Musical ‘Beetlejuice’ opening postponed to late June

The opening of the licensed Korean-language musical “Beetlejuice” -- a production based on Tim Burton’s iconic film -- will be postponed to June 29 for technical improvements, according to CJ ENM, the co-producer of the show.

Describing the musical as a tech-heavy show, an official from the entertainment company told The Korea Herald, “We have decided to move back the opening date after concluding that we need more time to thoroughly prepare the technical elements for a perfect show.”

The Korean version of the Broadway musical “Beetlejuice” was originally scheduled to open Friday at the Sejong Center in central Seoul. The show is co-produced by the CJ ENM and the Sejong Center. The tickets are priced from 70,000 won ($63) to 150,000 won.

“Because the opening has been pushed back, all performances scheduled from Friday to June 27 have been canceled. We will inform the ticket holders of the ticket cancelation and compensation process,“ CJ ENM said in a statement.

Based on the iconic 1988 Tim Burton film of the same title, the musical made its Broadway premiere in 2019, following a pilot run a year earlier. The Korean staging marks the first licensed version of the musical.

The plot revolves around Beetlejuice, who has been living in the Netherworld for 9.8 billion years by himself. Wishing to befriend Adam and Barbara who recently died in an accident, he tries to scare away unwelcome new inhabitants at their house.

Big name stage actors Jung Sung-hwa and Yu Jun-sang will take on the role of Beetlejuice in the Korean musical.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)