‘Beetlejuice’ actor Sarah Litzsinger helps bring movie to stage with comedy-filled musical at First Interstate Center for the Arts

While some performers work for years to make it to Broadway, Sarah Litzsinger didn’t have to wait too long to arrive on the Great White Way.

When she was 6 years old, Litzsinger’s parents took her to the touring production of “Annie” as a Christmas present. Litzsinger said she was instantly captivated and didn’t want to leave her seat during intermission in case she missed something.

As a companion present, Litzsinger received the “Annie” soundtrack, which she listened to every day until she memorized each song. One day, Litzsinger’s parents heard her singing but thought it was the album playing. Realizing their daughter had a natural talent, they encouraged her interest in performing and took her to auditions for the 1982 film adaptation of “Annie.”

With no lessons or prior stage experience, Litzsinger made it to the final 10 girls at the audition. The director pulled Litzsinger’s mother aside and told her that Litzsinger had “it” and should be in the theater.

After a few local productions in Indianapolis, Litzsinger was discovered by Nancy Carson, owner of the Carson-Adler Agency, at a local talent search. With a New York agent on her side, Litzsinger began making trips to the Big Apple, eventually making her Broadway debut at the ripe age of 11 in the short-lived “Marilyn: An American Fable.” Soon after she returned to Broadway as Bet in “Oliver!” alongside Patti Lupone.

Runs in “Les Miserables” and “Beauty and the Beast” followed, with Litzsinger becoming the longest-running Belle on Broadway over the course of several contracts.

Years after the touring production of “Annie” illuminated her career path, Litzsinger is bringing the magic of live theater to audiences around the country as Delia Schlimmer in “Beetlejuice,” which opens Tuesday and runs through Jan. 5 at the First Interstate Center for the Arts.

“Traveling to each new city, (the audiences are) new every single day,” she said. “It’s exciting because you get to experience that almost through the veracity of their investing into the show. And the audiences that we have with ‘Beetlejuice’ are so committed, and they’re so, so into it. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a show with so many laughs and so much applause. The fans are so die hard, and we’re so thankful for that.”

“Beetlejuice” features music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. The musical is, of course, based on the 1988 film of the same name, which features a screenplay by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren and was directed by Tim Burton.

As the show opens, audiences meet recent widow Charles Deetz (Jesse Sharp) and his daughter Lydia (Madison Mosley), who feels she goes unnoticed by her father. It’s then that the titular demon (Justin Collette) appears, telling audiences that he goes unseen by living beings unless he can get a living person to say his name three times.

We then meet Adam (Will Burton) and Barbara (Megan McGinnis) Maitland, a married couple who want to start a family but are not yet emotionally ready for the responsibility. As they sing about this revelation, the couple falls to their deaths through unstable floorboards in their home. Enter, once again, Beetlejuice, who convinces the Maitlands that in order to remain alone in the Afterlife, they will have to scare away the Deetz family, who just purchased their home.

Beetlejuice tries his best to get the Maitlands into the spookiest shape possible but becomes frustrated with their general lack of scariness. He abandons the couple, who decide to haunt the Deetzes themselves.

Meanwhile, Charles has hired a life coach named Delia (Litzsinger) for Lydia. After an unhelpful session, Lydia runs into the Maitlands. With a shared goal to get the Deetz family out of the house, Lydia tells her father the house is haunted, only to learn he and Delia are engaged.

Lydia flees to the roof, where she runs into Beetlejuice, who is pleasantly surprised that she can see him. Beetlejuice tries to convince Lydia to say his name three times, but Lydia isn’t falling for it, even after Beetlejuice possesses the Maitlands into saying nice things about him.

Later that evening, the Maitlands possess Charles, Delia and guests Charles has invited over for a business opportunity. Rather than being scared off, the guests love the ghosts and become more interested in Charles’s idea to create a gated community. Frustrated, Lydia finally summons Beetlejuice properly, leading even more ghoulish fun to ensue.

The musical features Patrick Oliver Jones (Otho), Travis Mitchell (Maxie Dean), Maria Sylvia Norris (Maxine Dean/Juno), Hillary Porter (Miss Argentina) and Emilia Tagliani (Girl Scout).

The ensemble includes Sophie Aknin, Michael Biren, Ryan Breslin, Jonathan Bryant, Marc Ginsburg, Katie Griffith, Haley Hannah, Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua, Matt Kurzyniec, Mateo Melendez, Lexie Dorsett Sharp and Corben Williams.

“The thing that I love about the musical is that they take the characters from the movie, but I feel like the musical has fleshed them out even more,” Litzsinger said. “You get to see aspects of the character that get expanded upon.”

Her character, for example, is now Lydia’s life coach, throwing out platitudes and mantras that Litzsinger said Delia believes in 100%, even if they’re not actually very helpful. She sees it as Delia’s way of trying to earn a place within the Deetz family, giving her character a nice arc from start to finish.

Litzsinger said writers Brown and King have given the cast a lot of “great morsels” to work with throughout the show, including the possession of the party guests, which allows her to bring a lot of physicality into her character’s comedic moments.

“This is so easy to shine because the writers have given you so much, and you can really lean on the writing,” she said. “That’s really an actor’s dream is if you just lean on what they’ve given you and frame it the right way, you hear it with the audience’s reaction, and it’s so fun to listen to them experience it.”

Adding to the fun is Collette, as Beetlejuice, who Litzsinger calls an agent of chaos between his ad libs and moments of interaction with the audience. His character, while mischievous and seemingly confident, is ultimately an outsider, which Litzsinger said brings a bit of tenderness to the musical as well.

“The show is full of comedy, and it really has this family element that’s so charming and heartfelt,” Litzsinger said. “You’re really getting entertainment aspects to the show, and you’re going to laugh a lot, but you’re also going to have a little place in your heart for it as well.”