Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Jack Steiger & Lauren Singer of Stagecrafters' 'Beetlejuice Jr.'

Transcript

Exclusive Interview: Jack Steiger & Lauren Singer of Stagecrafters' 'Beetlejuice Jr.' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Thank you so much, Lauren and Jack, for joining me today.
• 0:02
  How you two doing?
• 0:02
  Pretty good, yeah.
• 0:04
  You're currently in Tech Week for Beetlejuice Jr.
• 0:06
  at Stagecrafters.
• 0:07
  How is it going so far?
• 0:08
  I'd like to say it's pretty good.
• 0:11
  We had our run last night.
• 0:13
  I think it might've been our best one.
• 0:15
  We are eating up our songs.
• 0:17
  uh I'm pretty proud of it.
• 0:20
  I think it's going good and everything's running smoothly.
• 0:26
  I'm glad to hear that.
• 0:24
  mean, so you're about to, your opening night is just in a few nights.
• 0:28
  This is kind of what your last day of tech before, before Showtime.
• 0:32
  Yeah.
• 0:34
  Well, I mean, how nervous are you guys right now?
• 0:37
  Are you nervous?
• 0:38
  Are you excited?
• 0:38
  Like, are you a little bit of both?
• 0:40
  I'm really excited.
• 0:41
  Usually I'm like really nervous, but I'm excited for this show.
• 0:44
  um Cause I feel like really prepared.
• 0:47
  Yeah.
• 0:47
  I, this is the most prepared I've felt in a really long time for a show.
• 0:52
  So yeah, I'm like a little nervous, but I'm very excited.
• 0:56
  I think this is a show that like, I'm excited for people to see.
• 0:59
  I think this is going to really, this is going to be a big one.
• 1:02
  I mean, this is such an exciting show and not only is it returning to Broadway, it's touring in Detroit real soon.
• 1:08
  This is a hot show for everybody.
• 1:10
  Everybody kind of loves Beetlejuice.
• 1:11
  So we are super excited to see Stagecrafter's production of this.
• 1:15
  uh Lauren, you're playing Barbara.
• 1:19
  I mean, and Jack, you're playing Adam.
• 1:21
  So these are like two also very iconic roles.
• 1:26
  Um, but for you, Lauren, I want start with you.
• 1:28
  Who is kind of Barbara?
• 1:29
  What's kind of her story within Beetlejuice for you?
• 1:32
  um Barbara is a very quirky, upbeat character and she has big dreams and ambitions and she's kind of like the doer and pushes Adam to do what she wants and she's very caring and
• 1:49
  she's just a very funny and bubbly character to play.
• 1:52
  And Jack, who's Adam to you?
• 1:55
  Adam is the most loving, caring husband that you will ever meet.
• 2:00
  He wants nothing but to make sure that Barbara is happy and that he pleases everyone.
• 2:05
  I think he's definitely a people pleaser.
• 2:07
  um And he also just likes to work on his little hobbies and have his own stuff, even if other people might think it's cringy or weird.
• 2:16
  It's his and that makes him happy.
• 2:18
  And if he's happy, then his world is complete.
• 2:21
  And hope this isn't too much of a spoiler, but for people who are familiar with the show, you're both ghosts too, correct?
• 2:28
  Yeah.
• 2:29
  What's it like to kind of play like a ghostly character?
• 2:33
  It's not like we're like scary ghosts.
• 2:35
  kind of like we stay, we have the same personality, we look the same.
• 2:39
  It's more just like, like our mindset changes, but I think it's fun.
• 2:44
  It is really fun.
• 2:47
  um And kind of back like backing on that.
• 2:51
  It's weird because yeah, again, you see ghosts being kind of scary most the time and we're very still very caring and we.
• 3:00
  No, we kind of give on this parental role for Lydia and uh almost view her as the child we never got to have.
• 3:09
  And I think that's really sweet.
