Matthew Urso wasn’t born yet (in fact, he wouldn’t be born for a couple more decades — sorry to make you feel old) when the 1988 Tim Burton film “Beetlejuice” was released.
But the Grade 10 student at St. Charles College said it was actually a childhood favourite, probably first watching it when he was in Grade 2. “It’s probably the first movie I saw with a swear word in it,” he laughs.
Urso is playing the zany lead character of Beetlejuice in his school’s production of “Beetlejuice Jr.: The Musical,” which runs this week starting May 7, reprising the role originated by Michael Keaton in the original film and then its 2024 sequel, “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.”
He said he’s not “completely copying” Keaton’s performance, “but just a little bit of the creepiness that he has in his character.”
Attending acting classes at Sudbury Theatre Centre starting in Grade 6, Urso said he was excited to win the lead role in the St. Charles College production.
Asked to give his pitch for “Beetlejuice Jr,” Urso said “it’s one of the funniest plays I know. It cut out a bit of it (the story), but everything that they kept is really solid, and I enjoy it. I'd say come to the show, or else, I'll, I don't know, track you down or something.”
Marty Wilson, drama teacher at St. Charles and director of “Beetlejuice Jr.,” said the school normally does one big production per year, and usually it’s a Disney show.
“But this year, we decided to venture away from Disney and try a whole new genre,” she said, adding that the show is written in such a way that it’s appropriate for younger audiences.
Months of work have gone into the production, and there’s been one or two hiccups along the way, with a few actors dropping out due to other commitments.
“The kids stepped up,” she said. “They took over for each other. When I said, ‘OK, we're missing this character. Does anybody want to do it? They all stood up and said, ‘OK, Miss, I'll do it.’”
Emma Hudder plays Lydia Deetz, the gothy “strange and unusual” teen played by Winona Ryder in the 1988 film.
“I was going out for Lydia or Beetlejuice, but mainly Lydia,” said the Grade 11 student, who, besides appearing in St. Charles productions, has acted with Biggest Little Theatre Company and auditioned for YES Theatre.
She said this is her biggest role to date.
“It was like a dream role, so I kind of just shot for it, and I ended up getting it,” Hudder said. I really like how she's very spunky. Sometimes she can be a little rude, and has a darker humour, which is kind of like me, so a little bit relatable.”
She said she’s “definitely super excited for my family and friends and everybody to come see” the play.
The St. Charles College production is open to the public this week May 7-9 at 6:30 p.m. and May 10 at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $10 cash at the door. The actors will also put on several performances for St. Charles College feeder schools.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.