With any show, the make-up designer creates the look for every character. But when it comes to the wacky, irreverent Beetlejuice The Musical, make-up designer Joe Dulude II (Wicked, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) welcomed the chance to push his creativity into the realm of the supernatural and zany.
Dulude took cues from original film director Tim Burton鈥檚 drawings, which heavily feature jagged lines and his signature spiral motif; Dulude鈥檚 design emphasizes contour to accentuate the angles of his actors鈥� faces and jawlines, to make their eyes pop. 鈥淚t always came back to Burton,鈥� Dulude says. 鈥淚f you look at his drawings, like with the spirals around the eyes, I wanted to replicate that hollowness.鈥�
But contrary to Burton鈥檚 drawings, Dulude created an explosive world of color鈥攗sing blues and greens and purples to create undead creatures, white and gray to emphasize dust and ashes of the afterlife, vibrant reds for passion, and golds to highlight the mystical.
Dulude designed approximately 60 individual make-up plots to cover the full company of the Broadway stage adaptation of the beloved movie. But Dulude鈥檚 work was not done with simply choosing palettes and patterns. With , Dulude had to ensure the feasibility of each individual make-up track. If an actor has less than five minutes to change characters, how can they swap costumes, wigs, and faces? A master of the craft, Dulude created the answer.
Here, we interviewed and photographed four Beetlejuice actors (who play 12 characters) in order to chronicle their changing faces throughout the course of a single performance:
WILL BLUM, BEETLEJUICE (STANDBY)
Surprisingly, Beetlejuice is the character whose make-up changes the least throughout the show. But it is quite the transformation from fresh face to undead demon. A white foundation zaps the life out of him quickly, then Dulude powders dark circles around the full eye. Beetlejuice begins with green undertones, as if freshly out of the ground. This also matches William Ivey Long鈥檚 costumes and Charles LaPointe鈥檚 wig. Dulude creates an aura of decay by painting drips of teal brain goo at the hairline and around the ears. Then, he paints green highlights into the natural beard.
Throughout the course of the show, Beetlejuice鈥檚 highlights morph from green to purple to red. 鈥淚t was really an idea of William Ivey Long鈥檚,鈥� says Dulude. When Beetlejuice feels 鈥淚nvisible,鈥� while sitting 鈥淥n the Roofe,鈥� he fades to the purple of the sunset鈥攊n costume, wig, and make-up. He鈥檚 losing hope that Lydia will ever say his name those three magical times. But later, in the wedding scene, his spirit gains power and burns with a passionate red.
RAMONE OWENS, ENSEMBLE
As an ensemblist, Ramone Owens transforms from human mourner to cheerleader to supernatural goblin to Beetlejuice clone to Netherworld corpse. His face changes base color four times, so he removes his full face of make-up in between each make-up/costume change. 鈥淭hank God for cold cream and B3 facial oils,鈥� he says.
During the 鈥淧rologue,鈥� he and the rest of the ensemble appear as mourners at the funeral of Lydia鈥檚 mother. True to Burton鈥檚 aesthetic, Dulude goes for an inky black look. Heavy eyeliner, harsh contouring to create stark angles on Owens鈥� cheekbones, highly defined black eyebrows, and smokey eyeliner welcome audiences to a show about death. Owens layers his 鈥渃heerleader鈥� make-up over the mourner, essentially more definition. He then has only seven minutes to make a full transformation to a green goblin鈥攍atex ears and all. Dulude鈥檚 design calls for a green powder base鈥攂etter for quick changes. Dressers backstage help Owens attach the ears and slap the green on his full face, neck, and elongated ears. Owens redefines his eyebrows, adds a red inner eye for 鈥渁 demonic tone,鈥� contours his cheekbones (to replace depth and dimension that the green base softened), darkens the lip, and adds gold powder alien dots for texture.
Next, Owens comes alive as an undead clone of Beetlejuice himself. Dulude referred to the Beetlejuice make-up plot here, which includes white eyeshadow and a purple corner shadow to mimic Beetlejuice鈥檚 changing mood. Paint on drips of green brain goo, add green highlights in the beard and voila! Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice! Owens鈥� final look is a character he鈥檚 named Reginald, his Netherworld character. Populated with a dozen dead spirits, Reginald鈥檚 wife caught him cheating and took a hatchet to his head. 鈥淚 like to say she鈥檚 on 49th Street doing Chicago,鈥� Owens jokes. Dulude chose a pale blue, a water-based foundation that sits on top of the skin first sponged on and then brushed to smooth out the texture, to create a cold dead corpse tone. He creates dark circles around the entire eye for a hollow look, customary of Burton鈥檚 drawings. By redefining the eyebrows, the dark circles punctuate. Reginald gets a highlight of red at the inner eye and underneath the lower lashline. This time, contours are made with purple powder to match the cool tones of his make-up and create a bruised look. A purple lip completes the lifeless look.
