Beetlejuice the Musical’s score runs from Lydia’s graveside “Prologue: Invisible” to the Harry Belafonte-powered finale “Jump in the Line,” with “Dead Mom,” “Say My Name” and “Day-O” along the way. Song by song, it follows Lydia Deetz, a grieving teenager; Adam and Barbara Maitland, a newly dead couple haunting their own house; and the demon Beetlejuice, who needs a living person to say his name three times.
Based on Tim Burton’s 1988 film, the musical has music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, and Alex Timbers directs (Music Theatre International, Playbill). It opened at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on April 25, 2019, earned eight Tony nominations, and after the pandemic shutdown reopened at the Marquis Theatre on April 8, 2022, playing until January 8, 2023 (Playbill, IBDB). It has since toured and come back to Broadway, and in London it opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on May 28, 2026 (Theatre Weekly, WhatsOnStage).
A note on themes: it is a comedy about death, and it is very funny, but Lydia’s grief for her mother is real, and one Act One scene involves her thinking about ending her life.
What are the songs in Beetlejuice the Musical, in order?
This is the running order from the licensing list at Music Theatre International, checked against the cast recording guide at Ticketmaster UK. The album pairs the finale with a short “Dead Mom” reprise.
| Song | Sung by | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Act One | ||
| Prologue: Invisible | Lydia, mourners | A funeral, and a girl no one sees |
| The Whole “Being Dead” Thing | Beetlejuice, company | Our host introduces “a show about death” |
| Ready, Set, Not Yet | Adam, Barbara | A cautious couple’s fatal accident |
| The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Part 2 | Beetlejuice, ghosts | A welcome to the afterlife |
| Dead Mom | Lydia | Lydia’s grief, and her plan |
| Fright of Their Lives | Beetlejuice, Adam, Barbara | Haunting lessons go badly |
| Ready, Set (Reprise) | Adam, Barbara | The Maitlands get serious |
| No Reason | Delia, Lydia | Self-help meets a skeptic |
| Invisible (Reprise) / On the Roof | Lydia, Beetlejuice | Two lonely outsiders meet |
| Say My Name | Beetlejuice, Lydia, Adam, Barbara | The bargain |
| Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) | Company | The haunted dinner party |
| Act Two | ||
| Girl Scout | A Girl Scout, company | A cookie sale goes wrong |
| That Beautiful Sound | Beetlejuice, Lydia, company | Scaring everyone, for fun |
| Barbara 2.0 | Barbara, Adam | The Maitlands stop being doormats |
| What I Know Now | Miss Argentina, ghosts | A warning in the Netherworld |
| Home | Lydia, Charles | Father and daughter reconnect |
| Creepy Old Guy | Beetlejuice, Lydia, company | A very unwise wedding |
| Jump in the Line | Company | A new, mixed-up family |
Act One songs explained
Prologue: Invisible
The show starts at a funeral. Lydia Deetz stands by her mother’s grave, grieving, and feeling unseen by her father, Charles (Ticketmaster UK). It is a quiet, sincere opening, and it sets the emotional stakes before the comedy takes over.
The Whole “Being Dead” Thing
Then Beetlejuice crashes in and takes over as our guide. He welcomes the audience to a show about death, reminds everyone that they will die someday, and insists that is a reason to enjoy themselves now. It is a manic, fourth-wall-breaking number that establishes him as the show’s narrator and its problem.
Ready, Set, Not Yet
Adam and Barbara Maitland, a sweet, careful couple, settle into their new house and talk about having children, deciding there is plenty of time (Ticketmaster UK). Then they fall through the floorboards and die. The joke is brutal, but the song’s point is the show’s thesis: nobody gets as much time as they think.
The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Part 2
Beetlejuice offers to be the Maitlands’ guide to the afterlife, complete with a cheer squad of ghosts, and urges them to stay and haunt the house rather than move on to the Netherworld. His help is never quite free.
Dead Mom
Lydia moves into the Maitlands’ house with her father, convinced she is the only one who still remembers her mother. She is furious that everyone expects her to move on, and she vows to make her father acknowledge her loss (Ticketmaster UK). It is the show’s breakout song, a rock anthem that turns a goth teenager’s grief into a call to action.
Fright of Their Lives
Beetlejuice tries to teach the Maitlands how to scare the new residents out of the house, but their idea of frightening and his are worlds apart. He needs them to get a living person to say his name, and when they fail, he gives up on them in disgust.
Ready, Set (Reprise)
Stung by Beetlejuice’s taunts, Adam and Barbara decide to get serious about haunting so they can win their home back from the Deetz family.
No Reason
Delia, the life coach Charles has hired for Lydia, insists that everything happens for a reason and that the universe has a plan. Lydia is unconvinced. The comedy is in how badly Delia needs to believe her own sales pitch (Ticketmaster UK).
