Step Right Up Lyrics
Step Right Up
[BETELGEUSE]The winner isn't always the biggest or the strongest
Frankly, it's a fact that it's got jack to do with size
It's the under-est of dogs who often wins against the odds
And walks away triumphant with the crummy fluffy prize
She's the girl that everybody underestimated
Holy nacho guacamole-boly that was a mistake
She ain't even on the ballot, but hey, look who's got the mallet
And look at all your faces stuffed with crummy bumble cake, ugh!
See those yuppies all lined up in a row?
You paid your quarter, girl, you oughta unload
Step right up! Test your skill!
Land a blow, why not go for the kill?
Set your feet! Take a shot!
All that built up teenage angst has gotta pop!
Step right up! Take a swing!
Give 'em hell, see the bell? Make it ring!
With a smack of your bat, they will know that mousey can roar
Well, I guess you ain't invisible no more!
Double Negative!
[LYDIA]
I can give 'em hell although I'm relatively little
See those skittles? Just one hit'll see 'em flying out the door
Wind it up and pitch it and those rich old sons of bitches
Will be scattering their one percenter asses out the door
They thought I'd be seen but never heard
With one shot I got the final word!
Knock 'em down! Drag 'em out!
I'm the scamp with the championship belt!
I'm on fire, watch me burn!
Now the little girl has finally got her turn!
Make a splash! Cause a stir!
Watch this kid as she bids you adieu!
Pull the rug! Load the slug!
I was overlooked and ignored
But I guess I ain't invisible no more!
[LYDIA]
Smash goes the hammer of salvation!
[BETELGEUSE]
Crash goes the softball of revenge!
[LYDIA]
Pop goes the BB gun of emancipation!
I'm the last one standing in the end
Taste the cotton candy of sweet victory!
[BETELGEUSE]
Claim the big old plush toy spoils of war!
See those little ducks? Time to line 'em up
Show those local bono-phonies you are not invisible no more
Take a shot
[LYDIA]
Take a shot
[BETELGEUSE]
Let 'er rip
[LYDIA]
Let 'er rip
[BETELGEUSE]
Vengeance incarnate
[BOTH]
Eye the target
Direct hit!
Later losers!
You are out!
[BETELGEUSE]
No one messes with my girl
[BOTH]
Or with this house!
Look at us! What a team!
It came late, but it's great to be seen!
We're a pair! Holy cow!
Baby, there's no stopping us now!
We are indivisible, unbreakable, formidable!
Guess we ain't invisible no more!
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- 2015 cut duet for Beetlejuice and Lydia, built as a carnival challenge where a dismissed teen takes the hammer and wins.
- Appears on the official compilation Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos released in 2020; no separate single or chart run.
- Function in development - a confidence flip that bonds the pair and makes Lydia visible in a world that writes her off.
- Style - Broadway rock with call-and-response swagger; midway sound effects turned into punchlines.
- Archival context comes with the composer’s track-by-track commentary for how and why versions shifted across drafts.
Creation History
Written during the 2015 phase, the song was part of the show’s parade of experiments that tested how Beetlejuice coaches Lydia toward agency. It leans hard on midway metaphors and duet chemistry - a proto “team-up” anthem whose carnival games turn into symbols for speaking up and hitting back. When the musical refocused around other story handoffs, this piece was trimmed. The studio demo later surfaced on the 24-track archival set; according to Playbill’s release note and TheaterMania’s roundup, that album spans material from 2014 through 2019 and includes Perfect’s commentary about cuts and pivots.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
Lydia is underestimated in public - the kind of day when adults are busy and the rich kids barely see her. Beetlejuice eggs her on like a sideshow barker. Every booth is a metaphor: high-striker, milk bottles, duck targets, BB range. She hits, the bell rings, and the two of them declare themselves a team. The language is fizzy, the intent is clear - permission to be loud.
Song Meaning
It is a confidence-ritual masquerading as a midway montage. The lyric trades on spectacle and revenge, but what really lands is agency - Lydia deciding she will not be invisible. Musically, the number fuses patter verses, chant hooks, and tight call-and-response writing. That fusion matters because it mirrors the plot: Beetlejuice sets up the stall, but Lydia swings the hammer. The piece also previews a larger arc in which visibility and voice are the prize.
Annotations
“look who’s got the mallet” / “see the bell? make it ring”
The high-striker becomes a visibility test. Traditionally it is a show-of-strength gag; here it is a proxy for being heard in a crowd. Lydia’s win reframes the trope.
