At Times Like These--
--we have only each other.
This past weekend was a blur but my exhaustion is worth it.
I splurged and saw the matinee on Sunday and well as the final show.
First, Andrew Kober as Beetlejuice for the matinee. He is AMAZING. It felt like watching the show for the first time again. People have their favorites and fans like us can appreciate the differences all the understudies put into the role, but Kober is the second best Beej. Full stop. He has a fantastic mix of desperation and manic energy, with an underlying menace that, ngl, Alex sort of lost as the show went on.
During the matinee there was audience participation I haven't heard ever happening:
Kober says his line, "All I want is for someone, anyone to look my way and say “Hey."
Couple of audience members say loudly, "Hey!"
Kober continues, "I see you."
More audience, "I see you!"
Kober, "I accept you."
More audience, "I accept you!"
Kober, "And I fear for my safety around you.”
All of the audience, "And I fear for my safety around you!"
Kober, pauses. Then, "Nope. Didn't work."
We, the entire audience, lost.our.minds.
Now. The closing show ...
Fucking hell. I mean that in the best possible way.
Standing ovations from the beginning. For every actor.
It took so long for Alex to even drop the newspaper. He tapped his foot. He leaned back (allllll the way back) to lean on the coffin. He got on the floor. Then, and only then, did he drop the paper to renewed enthusiastic applause.
Every actor played along with their rightfully deserved ovation and applause during their entrances. It was so heartwarming.
I know everyone has seen all the "what happened during the last performance" posts that people are doing, but NO ONE has mentioned these things:
1) at the end of the TBS reprise, Alex ran up the stairs with a clone and started aggressively making out with them as the set changed
2) when Adam stops him from murdering Charles and goes into his "you have groped me, etc" speech, Alex made these increasingly feral, increasingly loud snarling noises like he was getting ready to scrap (. . . or screw)
3) during the Adam and Beej kiss, it went hard. Alex groped David's ass and pretended to dip a finger between his ass cheeks/shove a finger in him, then smelled his finger when David was pulled away. Then he stalked after David for more before Kerry grabbed him.
(I know I am looking at all that though the lens of a smut writer, but hoooo boy.)
Alex Timbers' speech was nice, but not allowing anyone else to say anything?! Fuck whoever made that decision. Alex was actively walking forward for the mic when the curtain stared coming down. He and Elizabeth looked surprised, so they weren’t told about it, obviously, which is unfortunate and understandably upsetting. Here is someone who had been active with the show since 2017 helping to make it what it became plus a new star that embraced (and was embraced by) the fandom, to the point she cracked during the very last word of the show, and they were denied? I'd heard from reliable sources that other cast members had some things prepared as well, and they didn't get the chance to say anything either. It was just abrupt and crushed the energy that had been wild up till then.
This show has meant so much to so many people, including myself. Alex Timbers told us what we already knew: Over a million people saw Beetlejuice on Broadway. That the audience for Beetlejuice was statistically younger than the average for Broadway shows. That Beetlejuice was the first Broadway show for a huge number of audience members. That the fact that fans were so engaged and active that we helped bring it back from the dead. We said his name three times, and Beetlejuice returned for a real send off, one the show deserved, to 1600 adoring Netherlings.
