaotic as its title character.

The production itself is a visual knockout. Elaborate sets, eye-popping projections, inventive illusions, and special effects transform the National’s stage into a haunted house on steroids. Sandworms slither, spirits soar, and theatrical trickery abounds. And the energy from the chorus is especially impressive.

For a show about death, Beetlejuice feels remarkably alive.

Beetlejuice plays at the National Theatre through July 19, 2026. Running approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission, the production contains strong language, mature humor, and supernatural shenanigans that make it best suited for teens and adults.