Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
Now that’s out of the way, let’s get on to a look at another unique way to spend the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
See, like many an out-to-towner, Megan McGinnis will be in downtown Chicago and wearing green Saturday, March 15.
Only thing is, she’ll be in costume and onstage for two performances of the aforementioned Beetlejuice The Musical. The Musical. The Musical. The national touring company winds up its third stop in the Windy City Sunday, March 16 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
“There’s green everywhere in Beetlejuice,” McGinnis said.
There’s also plenty of purple, black and campy, manic ghoulishness in the production, which is a riff on Tim Burton’s 1998 scary comedy movie. McGinnis plays Barbara Maitland. Barbara and her husband, Adam, wind up as ghosts that haunt their earthly home – and as pawns in Beetlejuice’s ghastly plans.
Like at the Irish parade Saturday, there’s quite a bit of cosplay going on at Beetlejuice. A good many audience members wear funny outfits, their takes on the show’s characters. Almost enough to rival all the faux leprechauns and Elton-John-meets-Mardi-Gras-in-Temple-Bar getups to be found roaming the city’s streets over the weekend.
“I was surprised and thrilled to see that happening when I first saw the show in Philadelphia. I was happy to see so many people loved Beetlejuice as much as I do,” McGinnis said.
McGinnis has performed in the Chicago area with two other productions.
In 2010, she appeared at Northlight Theatre in Skokie in the two-person musical, Daddy Long Legs. In 2015, she performed at Chicago Shakespeare in a musical version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
However, she hasn’t been around town to see the Chicago River dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day.
“It’s my goal, though it may be tough to do (given the production’s two shows Saturday),” McGinnis said.
Her own favorite memories of St. Patrick’s Day center around her mom cooking a corned beef dinner for the holiday for the family to enjoy.
“I miss it. She still does that, but she’s out in California,” said McGinnis, who is now based in New York for her career.
Past that and not much of a partier, McGinnis didn’t have any wild or wooly Irish stories to tell about the holiday.
“These days, I head to the dollar section at Target to get decorations to put up at home with my 8-year-old son,” McGinnis said.
So there you have it – a few more ways to mark St. Patrick’s Day:
- Onstage or watching a Broadway musical
- Getting together with mom for a meal
- Decorating with the kids
I bought limited edition Lucky Charms myself for the latter. Best Fest Buddy Tom’s youngest grandson needs them to set a trap he’s making with string and a cardboard box to catch a leprechaun (and hopefully not diabetes.) The box says the marshmallow shamrock charms will turn milk green. Tasty, right!?
Oh. I also bought a bottle of Tullamore Dew, a bottle of Paddy’s and an 8-pack of Guinness. But only because Jewel has them on sale – or to trap livers. One of those excuses.
Anyway, please still feel free to share interesting tales of how you have spent St. Patrick’s Day.
Aaron, stop bragging. Or something like that.
