Kelvin Moon Loh on Having a Ball in Beetlejuice, Panicking About the SpongeBob Film & More

Kelvin Moon Loh can currently be seen as Otho in Beetlejuice on Broadway. Previously appearing in SpongeBob SquarePants, Loh recently returned to Bikini Bottom to film the musical for its upcoming premiere on Nickelodeon. Loh stopped by Broadway.com's #LiveatFive to talk with Beth Stevens about going from Bikini Bottom to the Netherworld, his love for Sutton Foster and more.

Growing up in Long Island, Loh was always fascinated with musical theater, especially a certain two-time Tony winner. "I knew I loved musicals but I didn't know I wanted to do them," he said. "Sutton Foster's performance of 'Forget About the Boy' at the Tony Awards for Thoroughly Modern Millie did it for me. I just looped it over and over again. When I moved to NYU, I saw her walking her dog once, but I didn't scream after her. We eventually met at the Side Show opening night party, and it was everything. I could talk about Sutton Foster for the rest of the night."

Now, Loh is on stage playing a life guru, opposite Leslie Kritzer's Delia, to a packed house nightly. "Leslie Kritzer doesn't need any guidance in real life, but on stage I get the pleasure to pretend as if I'm actually giving her advice throughout the entire show," he said. "The thing that's most surprising is how much Beetlejuice has thrived. These last couple months as been insane, just this past week we surpassed the Winter Garden box office record. We continue to see our audiences grow and grow and grow. We're sold out nearly every night."

Only one month separated Loh closing SpongeBob on Broadway to his appearing in the world premiere engagement of Beetlejuice in Washington, D.C. and he has director Alex Timbers, with whom he previously worked on Here Lies Love, to thank. "I could see the writing on the wall for SpongeBob because I'm a dirty Broadway performer and read all the chat rooms and message boards," he said. "So after they told us our really successful, amazing show had to close, I started texting my agent. Beetlejuice was previously off the table for me contract-wise, and I told them to not forget about it. I emailed Alex [Timbers] and he said, 'I'm out of town doing Moulin Rouge!, but, of course, I would love to see you for the role of Otho.' I sent him a video that night, and he got back to me in a week. Without ever having to walk into the room, I booked it. It's pretty crazy."

Loh recently took a break from Beetlejuice to film The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage with most of the show's original Broadway cast. "We filmed it in front of an audience in London, and they loved it the same way it was loved in New York," he said. "The day SpongeBob closed, I hit a flush button and forgot everything. To be called a couple months later and be told that we're doing it again made me go into a full-on panic because I had no recollection. Everyone says it's muscle memory, but that doesn't work for somebody that has very little muscle. But once you're in the room with everyone again, there is an emotional attachment to certain moments. I think it must have worked out in the end. It felt good to go back."

See Loh in Beetlejuice, playing at the Winter Garden Theatre

Watch the full #LiveatFive interview below!