• 3:11
  I was gonna say that Barbara and Adam are kind of like, while Lydia has a lot of heart, she kind of has a journey where she kind of learns about what like, love is and stuff like
• 3:19
  that, like Barbara and Adam are kind of the emotional, like carrying the emotions of like, is, we're kind of helping Lydia through her journey.
• 3:28
  And so it's kind of cool to be ghost parents, I guess, for somebody who's kind of missing her mom.
• 3:33
  Yeah.
• 3:34
  So how familiar were you two with either Beetlejuice the show or Beetlejuice the musical prior to being cast in it?
• 3:40
  I can start this one off.
• 3:42
  Beetlejuice is my favorite musical.
• 3:44
  I have always loved it.
• 3:46
  am like Beetlejuice the musical fanatic.
• 3:48
  I've seen the movie and I've seen the sequel, but I love the musical.
• 3:53
  It's like my favorite thing.
• 3:55
  think the musical, the music is brilliant.
• 3:57
  Eddie Perfect is brilliant.
• 3:58
  uh think the writing and the comedy is just, it's beautiful.
• 4:02
  I love it.
• 4:03
  So I've always been very familiar.
• 4:04
  Um, I saw- Yes!
• 4:08
  Sorry.
• 4:12
  It's okay.
• 4:12
  Lauren, go ahead.
• 4:13
  used the last time it was in Detroit and I've like sang songs from it before in performances and I'm very like familiar with it as well.
• 4:23
  But I don't think I love it as much as Jack.
• 4:25
  He really, really loves the Show a lot
• 4:29
  I mean, it's good though to be able to balance each other out and like one super loves it and one enjoys it and appreciates it, but you have a little more balance with that.
• 4:38
  Yeah.
• 4:39
  Yeah.
• 4:40
  So Lauren, I'm gonna start with you.
• 4:42
  know, a lot of the story does kind of stay the same to Beetlejuice, the movie, but what do you feel like the narrative of this musical kind of sets itself apart from the film?
• 4:51
  I think this, I think the musical goes deeper into the characters than the movie.
• 4:56
  I feel like you get to see more of their emotional side and what they're really feeling, because I don't think the movie really shows it as much as the musical.
• 5:05
  Jack how about for you.
• 5:06
  How do you think it itself apart?
• 5:07
  Oh, I totally agree.
• 5:09
  uh I love how the specifically the musical goes deeper into focusing on Lydia um and focusing on Adam and Barbara specifically.
• 5:19
  It gives them this depth and um explores who they are more than just like a surface level joke or bit or just like a character or like Charles, for instance.
• 5:35
  in the movie doesn't change very much, but through the musical you'll see him progress and become a new person and by the end he's unrecognizable.
• 5:45
  He's completely changed his mindset.
• 5:47
  And Delia is much more likeable.
• 5:49
  Dilly is so much more, yes.
• 5:51
  Agreed.
• 5:51
  There's definitely a lot more.
• 5:53
  I think that like you're right, Lauren, like when you can dig into these characters a little bit more, you do get to appreciate who they are instead of just having, like Jack
• 6:02
  said, like very surface level characters.
• 6:03
  Like Barbara and Adam, while they are kind of important, they're really important to the story, but they are kind of sidelined in the movie for Lydia and Beetlejuice.
• 6:12
  And here you kind of get to experience who they are a little bit more.
• 6:15
  Jack, how do you feel like this production has challenged you as an actor?
• 6:19
  oh so I don't usually get to play like realistic characters.
• 6:25
  I know it's not like the most realistic, but there's still like people and they have their own dreams and ambitions.
• 6:32
  I've only gotten to do that like one or two times before I'm usually an animated, big, crazy character.
• 6:39
  So it's hard to get into the mindset of someone who isn't like that.
• 6:46
  I don't know what it's like to be married.
• 6:48
  I don't know what it's like to, you know, do any of this.
• 6:52
  I'm not Adam.
