The Greer Children’s Theatre is bringing “Beetlejuice Jr.” to the Cannon Centre for the last two weekends of October.
The theater, a program under the Greer Cultural Arts Council, had its first performance yesterday evening. JJ Pearson, the director of the play, says that the cast has really taken to the eccentric show.
“This is not the standard subject matter for children's theater, but this cast has been exceptional,” Pearson said. “They have embraced the subject material. It has been a wonderful teaching experience for the cast.”
“Beetlejuice Jr.” is based on the 1988 Tim Burton film “Beetlejuice.” However, officials with the theater note that the subject matter of the play has been slightly tweaked to be appropriate for children. The live show focuses more on themes of grief and processing emotions.
“It still touches on all those teenage emotions that we have all gone through, and it hopefully puts it into a better light,” said Robin Byouk, Greer Cultural Arts Council Supervisor. “Even though we touch on some dark themes, I think it's very joyous in the way it's presented.”
Pearson says that casting for the show was a difficult, but fun, process. In a show like Beetlejuice, he says the actors have more room to make the characters their own. In this cast, the role of Beetlejuice is played by Josette Hyde. She will be acting alongside her co-star Pearl Wright, playing the role of Lydia Deetz.
Pearson says that his favorite thing about directing with the Greer Children’s Theatre is the emphasis placed on education. He has been involved with the theater for 20 years, both as a student and a teacher.
“The primary purpose is caring for, teaching and inspiring the kids, and it makes such a community,” Pearson said. “We're able to do shows that can be a little bit harder to tackle because we're able to take the time to address those themes appropriately.”
Byouk has been involved with the Cultural Arts Council and the theater for 18 years. For a time, she served as Pearson’s teacher, and now gets to watch as he directs shows for a new generation of young actors.
“I have a lot of theater kids who have come back and either directed, choreographed or been involved in other aspects of the theater,” Byouk said. “It's nice to share the love and the passion of the theater and see it grow on other people and spread. That's really why we do this.”
Pearson encourages the community to come out and support these young actors as they present the iconic film with a musical twist.
“The cast are very much bringing their own energy to this, and so much of what you see on stage is from the cast. It is their own ideas,” Pearson said. “They've taken initiative, and they've just made big, bold choices that I cannot wait for the audience to see.”
For ticket information for Beetlejuice Jr., visit the Greer Cultural Arts Council’s website. Performance dates are Oct. 17-19, and Oct. 24-26.
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