The “Graveyard” hitmaker and “Beetlejuice” star will be at the Hollywood Bowl for a three-night stand this month to alternate singing the role of Sally in “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Halsey will portray Sally on the first two nights of the production, Oct. 27 and 28. For the Oct. 29 closing show, the movie’s original voice actor, Catherine O’Hara, will play both Sally and Shock, as she did in the 1993 film. Riki Lindhome will sing for Shock on the first two nights alongside Halsey’s Sally.
Fred Armisen will make his “Nightmare Before Christmas” debut, portraying Oogie Boogie’s lead little henchman, Lock. Ken Page will return as Oogie Boogie. The songwriter for the 1993 Tim Burton-produced film, Danny Elfman, will reprise his role as Jack Skellington.
The highly sought-after role of Sally has gone to pop’s latest and greatest in the last few years, with Phoebe Bridgers taking it on in December for a two-night “Nightmare” concert at London’s OVO Arena Wembley. And Billie Eilish sang a dreamy rendition of “Sally’s Song” in Los Angeles two years ago at Banc of California Stadium, for a two-night affair.
Producers of the Bowl’s concert version are Laura Engel and Richard Kraft of Kraft-Engel Productions and Alison Ahart Williams, Tim Fox & Georgina Ryder of AMP Worldwide in association with Disney Concerts. John Mauceri is returning to conduct the full orchestra playing Elfman’s score live-to-film.
Earlier this year, Elfman made headlines when a 2018 lawsuit surfaced, reportedly over sexual misconduct allegations after the Grammy-winning television and film composer allegedly missed two payments in a settlement agreement. Nomi Abadi, a 35-year-old musician and composer, sued Elfman for failure to pay $85,000 of the $830,000 agreed upon in the quietly settled suit, according to court documents obtained by The Times.
Elfman did not respond to The Times’ request for comment at the time, but he denied any wrongdoing in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. “It is excruciating to consider that a 50-year career may be destroyed in one news cycle as a result of vicious and wholly false allegations about sexual misconduct,” Elfman told the outlet.