• 6:53
  um And it's interesting to have to kind of take a second to become this person and um not be over the top while they are, you know, they are big and still characters.
• 7:14
  they're also very real and they could be real people.
• 7:17
  um And that's, it's different.
• 7:22
  So it's just harder to maintain a sense of reality.
• 7:26
  was going to say that they're definitely like Barbara and Adam are some of the most grounded characters in the entire show, which is, you know, it's funny when you think
• 7:35
  about like them being ghosts, like, but they truly are.
• 7:38
  They're kind of the most human and down to earth people on the stage.
• 7:45
  I love that about that.
• 7:48
  Laura, how do feel like this show's challenged you?
• 7:51
  I think the like acting side of this show has really challenged me because I have to be like big and goofy and it was definitely like out of my comfort zone.
• 8:02
  But I think it's gotten there and I'm like having really fun with it now.
• 8:07
  So I'm glad that I was like challenged in that way.
• 8:11
  When you say big and goofy, what do mean?
• 8:12
  Like, is that in terms of Barbara?
• 8:14
  like her mannerisms and the way she like talks and just some of her lines like you just have to be like goofy and like not care like you just have to do it and so I feel like
• 8:25
  every time I do it like yeah for sure
• 8:30
  How do you feel like the music enhances the story of Beetlejuice?
• 8:34
  And Jack, seeing that you're kind of the Beetlejuice enthusiast here, I'm going to start with you.
• 8:37
  How do you feel like it enhances that story?
• 8:39
  Okay, well, so again, maybe it's just me, but like, I think there's something about this music specifically that it's, there are ballads and then there are like punk rock and
• 8:50
  there's like all these different kinds of genres and big Broadway numbers and stuff like that.
• 8:56
  It kind of, I don't know, it creates this fantastical Tim Burton fun world that
• 9:06
  I think pulls you in more, mean, from the second the music starts, you get that iconic Beetlejuice theme, but Broadway attires and big with brass and all these things.
• 9:19
  And it kind of just pulls you in and you want more and you crave more of it.
• 9:24
  And hearing the characters sing it is the lyrics and it's very engaging.
• 9:32
  Lauren, do you have anything to add to that you think that what this music does for the story?
• 9:37
  I think the big numbers and having creepy aspects to it pulls you into the story and the setting, but I think that the ballads really make this show because the music and the
• 9:50
  lyrics, I think those are what really makes the show different than the movie especially because you can feel it.
• 10:00
  Yes.
• 10:01
  So I agree with him.
• 10:03
  ah With that being said then, Lauren, is there a favorite number that you either like to perform, like that's your favorite to perform, or just even your favorite to maybe that
• 10:11
  you're watching from the sidelines, you know, when you're off stage?
• 10:14
  My favorite song in the show is dead mom.
• 10:18
  That's kind of basic, but it's just really good.
• 10:21
  And I like how angry and sad Lydia is at the same time.
• 10:26
  I love watching it acted out.
• 10:29
  It's just very powerful.
• 10:32
  that's always been my favorite.
• 10:34
  I mean, that's such an iconic song.
• 10:35
  I was just talking with uh our Beetlejuice and our Lydia and they were saying about like, the songs that you know from this are like, the whole Being Dead thing and Dead Mom, those
• 10:44
  are very well, like those are the songs people know from the show.
• 10:48
  Jack, about for you?
• 10:49
  Do you have a favorite number that you enjoy performing or that you enjoy watching be performed?
• 10:53
  It's hard because home is beautiful um and gut wrenching and it's ah awesome.
• 11:04
  But I have a lot of fun in Say My Name getting possessed and having to be weird.
• 11:11
  But I think out of all of them, Ready, Set, Not Yet is the greatest introduction to Adam and Barbara that could have happened.
• 11:20
  I think it's
• 11:22
  fun because you can see they're they're silly, they're goofy, and they're proud.
• 11:28
  They're just happy to be alive, um which is tragic after they immediately die.
• 11:34
  But it's so fun.
