Joyce Beauchamp
Special to the Tribune
The house was packed on Friday, June 6, as the West Nipissing Dream Catchers youth theatre troupe, featuring the juniors aged 6 to 13, presented the musical “Beetlejuice Junior” in the Northern Secondary School auditorium. Producer Katherine Clarke introduced the production by saying, “This play is about death, but the show is actually full of life.” And she was right.
The storyline is this: Adam and Barbara Maitland (played by Hudson and Jillian) die but do not go directly to the afterlife as would be expected. They are forced to become ghosts and haunt their own home while watching another family, Charles and his daughter, Lydia (played by Colton and Danielle), occupy it. Charles’ wife (Lydia’s mother) recently died as well, and grief-stricken Lydia is preoccupied with death and the netherworld, dressing in black, goth-style. Charles introduces to Lydia the new woman in his life, Delia (played by Lexy), whom he calls his “life coach.” Lydia is wary of Delia. Lydia continues to live on the edge, fascinated with the afterlife, when she becomes acquainted with a spirit known as Beetlejuice (played by Bryce). Beetlejuice is zany and talkative, yet lonely. He invites Lydia to say his name three times – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – to summon him.
As so often happens, everybody eventually works out their differences and “lives happily ever after” with the help of a host of other characters, including Beetlejuice’s mother, Juno (played by Ellie), the receptionist in the afterlife, Miss Argentina (played by Brynn), and the cheerful Girl Scout, Sky (played by Eva). The intrigue is punctuated by several musical numbers, giving the young performers the chance to show off their singing and choreographer skills as well as their acting chops.
At the conclusion of the play, the stage filled with the 19 colourfully-dressed actors for a rousing ovation. They had been practicing since February, with the help of six “team mentors,” who are older kids helping with choreography, stage set-up and a variety of other supporting roles. (The older group of Dream Catchers actors presented the play “Mean Girls” the weekend of May 29, 30, 31.)
The audience was impressed with the music, the lights and the eerie atmosphere on set, but what surprised many was the particularly beautiful voices of Lydia and Delia (Danielle and Lexy). These young ladies not only stole the stage, they are singers in the making. Another pleasant surprise was the brilliant stage presence of Beetlejuice (Bryce), who acted and played his zany and endearing part to a “T,” including a raspy voice and constant zany movements.
At the intermission, The Tribune was able to catch up with Stacey Cuillerier, the make-up artist also responsible for sourcing costumes for the lead roles. Asked about Beetlejuice’s hair, Stacey confided, “It took three hours! First I bleached it, then I dyed it several shades of green. He actually wore that “do” to school, but not back-combed as it is tonight.” Cuillierier does the makeup just before each performance. Sometimes the right look involves a wig and glasses, such as for Beetlejuice’s mother, Juno. As for costumes, she says, “I shop online (…) and sometimes I go to Value Village. I look all over the place until I find just the right thing for the character.” Even the conservative ho-hum costumes, hairstyles and no-makeup looks for the Maitlands were carefully thought out and sourced.
