Meet the stars of ‘Beetlejuice The Musical’, which opens in Singapore next year
It’s showtime, Singapore — Broadway spectacle ‘Beetlejuice The Musical’ will be haunting the Esplanade Theatre stage in January 2026, marking its local debut after a hugely successful run in Australia.
Inspired by Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic, the show brings back everyone’s favourite chaotic titular demon, who shares the spotlight with Lydia Deetz, a gothic teen with a fascination for all things morbid and the ability to see ghosts.
Apparently, Japanese-Australian performer Karis Oka, who plays Lydia, may have had her own brush with the supernatural as well.
“I was at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, which people say is haunted,” Oka recalled in an interview with MS News during an exclusive media preview of the musical on 28 Oct. “I remember going into a stairwell and saying: ‘If you’re a ghost, make a noise.’”
I was just being silly, but then I heard TUNG TUNG TUNG TUNG on the pipes! It was instant!
“You are Lydia!” quipped her co-star, American singer-actor Andy Karl, who steps into Beetlejuice’s ghoulish makeup and pinstriped suit.
Startled, Oka shut the door immediately. “I thought, okay, maybe I shouldn’t mess around with that,” she added. “But maybe it really helped me get into character.”
Same ghost, new tricks: how the musical reimagines the 1988 classic
Australian theatre ghosts aside, ‘Beetlejuice The Musical’ has plenty of its own spirits to contend with.
The stage adaptation breathes new life — or should we say death — into the beloved film, keeping its wild, offbeat energy alive while giving the story a fresh, musical twist.
Instead of centring on a recently deceased couple trying (and failing) to haunt the new owners of their home, it focuses on Lydia, who turns to Beetlejuice for help escaping her overbearing parents.
What follows is a whirlwind of exorcisms, slithering sandworms, a haunted home, and, of course, a killer lineup of toe-tapping tunes.
In fact, Oka’s spine-tingling performance of ‘Dead Mom’ has already gone viral online, sending chills (and applause) through audiences worldwide.
“I didn’t expect that kind of response at all,” she admitted. “When it first came out, I actually didn’t want to watch it — it’s so hard seeing yourself on camera, and I was a bit self-conscious for a while.”
“But now it feels like the most special thing ever, like I’ve got this little part in something so big.”
At the media preview, we got a little taste of that power in person.
Even without Lydia’s signature choppy fringe and dark-rimmed eyes, Oka’s live performance was just as moving, raw, and emotional. It’s safe to say that when the full production lands in Singapore, audiences are in for an absolute treat.
Andy Karl channels a bit of everyone for Beetlejuice, from Jim Carrey to Ryan Reynolds
And she won’t be alone. Conjuring up his own brand of chaotic charm is Karl, a three-time Tony Award nominee known for ‘Groundhog Day’, ‘Rocky’, and ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’, who brings the loud, mischievous spirit of Beetlejuice to life.
“I love him because he’s so different,” Karl said when asked how playing Beetlejuice compares to his past roles. “He’s irreverent, full of energy, and completely focused on himself and what he wants. It’s a hugely selfish role — but a wild ride for me.”
Image courtesy of the Michael Cassel Group
Addressing early Reddit comments calling his casting a surprise, he said: “No one expected Michael Keaton to be Beetlejuice either. I love when people don’t expect it. Come and see it and be your own judge.”
As for what he’ll bring to the role, Karl said he plans to make Beetlejuice his own… by borrowing a little from everyone.
“I’m gonna put on record: I’m shamelessly stealing from everybody else’s performance,” he admitted with a grin. “You’ll see a little Jim Carrey, a little Ryan Reynolds, a little Jason Bateman — all sorts of things I’ll draw on to eventually find what makes this role click.”
Working with a new Beetlejuice
While this marks Karl’s first time taking on the role of the “ghost with the most”, Oka previously played Lydia during the musical’s Melbourne run, where she starred opposite Australian actor and composer Eddie Perfect, who also wrote the show’s music and lyrics.
Working with a new Beetlejuice, she said, has been both a challenge and a creative reset.
Image courtesy of the Michael Cassel Group
“I’m still in the process of adjusting,” Oka said. “It’s so important to work with other actors playing the same character because you realise which choices you’re making based on them versus what’s in the script. It really helps you refresh things so you don’t get too repetitive.”
Karl, meanwhile, remembered first seeing Oka perform before he even joined the cast.
“My fiancée Elise [McCann] plays Barbara, so I came to watch a rehearsal at the Sydney Opera House,” he said. “I was just blown away by everybody, especially Karis. I was like, oh my god, she’s amazing, she sounds so good.”
The scariest thing that can happen on stage
With talent clearly not an issue for this duo, we asked what does faze them — in a show filled with ghosts and ghoulish antics, what’s the scariest thing that could happen on stage?
“Breaking something,” Oka said immediately. “Because then I’d start thinking, oh god, this is a mess, is it dangerous? Are we about to stop the show because of this? It just throws you off, and I’d feel so bad knowing it probably costs a lot to fix.”
Karl, on the other hand, embraces the mayhem, much like Beetlejuice himself probably would.
Image courtesy of the Michael Cassel Group
“I’ve learned that imperfections are perfect for theatre,” he said. “Audiences love when something goes a little awry. They cheer even louder when the show comes back on!”
He recalled a recent production where another actor suddenly lost her voice mid-song. “They stopped the show, switched her out with the understudy, and when I came on for my next line, I said, ‘You’ve changed!’” he said with a grin. “It felt so good.”
Laughing, he added: “That’s the thing about live theatre. I don’t want to say bring on the mistakes, but I do love them. You learn to laugh through it. That’s what makes it magic.”
Tickets for ‘Beetlejuice The Musical’ in Singapore now available
With its larger-than-life set pieces, dazzling lights, and drop-dead catchy songs, ‘Beetlejuice The Musical’ promises to turn the Esplanade Theatre into a full-blown afterlife carnival.
Tickets, priced from S$72 to S$244, are now available via Ticketek and Sistic, so don’t wait till it’s too late — grab your seats before the Netherworld fills up.
And, as a special Halloween treat, fans can enjoy 25% off Premium Plus, Premium, A Reserve, and B Reserve tickets for performances on 15 Jan and 16 Jan. The discounted prices will be reflected automatically when booking via this offer link.
For more information and updates, visit the official website and follow Beetlejuice The Musical APAC on Instagram or TikTok.
This post was brought to you in collaboration with the Michael Cassel Group.
Featured image by MS News (photography by Cassia Leong) and courtesy of the Michael Cassel Group.
