Spooky! As ‘Beetlejuice’ opens on a Friday the 13th, here are 5 Things to Know
By Donald Munro
If you’re a superstitious sort, opening the national tour of a musical on a Friday the 13th might seem like tempting fate.
But when it’s “Beetlejuice the Musical,” a comic romp about a wise-cracking poltergeist, it actually feels kind of perfect. This is, after all, a show whose plot is driven by saying the name of the title character three times in a row.
The show opens the Broadway in Fresno 2026 season at the Saroyan Theatre and continues on Saturday, Feb. 14, for a matinee and evening performance. Here are Five Things to Know:
Tour kickoff
Folks in Friday’s opening night audience will be seeing the very first performance of the tour. This is the first time a Broadway in Fresno production has kicked off a national tour in at least 10 years.
I spoke with Haley Izurieta, a member of the ensemble, who told me that rehearsals for the company started in New York. She’s been in Fresno for a couple of weeks now for an intense schedule of technical rehearsals and run-throughs in the Saroyan itself.
Izurieta, who grew up in the Palm Springs area, has tickled that the tour is starting in California.
“We get to hit my my hometown, which is nice, and honestly, being in my home state after being away for so long is such a cool and special experience to have,” she said. Izurieta recently completed a long stint performing in “Beetlejuice” on a cruise ship.
A different performance schedule
Broadway in Fresno patrons are used to a familiar performance schedule: Most shows play for a two-night run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while a very well-known show (such as last season’s “SIX”) can play a full week or even two. This season is a bit different. “Beetlejuice” opens on a Friday and plays on a Saturday, both of which are prime slots. The next show in the season, “Clue,” opens on a Friday (March 14-15) and plays two shows on a Sunday. The final two productions, “Hadestown (Apr 7-8) and “Mrs. Doubtfire” (May 26-27) revert to the Tuesday-Wednesday schedule.
An understudy’s life
As an ensemble member, plays a number of smaller roles, including Miss Argentina. She has to be prepared each performance to step into three other roles — including the pivotal role of Barbara, the wife of the yuppie couple that dies early and inadvertently gets pulled into Beetlejuice’s orbit. It can take a lot of concentration to juggle all these roles in one’s head. As an understudy, Izurieta spent her rehearsal time in Fresno running her ensemble track in the evenings, and then added in afternoon rehearsals for the roles she’s covering.
“So I guess in the books, technically, understudies and swings have to work a couple more hours than everyone else in the cast,” she said.
Enduring popularity
Izurieta said that The “Beetlejuice” musical just keeps plugging along since it opened in New York.
“It’s such a fan favorite that they brought it back three times to Broadway successfully,” she said. “And obviously the tour has been out on tour for a couple years now. ‘Beetlejuice’ will never die.”
The ‘Beetlejuice’ appeal
You couldn’t ask for a bigger “Beetlejuice” fan than Izurieta. She’s obsessed with the original 1988 movie. And she waited anxiously for the recent movie sequel.
“Actually, I made a whole day out of it. I dressed up in all of my beautiful ‘Juice’ merch. And the day that it came out, I went to a 11 a.m. showing so I could be the first to see it.”
Why is the “Beetlejuice” universe so popular?
The characters.
“And the cool thing about the musical is that they take those characters, they change the plot and the story a little bit, but those characters are still the characters from the movie. Obviously, it’s screen to stage changes some things, but the heart is still there.”
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