• 11:38
  I mean, I get to like play with an extension cord and use it as a microphone.
• 11:42
  We get to dance together.
• 11:44
  It's awesome.
• 11:45
  It's just fun.
• 11:46
  As I say, that's definitely a moment where you get to see the chemistry between the you two actors, but also for Barbara and Adam.
• 11:52
  Like that is such a that's a great entry point to who they are and getting to see where they're at and how their lives are.
• 12:00
  And so that's a really cool scene, I'm sure, to act together with.
• 12:05
  Speaking of, you you mentioned the Tim Burton feel, Jack, and so.
• 12:10
  Lauren, how do you feel like they're kind of capturing like the energy or like the stage presence?
• 12:14
  I know that like we traditionally have like a sandworm that comes on and we have multiple beetle juices that come onto the stage.
• 12:20
  How do you feel like Stagecrafters production is capturing the essence of Tim Burton's world for the show?
• 12:26
  I think Stagecrafters is capturing it really well compared to other shows I've seen just because of our amazing team, our makeup, it looks so good.
• 12:37
  The costumes are good.
• 12:38
  We have a sand worm and it literally lights up.
• 12:41
  So other than the props and the stuff we have though, I feel like everyone's in it and they just are creepy and they don't care, they're committing to it.
• 12:51
  So I feel like having all of it together, it really brings it to life.
• 12:56
  because it is such an iconic world, know, and Jack, you get to step into this.
• 13:00
  And so, you know, what is it like for you to kind of see this very Tim Burton-esque world come to life?
• 13:06
  I have cried multiple times.
• 13:08
  uh It's so cool.
• 13:13
  It's so cool because we have our set dress and it makes everything feel so real and you're in it and then our set is the most detailed thing I've ever seen come from a community
• 13:30
  theater like this.
• 13:31
  I agree.
• 13:36
  There's funky angles and there's like all these things that are so classic, classic Tim Burton.
• 13:42
  And it's like directly off the movie screen or his little sketches.
• 13:49
  um And it's just like immediately like inspiration from the Broadway musical inspiration from all over uh in Tim Burton's world.
• 14:02
  it's very...
• 14:04
  It's got gravity to it.
• 14:05
  It pulls you in immediately as soon as you see it.
• 14:08
  Because truly his vision is like across all of his stuff is it's so like instantaneously, you know what Tim Burton film is.
• 14:14
  And so to translate onto stage is so cool.
• 14:17
  Lauren, what themes from the show resonate the most with you?
• 14:21
  I think the theme of finding who you are, I think Lydia has to find who she is without her mom and come to terms with her mom's not coming back.
• 14:31
  I think, and same with Charles, he has to realize that he can speak about it and all this.
• 14:38
  I just think the theme of becoming who you are, because of you, you're not who you are because of somebody else.
• 14:48
  I think that's a really...
• 14:50
  like strong theme from the show.
• 14:51
  Jack, uh how about for you?
• 14:56
  the, I mean, the obvious is grief and loss is very near and dear to me.
• 15:03
  Uh, I have struggled with, you know, a few of my favorite people in the world, losing them.
• 15:09
  And this show got me through it.
• 15:11
  Um, so it's really, it's really special to still have that and even more now.
• 15:20
  Um, so that is very strong as well as just.
• 15:24
  letting your wild side out, being weird, being creepy, being whatever you feel you truly are.
• 15:32
  If you're being you, you're happy.
• 15:35
  And I love that.
• 15:36
  That is another one for me.
• 15:38
  Both excellent answers.
• 15:40
  Thank you so much, Lauren and Jack, for your time.
• 15:43
  I appreciate it.
• 15:44
  I know that you're very busy trying to get through this last little bit before the show, so I appreciate you talking with me.
• 15:49
  course!
• 15:49
  Thank you.
• 15:50
  Beetlejuice Jr.
• 15:51
  runs at Sage Crafters from July 25th through August 3rd, so get your tickets now