Introspective

The song ‘Dead Mom’ secured him the Beetlejuice gig and tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole ‘being dead thing.’  Another song (included in Perfect’s original pitch as an ensemble opening number) ‘Death’s Not Great’ was sadly cut from the musical but is a comedic winner performed by Perfect. 

With a crazy schedule, being new on the scene and scoring two Broadway shows in one season, ‘and with a stupid name’, Perfect relates the whole candid New York reception he received: ‘Who the f..k is this guy, Eddie Perfect? Who the hell does he think he is?’  The remarkable thing about Beetlejuice (based on Tim Burton’s comedic 1988 film) was its unexpected success after a Washington Post critic dubbed the out of town opening ‘over-caffeinated, overstuffed and virtually charmless’ and The New York Post’s headline complaining that it was a ‘coke-snorting, f-bombing disaster’.  In spite of these colourful reviews, Perfect tells of cosplay audiences dressed to the nines and queuing around the block, then returning time and time again as per the Rocky Horror phenomenon, plus TikTokers dressing the part for thousands of videos set to his Beetlejuice songs.

As a cheeky dig, ‘Death to the Critic’ tells of a fictional Shakespearean actor who loses his mind and plots to rid the world of all critics.  Perfect, not at all worried about the critics in the audience laughs a lot at this one.  As Beetlejuice soared, albeit for a short time, King Kong tanked, and many amusing anecdotes abound.  Another song was a reflective stance on the starlings of New York that when they fledge and cannot yet fly properly often end up on the sidewalks and roads and it is a fairly grim time as many of them don’t survive.  One more wistful song ‘A Little More of Your Time’, also cut from Beetlejuice, is a contemplation of fathers and how they often don’t get to spend as much time as they might like, or indeed should, with their offspring.

Back in Melbourne, apparently rescue dogs have been a thing - many folks adopting animal companions to get through the stress of being forced to stay home.  Perfect sings ‘Rescue Dog’, a tongue-in-cheek examination of the phenomenon : ‘she’s a failure, I’m a fool… Now I’m stuck with a rescue dog, and the feeling’s mutual’.  Another Australian debut, airing in 2019 was ‘Matesong’, sung by Kylie Minogue and a host of other famous folk for Tourism Australia.  It was originally meant to tempt British visitors to our shores but was pulled when the bushfire disaster escalated as its picture-perfect jollity was felt to be in bad taste juxtaposed against the images of those tragic weeks.  Sung by Eddie Perfect as a finale, now titled ‘Australia’, it was sweet and funny and simply another testament to the talent this man possesses.

Of this show Perfect has said ‘With Introspective, it’s quiet storytelling, no running around, just me at the piano. I’m still building up my social stamina. I think most Melburnians are.’  And it is storytelling at its best, with brilliant songs and a performer at both a peak and perhaps a crossroads in his career.  I can’t wait to see and hear what comes next.

Lisa Lanzi