The Broadway musical version of Beetlejuice has debuted to mixed reviews at the weekend.
Australian actor, musician and comedian Eddie Perfect is at the helm of the music and lyrics for the adaptation of Tim Burton's seminal 1988 comedy-horror-fantasy, which follows on from his Broadway composing debut with King Kong last year.
While Beetlejuice has received more favourable reviews overall than Perfect's previous work, they are still mixed.
The New York Post has slammed Perfect saying, "If we say his name three times, will he go away? I’m not talking about the title character of Beetlejuice, which opened Thursday night, but Eddie Perfect. Fresh off his heinous music for King Kong, the Australian composer’s dismal soft-rock score fuels one of the worst Broadway musicals in years," while The Guardian calls the musical's songs "forgettable".
The reviews aren't all bad though, with The New York Times calling song Being Dead "one of the best meta-theatrical songs since The Book of Mormon" and "the show's high point, by far", while Variety reports that, "The plotting eventually goes completely off the rails, but keeping things entertaining enough are the off-the-wall humor, endless visuals and aural delights, tuneful music and wicked lyrics of Perfect, who redeems himself here after his boilerplate score for King Kong."
Comedian Sarah Silverman has taken to Twitter to praise the musical saying that it is "SO fun - so dense with hard jokes - secretly heartwarming - the actors amazing - every element was dope."
Beetlejuice is now playing at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, head here for more info, and watch a snippet of the musical below.
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