“The Whole Being Delayed Thing”: Beetlejuice Korea opening postponed for technical difficulties

Yoo Jun-sang (left) and Jung Sung-hwa (right) as Beetlejuice (Photo credit: CJ ENM)

The musical adaptation of Tim Burton’s film Beetlejuice, which premiered on Broadway in 2019, has postponed its hotly anticipated opening in Seoul, South Korea, delaying from June 18th to the 29th.

Tony and Olivier Award-winning producing company CJ ENM (Broadway’s Moulin Rouge, Kinky Boots, Big Fish) announced in a notice on the 15th, "The opening date of the musical 'Beetlejuice, which will be performed as the world's first replica-licensed performance since its Broadway premiere in 2019, has inevitably been postponed. 'Beetlejuice’ is a work that needs to be completed by meticulously combining various technical elements in order to embody the ever-changing development of the play on the stage, crossing the boundaries between reality and fantasy. We made the difficult decision to postpone the opening because we decided that we needed more time to show a stable and perfect stage.”

CJ ENM continued, "We sincerely apologize to all the audiences who waited to see us on stage as soon as possible. It's difficult work, but we’ll do our best to prepare for the performance from the beginning to the end so that every actor and staff member’s hard work from the beginning to now will not be in vain."

As a result, the performances scheduled for the 18th through 27th at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will be cancelled.

Beetlejuice is famous for its extravagant spectacles and special effects, with a pre-production cost of 25 billion won (approx. $22.3 million USD). To replicate the show, all necessary props, sets, and staff were brought over to Seoul from the Broadway production including restaging director Matt DiCarlo, music supervisor Kris Kukul, and choreographer Connor Gallagher.

Written by composer Eddie Perfect and book writers Scott Brown and Anthony King, Beetlejuice opened April 25, 2019, at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre. The production earned eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and nods for Perfect, Brown and King, and director Alex Timbers.

The Korean production stars A-list actors Jung Sung-hwa and Yoo Jun-sang as Beetlejuice, alongside rising actresses Jang Min-Je and Hong Na-hyun as Lydia.

(The cast and production staff of the musical "Beetlejuice" pose during a press conference. Photo Credit: CJ ENM)

“Beetlejuice”
“Beetlejuice” is produced by CJ ENM running at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts June 29 to August 7, 2021. The Korean premiere cast includes Yoo Jun-sang, Jung Sung-hwa, Hong Na-hyun, Jang Min-je, Kim Ji-woo, Yuria, Lee Yul, Lee Chang-yong, Kim Yong-su, Shin Young-sook, Jeon Su-mi, Jong-Hoon Oh, Ye-Won Jang, Jae-Hyun Jeon, Ja-Young Lee, Min-Young Yoo, Jun-Oh Kim, Hong-Hak Oh, Kyung-Soo Seo, Seung-Ri Baek, Jin-Soo Jang, Myeong-Ju Kim, Chae-Rim Shin, Jae-Hee Lee, Han-Joo Lee, Jong-hyuk Lee, Myung-sook Bae, Ki-yeon Kang, Shin-hyung Park.

Original Broadway creative team includes Lyricist/Composer: Eddie Perfect; Script: Scott Brown , Anthony King; Director: Alex Timbers.

Korea production team includes Collaborative Music Director: Kris Kukul / Korean Music Director: Won Mi-sol / Collaborative Choreography Director: Connor Gallagher / Korea Choreography Director : Lee Hyun-jung / Restaging Director: Matt DiCarlo / Korean Director: Shim Seol-in / Korean Script: Kim Soo-bin / Technical Director: Jeong Sang-guk / Stage Director: Bae Ji-yeon / Production Director: Lee Jong-hoon / Stage Supervisor: Lee Eom-ji / Lighting Supervisor: Park Min-soo / Sound Supervisor: Kim Ki-young / Video Supervisor: Park Jun / Costume Supervisor: Jo Moon-soo / Props Supervisor: Choi Hye-jin / Makeup Supervisor: Kim Yoo-sun.

Tickets and more information can be found here.