Beetlejuice in Prague: From Tim Burton’s Film to the Stage

I have loved Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice for years.

I still remember the wonderfully strange combination of dark humour, gothic visuals, eccentric characters and Danny Elfman’s unforgettable music. So when I found out that Beetlejuice had made its way to the stage at Prague’s Hudební divadlo Karlín, I immediately wanted to see it.

This time, I took my daughter with me.

Watching her discover this bizarre, funny and completely unpredictable world made the evening even more special.

From Tim Burton’s Film to the Stage

I first fell in love with Beetlejuice through Tim Burton’s 1988 film, starring Michael Keaton as the chaotic Betelgeuse, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as Adam and Barbara Maitland.

The story begins with Adam and Barbara, a recently deceased couple who find themselves trapped in their own home. When the eccentric Deetz family moves in, they try to scare them away.

Their efforts eventually bring them into contact with Betelgeuse, a ghost who promises to help.

And anyone familiar with the story knows that asking Beetlejuice for help comes with its own risks.

I have always loved how the film manages to feel creepy without ever becoming genuinely frightening. Burton created a world that is strange, funny and visually spectacular, but also surprisingly emotional.

Danny Elfman’s score was a huge part of that experience for me.

His music became closely associated with Tim Burton’s films, and Beetlejuice is one of the clearest examples of how strongly a score can define the identity of a movie.

A Completely New Musical World

That is why I became even more curious when I discovered that the stage musical does not simply use Danny Elfman’s film score.

Instead, the musical has an entirely new score by Australian composer and performer Eddie Perfect, with a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King.

Perfect created music specifically for the stage, drawing on rock, pop, ska, reggae, dancehall and other influences.

I went into the theatre already knowing the atmosphere of the film and expecting the musical world I associate with Danny Elfman.

What I found instead was a completely different interpretation of Beetlejuice.

The songs are written for the stage. They develop the characters, drive the story forward and give the musical its own identity rather than simply trying to reproduce the film.

The musical first premiered in Washington, D.C., in 2018 before opening on Broadway in 2019, with Alex Brightman as Beetlejuice and Sophia Anne Caruso as Lydia.

And in May 2026, Beetlejuice also arrived in London’s West End at the Prince Edward Theatre.

I love the fact that the story can now be experienced in both Prague and London. London has always played such an important role in my own relationship with musical theatre, so seeing Beetlejuice become part of both theatrical worlds feels particularly interesting to me.

Lydia’s Story

What surprised me most about the musical was how strongly it focuses on Lydia.

In the film, I always thought of Lydia as the wonderfully strange teenage girl at the centre of the story.

On stage, her grief after losing her mother becomes much more important.

That gives the character a completely different emotional dimension.

I could understand much more clearly how Lydia is trying to deal with changes in her family while feeling isolated, angry and misunderstood.

Beetlejuice enters her life at exactly that vulnerable moment.

Their relationship becomes one of the emotional centres of the musical, and that makes the story feel very different from the film I already knew so well.

Beetlejuice in Prague

I was particularly curious to see what Hudební divadlo Karlín would do with this world.

I saw the production on 1 October 2026, with Jan Sklenář as Beetlejuice and Ines Ben Ahmed as Lydia.

Eva Burešová played Barbara, Roman Tomeš appeared as Adam, Jakub Kohák as Charles and Iva Pazderková as Delia.

Jan Sklenář’s Beetlejuice immediately has the kind of energy the character needs.

Beetlejuice cannot simply enter a scene.

He has to take over the room.

There is something deliberately excessive about him – unpredictable, loud, funny and constantly demanding the audience’s attention. Sklenář embraces that theatricality, and I could feel the energy of the character immediately.

I was equally interested in Ines Ben Ahmed’s Lydia.

The musical asks much more emotionally of Lydia than I remembered from the film, and I thought the contrast between her and Beetlejuice worked particularly well.

One is dealing with grief and trying to make sense of a world that no longer feels right.

The other is Beetlejuice.

That combination gives the musical both its comedy and much of its emotional heart.

Hearing Beetlejuice in Czech

Another part of the experience I particularly enjoyed was hearing the musical in Czech.

The Czech translation and lyrics are by Ondřej Gregor Brzobohatý.

Because I already knew the original story and many of the songs, hearing the characters, jokes and lyrics adapted for a Czech audience gave me a completely different perspective on the production.

Comedy is one of the most difficult things to transfer between languages.

It is not enough simply to translate the words. The rhythm, timing and personality of the characters still have to work.

That made the Czech version especially interesting for me.

It was not simply the same Beetlejuice in another language.

It felt like a production speaking directly to its own audience.

Hudební divadlo Karlín

Hudební divadlo Karlín is one of my favourite theatre buildings in the world, so seeing Beetlejuice there felt particularly special.

The building dates back to 1881 and has a remarkable history connected with theatre, circus, variety entertainment, cabaret and operetta.

After the devastating Prague floods of 2002, it underwent a major reconstruction.

Today, its auditorium has 921 seats.

For me, that history adds something special to the experience.

I was sitting in a building that has entertained Prague audiences for more than 140 years, watching a modern American musical about ghosts, grief, teenagers, the afterlife and one completely uncontrollable character called Beetlejuice.

The contrast somehow works.

And visually, Karlín is an extraordinary place in which to experience a show like this.

The historic architecture of the auditorium meets the deliberately strange, colourful and chaotic world of Beetlejuice.

Seeing It Through My Daughter’s Eyes

But the most memorable part of the evening for me was watching my daughter.

She was completely absorbed by the production.

She laughed at the jokes, reacted to the theatrical surprises and watched the characters with the kind of excitement that reminds me why I love taking her to musicals.

At one point, she told me:

“This is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

I think that says quite a lot.

For me, Beetlejuice came with nostalgia.

I was returning to a story and a film that I have loved for years, while discovering a very different version of it.

For my daughter, none of that history mattered.

It was simply a completely new theatrical world.

That is one of the things I love most about going to musicals with her.

We can sit next to each other, watch exactly the same performance and experience two completely different stories.

My Beetlejuice Evening

Tim Burton’s original Beetlejuice will always have a special place in my heart.

Danny Elfman’s music is inseparable from my memories of the film, and the movie remains one of my favourites.

But I really enjoyed discovering Eddie Perfect’s completely different musical interpretation and seeing how the story has been expanded for the stage.

And most importantly, I loved watching my daughter enjoy it.

She left the theatre happy, entertained and clearly ready for more.

I am probably more naturally drawn to classic musicals – shows such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sunset Boulevard, Jekyll & Hyde and Chicago are much closer to my usual taste.

Beetlejuice is very different.

It is louder, stranger, more chaotic and unmistakably modern.

And perhaps that is exactly why I found the experience so interesting.

It did not replace the film I already love.

It gave me another version of Beetlejuice to enjoy.

And in the beautiful surroundings of Hudební divadlo Karlín, with my daughter sitting beside me and loving every minute of it, that was more than enough.

I would happily recommend seeing it.