Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetle… Eh, not so fast. If you don’t know what happens when you say that name thrice, you probably didn’t see the popular 1988 film starring Michael Keaton as the mischievous demon. Fear not, that may make the experience of seeing the story come alive on stage at the Fox Theatre even more enjoyable.
The story of ‘Beetlejuice’
Beetlejuice tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a very funny demon with a thing for stripes. The title role is played by Justin Collette, but his understudy is a young Jewish actor named Michael Biren.
Michael Biren
For Michael Biren, Judaism and the arts were woven into his life at an early age growing up in the Jewish neighborhood of Cherry Hills, N.J.
“Oh, it was very prevalent, because my dad worked as the cultural arts director at the local JCC,” said Biren from his hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa, where “Beetlejuice” was playing before arriving in St. Louis Oct. 10. “That’s where I went to everyday, that’s where I went to preschool and went to daycare and Hebrew school. The JCC was our second home when we were growing up because we were just there all the time. Constantly around Jewish arts and culture and Judaism in general.”
Biren will be listed in your show program with the following casting designation: (Ensemble, u/s Beetlejuice, Maxie Dean, Otho).
Now, what does it really mean to be an understudy and part of an ensemble? Is it a negative? The answer is no. For St. Louis theatergoers who are fans of Cardinals baseball, you could think of Biren as the “Jose Oquendo” of the show. The ultimate utility man.
“I’m a lifelong ensemble member. All my jobs have been in the ensemble and then I understudy from there,” said Biren. “Being in the ensemble means that you are a three-dimensional piece of the story that helps to tell everything that’s going on.”
Biren gets to play multiple roles throughout the show. He’s in several scenes and acts, all integral in helping the story develop smoothly.
“In ‘Beetlejuice’ in particular, being on the ensemble means I start off as a mourner and then all of a sudden I’m a goblin, and then a marching band member. And then I come back in as a choir member, and I just end up filling in the background of the show. Being in the ensemble is an incredible gift,” said Biren.
And like any good utility player in baseball, Biren has to be prepared and ready to step into any role at any time, sometimes with little to no notice.
“It’s a mental game for you as an understudy. You just have to be ready to go,” said Biren. “My first experience was touring with the show ‘Billy Elliot’ and I had half-hour notice to jump on for a track that I had not performed live before. And you just kind of get into this mental space of just being ready.
“You have to trust that you’ve done all the work. You have to trust yourself that you have prepared in the right way, and then you just have to rely on that training when it comes to time to pull it off. I prefer that, that trial-by-fire type of moment.”
Beetlejuice at the Fabulous Fox
When: Oct. 10-22
Where: The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd.
How much: Ticket range from $35-$129
More info: FabulousFox.com