“Crash goes the softball of revenge!”
Milk-bottle toss logic - the moment the pyramid drops, so do the yuppies’ faces. The sound-effect writing lets the band punctuate the joke like cymbal hits.
“Pop goes the BB gun of emancipation!”
Yes, pure carnival-speak. But the punchline is the word “emancipation” - a ten dollar word for a midway booth. That mismatch is the humor engine.
“See those little ducks? Time to line ’em up”
Whether you hear a wink at “ducks in a row” or the literal shooting gallery, the lyric turns a rigged-feeling world into a fairground she can finally beat.
“Guess we ain’t invisible no more!”
The thesis line. It is victory and thesis at once - the hush around Lydia is gone, replaced by a duet shout.
Genre and feel
Broadway rock shaped like a carnival chant. Snappy backbeat, verse quips landing on downbeats, and traded lines that feel staged for quick blocking. As stated in TheaterMania’s coverage of the demos set, the album captures these tonal experiments with commentary that explains the trims.
Emotional arc
Start - Lydia underestimated; Beetlejuice spots an opening. Middle - booths become metaphors, wins stack up, confidence spikes. End - the pair declare themselves “indivisible” and the crowd finally sees her.
Touchpoints
Midway Americana, underdog sports slogans, and a classic musical theatre device - external action selling an internal shift. According to Playbill’s release note, the compilation positions pieces like this as waypoints on the road to the final book.
Key Facts
- Artist: Eddie Perfect
- Featured: Demo voices for Beetlejuice and Lydia performed by the composer
- Composer: Eddie Perfect
- Producer: Eddie Perfect (demo release)
- Release Date: October 30, 2020
- Genre: Broadway rock, patter duet
- Instruments: Rhythm section, guitars, keys, stacked vocals
- Label: Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records
- Mood: triumphant, mischievous, rallying
- Length: 3:35
- Track #: 13 on Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos
- Language: English
- Album: Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos
- Music style: call-and-response duet with hooky chant refrains
- Poetic meter: mixed; driving trochaic pulses in chorus tags
Canonical Entities & Relations
- Eddie Perfect - wrote, produced, and performs the demo.
- Ghostlight Records - released the 24-track compilation digitally.
- Sh-K-Boom Records - label imprint on the release.
- Beetlejuice - character acting as hype man and co-conspirator.
- Lydia Deetz - character who claims visibility through action.
- Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures - lead producer of the Broadway musical that the demos document.
Questions and Answers
- Where would this have fit in the show?
- As a development-era duet that turbocharges Lydia’s confidence and bonds her with Beetlejuice via carnival challenges.
- Why was it cut?
- Later drafts tightened character handoffs and chose other numbers to handle the “visibility” turn; the demo remains as evidence of that route.
- Is there an official recording?
- Yes - the studio demo appears on the 2020 compilation, and an official audio upload exists across major platforms.
- Any single release or chart history?
- No. It is archival within the demos set, not a marketplace single.
- Does the composer offer commentary?
- Yes. The compilation rollout included track-by-track commentary available on streaming services and YouTube.
- What musical devices sell the empowerment?
- Call-and-response patter, percussive sound-effect verbs, and chorus chants designed to hit like a high-striker bell.
- What line best sums up the thesis?
- “Guess we ain’t invisible no more” - a direct statement of the character turn the scene is chasing.
Awards and Chart Positions
This track has no chart footprint. For context, the Broadway production earned eight Tony Award nominations in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and won season honors for scenic design on the New York awards circuit. According to Playbill’s season coverage and the 2019 listings, those nods recognized the larger score and production craft rather than this specific demo cut.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2019 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Nominated |
| 2019 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score - Eddie Perfect | Nominated |
| 2019 | Outer Critics Circle | Outstanding Scenic Design - David Korins | Won |
Additional Info
Hearing this next to other demos lets you track the show’s strategy: give Lydia a microphone, then decide which song best earns it. As stated in Playbill’s note, the set collects 24 tracks across five development years, while TheaterMania points to the companion commentary that unpacks each choice. A nice archival touch - the official audio uploads present these with uniform artwork so fans can keep the timeline straight.
Sources: Playbill; TheaterMania; BroadwayWorld; Apple Music; Spotify; YouTube; DCTheaterArts; American Songwriter.