Beetlejuice ensemble member Presley Ryan will temporarily take over as Lydia Deetz in the Broadway musical. The announcement comes a few days after the show's original Lydia, Sophia Anne Caruso, departed the production, citing a contractual out to pursue opportunities in film and television.
Dana Steingold, who makes a brief comedic appearance as a terrified Girl Scout and also understudies Lydia, will play the "strange and unusual" teen February 26 and 27, with fellow understudy Ryan (Fun Home, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) taking over at the Winter Garden Theatre through March 29.
The musical opened April 25, 2019, following a Washington, D.C. world premiere. Featuring a score by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, the show continues through June 6. Alex Timbers directs the staging, which earned eight Tony Award nods including Best Musical last year.
Inspired by the Tim Burton dark comedy, the new take on the fast-talking ghost with the most (and those he haunts) features Tony nominee Alex Brightman as the title bio-exorcist, with David Josefsberg and Kerry Butler as Adam and Barbara Maitland, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and Adam Dannheisser as Delia and Charles Deetz, Danny Rutigliano and Jill Abramovitz as Maxie and Maxine Dean, and Kelvin Moon Loh as Otho.