Creepy Old Guy Lyrics – Beetlejuice

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Track 17 on Beetlejuice (Original Broadway Cast Recording), released June 7, 2019 on Sh-K-Boom Records.
2. Features Sophia Anne Caruso (Lydia), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice), Rob McClure, Kerry Butler, Adam Dannheisser, Leslie Kritzer, and the company.
3. Function in story: the gang cons Beetlejuice into a sham wedding to bring him fully to life so they can stop him.
4. Style: uptempo carnival-cabaret with parade vocals and gag-a-minute stage business.
5. Streaming metadata tags it at ~4:22 and ~166 BPM in F# major.

Creation History

Written by Eddie Perfect for the 2019 Broadway production directed by Alex Timbers, the song arrived with the full cast album’s digital drop. Platform listings credit the full wedding party and place the number late in the running order, just before the finale stretch. According to Playbill-style season coverage, the album’s push benefited from the production’s high nomination count that spring.

Highlights

The number is built like a bait-and-switch. Lydia sells a smiley, satirical ode to predatory “courtship,” while the ensemble hypes every bad take in show-choir unison. Beetlejuice buys it, puffing himself up as the triumphant groom, and the band turns the aisle into a runway. It’s catchy, unnerving, and pointed - wedding bells recast as alarm bells.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

To stop Beetlejuice, Lydia pretends to marry him. The wedding will render him fully alive - vulnerable - long enough for the heroes to end his reign. The song stages the scam as a big, brassy processional with the whole household playing along.

Song Meaning

Satire wearing a boutonniere. The lyric mocks catcalling, grooming, and the cultural shrug around age-power imbalances, using cheerfully wrong affirmations to expose how wrong they are. The joke lands because Lydia is in on it - she leverages the trope to flip the power.

Annotations

“Way back when I was just ten… But now I really love creepy old guys!”

Sarcastic whiplash: she names early street harassment, then “celebrates” it to bait her mark. (Annotation #1)

“Hey baby, smile!” / *Wolf-whistle*

Delia and Barbara echo a leering chorus, deliberately performing the grossness. (Annotations #4-6)

“Now one of ’em loves me, wants to be mine! … I’m marrying my own creepy old guy!”

The fake-earnest turn that convinces Beetlejuice he’s won. (Annotations #9-10)

“Fix his hair, get him prepared… Armageddon”

Gallows gag: prepping the groom equals prepping his downfall. (Annotations #15-16)

“Have you guys seen ‘Lolita’? This is just like that, but fine!”

A knowing pop-culture dart that underlines the satire - it is not “fine.” (Annotations #22-23)

“Give it up for my underage bride!”

Beetlejuice says the quiet part out loud; the staging wants the audience to recoil. (Annotation #39)

“I can’t believe some cultures think this kind of thing’s alright”

Fourth-wall flash to make sure no one mistakes the bit for endorsement. (Annotations #41-42)

“So let’s make him alive!”

The plot hinge: life makes him stoppable. (Annotation #44)

Style, subtext, instrumentation

Think midway between carnival barker and reception band: bright brass, busy reeds, locked-in groove around a 166 BPM clip, and a melody that invites gang vocals. The sarcasm is structural - sugary hooks deliver hard commentary.

Key Facts

• Artist: Sophia Anne Caruso, Alex Brightman, Rob McClure, Kerry Butler, Adam Dannheisser, Leslie Kritzer, Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording Ensemble
• Composer & Lyricist: Eddie Perfect
• Producers: Kurt Deutsch; Eddie Perfect; Alex Timbers; Matt Stine
• Release Date: June 7, 2019
• Genre: Musical theatre, uptempo showpiece
• Instruments: Pit band with brass, reeds, guitars, rhythm section
• Label: Sh-K-Boom Records
• Mood: Sparkly, snarky, subversive
• Length: ~4:22
• Track #: 17
• Language: English
• Album: Beetlejuice (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: Cabaret-rock procession with ensemble shout-hooks
• Poetic meter: Mixed patter and refrain; march-like cadences in the chorus

Canonical Entities & Relations

Questions and Answers

Where does “Creepy Old Guy” sit in the story?

Right before the finale run, as the faux wedding that’s really a trap.

Is the song endorsing the marriage premise?

No - it’s satire. The characters perform bad ideas to expose them.

Why does the orchestration feel like a parade?

Because it’s a put-on ceremony; the music sells “celebration” while the plot undercuts it.

Does the track appear in official performance reels?

The production’s award-season medleys showcased the show’s sound and chaos; this cue’s imagery threads through that wedding-crasher energy.

What’s the streaming footprint?

Available across majors; Apple Music and Spotify list it with full cast billing and late-album placement.

Any direct callbacks to the 1988 film?

The sham wedding conceit nods to the movie’s climactic gambit, reframed with a bigger ensemble engine.

What’s the social target here?

Catcalling, coercion, and cultural excuses for age-power imbalance; the lyric drags them into the light.

Awards and Chart Positions

Show recognition: The Broadway production received eight Tony Award nominations in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Individual design and creative nods stacked up across the season. This track was not campaigned to traditional singles charts; it functions as a narrative showpiece.

How to Sing Creepy Old Guy

Tempo: ~166 BPM. Key center: F# major. Length: ~4:22. Feel: brisk procession with bright consonants and ensemble punch.

1. Tempo & pulse: Rehearse to a steady click at 166; keep choruses metronomic so choreography can sit on top.
2. Diction: Pop the satirical lines - crisp T/K/P on words like “creepy,” “guy,” “bride.” Comedy needs consonants.
3. Breath plan: Map quick sips between list-gags; save a deeper prep before the long “guy, guy, guy” tags.
4. Ensemble blend: Match vowel shapes on “guy” and “bride”; unify cutoffs to make the sarcasm sound cheerful and wrong.
5. Character focus: Lydia’s verses should read “performing” - smile in the tone, eye-roll in the subtext.
6. Mic craft: Stay close for patter; pull back on gang shouts to avoid splash on cymbal hits.
7. Pitfalls: Rushing the aisle groove, muddy joke setups, belting sarcasm so hard the meaning blurs.
8. Practice kit: A two-bar click loop at 166; lyrical underlining for punch-words; call-and-response runs to lock the wedding chant.

Additional Info

According to Tony Awards records, the show’s nomination wave helped the cast album find a wider audience that summer. Apple Music and Spotify listings confirm the late-album placement and full cast billing, while the label’s “Provided to YouTube” audio is the go-to embeddable reference clip. As noted by New York Theatre Guide’s song rundown, the number’s satire is the point - glitter as critique, not endorsement. As stated in Entertainment trade coverage of the company’s season, the wedding-crasher chaos became a calling card for the production’s public image.

Sources: Tony Awards, Apple Music, Spotify, Ghostlight Records on YouTube, New York Theatre Guide, Tunebat, Musicstax.