JILL ABRAMOVITZ, ENSEMBLE/MAXINE DEAN/JUNO
Kicking off at the funeral in the 鈥淧rologue鈥� and 鈥淭he Whole 鈥楤eing Dead鈥� Thing,鈥� Abramovitz blends into the crowd of mourners. She paints on a severe stroke of liquid liner on her top lashline accompanied by spider-long fake lashes. A purple lip liner accentuates the magenta lip. Though the opening scene is a scene of gloom, Abramovitz鈥檚 make-up is actually brighter than you might think with the white eyeshadow emanating a spooky glow when hit by Kenneth Posner鈥檚 lighting.
The next time Abramovitz appears, she鈥檚 barely recognizable as Maxine Dean. To create the look of the overly zealous plastic surgery aficionado, Maxine wears navy blue eyeshadow on her lids and ombres upwards to lighter blue towards her uneven brows, drawn on using liquid liner based plus eyebrow pencil for texture. The ombre eyeshadow extends over Abramovitz鈥檚 actual brows to meet her fake ones. Add some liquid liner鈥攁nd she鈥檚 still wearing those fabulous lashes. But the key to Maxine are those overplumped lips. No, they鈥檙e not prosthetic. The collagenated look is entirely thanks to Dulude鈥檚 careful elongated bow shape (which extends past the actor鈥檚 actual lips and onto her skin), wild color, and Abramovitz鈥檚 stretched facial expressions. Despite her plastic look, Abramovitz believes Maxine is actually a kind and warm heart鈥攋ust trying her best.
Next she's the Deitz鈥檚 neighbor. 鈥淪he鈥檚 Doris, in my head. That name just feels so right,鈥� says Abramovitz of the backstory she鈥檚 chosen for her character in 鈥淭hat Beautiful Sound.鈥� Stuck in the 鈥�80s, Doris sports bold blue shadow, misplaced pink rouge, and a vibrant red lip.
Abramovitz鈥檚 final look is for Juno, head of the Netherworld. Dulude wanted Juno as dusty and decaying as possible. Dulude begins with a white base, a wax-based make-up that settles a bit more into the skin. Pro tip: With make-up like this, start by sponging it on and then go over it with a brush to eliminate streaks. A layer of powder sets the base. Dulude covers the actor鈥檚 eyebrows with the white base so that he can start from scratch in creating the exaggerated brows. (Juno's blue eyeshadow actually goes over Abramovitz鈥檚 real eyebrows, previously primed in white.) Abramovitz鈥檚 track centers around her different lip lines. For Juno, Dulude creates harsh triangles, like mountains, for her upper lip to conjure a permanent sourpuss. 鈥淚 love my track,鈥� says Abramovitz, who does all of her own make-up for each show. 鈥淚t鈥檚 some of the most fun I鈥檝e ever had.鈥�
LESLIE KRITZER, DELIA/MISS ARGENTINA
In contrast to the parade of undead characters in Beetlejuice, Delia鈥檚 make-up is remarkably simple. Her dewy, spring look accentuates the life coach鈥檚 optimism. The eyeliner and winged fake lashes widen her eyes and the pink lip gives Delia a freshness. Dulude chose shades of pink and purple for Delia鈥檚 eyeshadow, which also complement the purple tones scenic designer David Korins gave the house when the Deitzes move in.
When Delia dresses up for the visit from Max and Maxine Dean, Dulude embellishes the purple eyeshadow to be a bit more glam and chose to add a purple lip line, but only to the middle of her lips. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like she thinks it鈥檚 trendy, when actually she鈥檚 just missing the mark,鈥� Dulude explains. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 endearing鈥攈ow much she tries and how wrong she is.鈥� The most remarkable change is the four-minute whirlwind from Delia to the Netherworld鈥檚 Miss Argentina. She wears her Miss Argentina costume underneath her Delia dress so she can shed layers, but the same does not go for make-up. Powder is Dulude鈥檚 secret for all of these quick changes, and the blue-green shimmer slathers on for full coverage. But, whenever you add color, you need to add contour and eyebrow definition. Last step: a juicy red lip.
Go behind 6 more famous Broadway make-up transformations with Joe Dulude II in the video below!