Invisible (Reprise) / On the Roof
Lydia meets the Maitlands and tries to use them to scare her father out of the house. When she learns that Delia is secretly involved with him, and that they are engaged, she goes up to the roof in despair. Beetlejuice is already there, lamenting that no one ever sees him either (Ticketmaster UK). Two outsiders find each other, which is exactly what he wanted.
Say My Name
Beetlejuice tries to get Lydia to say his name three times so he can enter the living world, offering to help punish her father in return. Since he can’t say it himself, they play charades, and Lydia enjoys making him beg. The Maitlands try to stop the deal (Ticketmaster UK).
Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)
The film’s most famous scene comes to the stage. At a dinner for Charles’s investors, the Maitlands possess the guests and make them perform Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O.” Instead of fleeing, the investors are thrilled at the idea of a real haunted house, and in desperation Lydia closes Act One by summoning Beetlejuice (Ticketmaster UK).
Act Two songs explained
Girl Scout
Act Two opens on a cheerful Girl Scout selling cookies, who tells the audience that a heart condition makes shocks dangerous for her. She knocks on the wrong door: Beetlejuice now runs the house, and he and Lydia are scaring away every visitor.
That Beautiful Sound
Beetlejuice multiplies himself to terrorize everyone who comes near, from delivery workers to neighbors, and he and Lydia revel in the sound of screaming (Ticketmaster UK). It is gleefully over the top, and it shows how far Lydia has let him in.
Barbara 2.0
Trapped in the attic, Adam and Barbara realize they have let Beetlejuice push them around. Barbara decides that being dead is no excuse to keep being a pushover and talks Adam into fighting back to help Lydia. It is the Maitlands’ big turning point, and a comic power ballad for Barbara.
What I Know Now
Lydia goes through a door Beetlejuice opens into the Netherworld, hoping to find her mother, and her father follows her. There they meet Miss Argentina and other ghosts, who urge them to go back to the land of the living while they can (Ticketmaster UK).
Home
Lydia searches the Netherworld for her mother and cannot find her. Her father finds Lydia instead, and the two finally reconcile, with Charles at last saying her mother’s name aloud (Ticketmaster UK). Lydia decides to go home and make the best of the family she has. It is the score’s tenderest song and the emotional resolution of the father-daughter story begun in “Dead Mom.”
Creepy Old Guy
Back at the house, Beetlejuice threatens everyone, and Lydia stops him by agreeing to marry him, which would make him fully alive. The wedding song is deliberately uncomfortable comedy, and Beetlejuice has no idea Lydia is planning to get rid of him once he is alive enough to be stopped (Ticketmaster UK).
Jump in the Line
With Beetlejuice dealt with, the Deetzes and the Maitlands agree to share the house. Lydia promises never to forget her mother but chooses to enjoy the life she has with her unusual new family, living and dead. The finale borrows the Belafonte classic and sends everyone home dancing.
Want to play these songs yourself? Eddie Perfect’s score mixes rock, pop and cabaret, and songs like “Dead Mom” and “Home” are built on strong, simple chord progressions that are great for learning pop piano. Try Pianoforall.
Disclosure: this is an affiliate link. Musicals On Line may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.
What makes the Beetlejuice score work?
It keeps the film’s anarchic spirit, and its two Belafonte numbers, but it gives Lydia a much bigger emotional story than the movie did. Under all the jokes about death, every song is really about grief: a girl who lost her mother, a couple who ran out of time, and a lonely demon who wants to be seen. That is why “Dead Mom” and “Home” land as hard as the comedy.
For more dark comedy and big feelings, see our Hadestown songs explained, another trip to the underworld, or the Wicked songs explained guide for another misunderstood outsider. For a different show that puts a grieving family at its center, try our Dear Evan Hansen songs explained.
Sources: Music Theatre International; Playbill; IBDB; Ticketmaster UK; Theatre Weekly; WhatsOnStage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular song from Beetlejuice the Musical?
“Dead Mom,” Lydia’s Act One anthem about refusing to forget her mother, became the show’s breakout song, alongside “Say My Name” and the Act One finale, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).”
How many songs are in Beetlejuice the Musical?
Music Theatre International’s licensing list has 18 numbers, 11 in Act One and 7 in Act Two. The cast album adds a short “Dead Mom” reprise to the finale track.
Who wrote the songs for Beetlejuice the Musical?
Australian writer-performer Eddie Perfect wrote the music and lyrics. Scott Brown and Anthony King wrote the book, and Alex Timbers directed the Broadway production.
Are “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line” original songs?
No. Both are Harry Belafonte recordings that were famously used in Tim Burton’s 1988 film, and the musical keeps them for its Act One finale and closing number. The rest of the score is original.
Is Beetlejuice the Musical playing in London?
Yes. It opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End on May 28, 2026. Check the official UK site for current dates.
