Meet the man behind the magic of the ‘Beetlejuice’ musical on Broadway - and in Wichita
Magic has been Michael Weber’s life since he was a teenager in Southern California, later becoming the protégé of famed illusionist Ricky Jay.
He took that beyond the stage for movies such as “Forest Gump,” where he helped create the illusion that Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan had no legs; and creating a “ladder of light” for the characters in the Broadway drama “Angels in America.”
When the producers of “Beetlejuice” wanted to bring the magic of Tim Burton’s 1988 horror comedy to the Broadway stage in 2019, Weber got the call to bring his expertise to the musical.
“Almost all of the classic effects in magic take place in story-related context,” Weber said of the musical, which Broadway in Wichita will bring to Century II for eight performances beginning next week. “There’s appearances and vanishes, both of characters and of things. There’s a levitation or two, there’s transformations, those kinds of things you think of as the top-10 magical effects that you hope you’ll see happen.”
Weber didn’t want to reveal his favorite trick of the show, lest he ruin the surprise for the audience.
He said it was gratifying that the producers of the musical didn’t want magic for magic’s sake.
“There was always the desire to make sure that the heart of it was still there for the fans of the film, but they also were creating a brand-new work, something that stood on its own and still had a tip of the hat in terms of its look and its attitude,” Weber said.
“It wasn’t an attempt to copy what (Burton) had done, but the film was so successful on many levels that everybody’s desire was to build on the great work that was already there,” he added.
Weber praised the teamwork of the technical staff, who were cooperative with his ideas and vice versa.
“There were many things they knew they wanted to have happen,” he said. “As the show really started to take form, there were many, many places where I and the different members of the design team would offer things.”
Unlike a typical stage magic act, Weber said, “Beetlejuice” didn’t have time to establish the intentions of the trick for audiences to comprehend.
“Great shows, and ‘Beetlejuice’ is a great show, are like a train,” he said. “You get on and you want to move fast and move surprisingly. You can’t have moments where you stop just to prove something or show something. Everything has to be incorporated as part of the natural movements of the character in the story.”
No additional crew was needed to pull off the illusions in the show, Weber said. It’s all accomplished by the tech crew and the actors, “to make sure the magic is functional and not just demonstrative.”
All of the characters have their own magic moments in one form or another, Weber said.
“We were making sure all of the magic really fits the characters, drives the characters, pushes the story forward so we don’t have to stop and wonder where this power comes from,” he said. “We can just be surprised by watching the clever and unusual ways the characters get what they want or try to keep others from accomplishing goals that would get in their way.
“It’s nice that it’s a magical place and all the characters are magical characters.”
A pre-Broadway run in Washington, D.C., in 2018 perfected all the moves before it opened in New York in 2019. Production was halted during COVID five years ago, and resumed in April 2022 in a smaller theater, running for eight months.
A national tour began a few weeks before the second Broadway closing. Weber said touring was always in mind for the production staff, so the scenery and illusions wouldn’t have to be downsized to take it on the road.
“The really nice thing is it’s an amazing team and the thought of a tour was always there from the start,” he said. “Really smart teams think about that now. If you’re working on a show, you know it’s something special, you think about that in your problem-solving from the start.”
Even with all of its magic touches, Weber said, “Beetlejuice” has heart.
“The story’s surprising, because these are the characters you came to know from the film and you’ll see a different side of them,” he said.
The production pays equal attention to die-hard fans of the film and those who have never seen the Halloween-time instant classic.
“We intentionally put several film-based Easter eggs into some of our choices, especially some of the magic stuff,” he said. “If you’ve never seen the film before and don’t know the story, you’ll have a great time because Beetlejuice is your narrator through the events of things. It’s really designed very well to bring someone into the story.
“If you are a fan of the original film, there’s lots of little things you’ll recognize from the movie – not just characters but some objects, some moments, some music, some events that happen,” Weber continued. “There are very intentional, very crafted tips of the hat that are integrated into the show, so if you are a fan, there’s some special sauce in there just for you.”
With “Beetlejuice” a standout on his resume, Weber continues his magic ways.
He was a consultant to Steve Martin for the upcoming season of “Only Murders in the Building,” and was among the creators of “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic,” which is scheduled to open in Orlando in May.
“There’s a lot of magic in the air right now,” he said with a laugh.
‘BEETLEJUICE’ BY BROADWAY IN WICHITA
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, April 2-5; 2 p.m. Thursday, April 3 and Saturday, April 5; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 6
Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: $35-$85, from the Century II box office, BroadwayWichita.com and Century2.com, or 316-755-7328