JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 57

ceremony in Israel, as did my younger 
brother and sister, and read the Torah 
in front of the Western Wall, which was 
very special.
“My grandpa is a Holocaust survivor 
so, in life, I want to honor my Jewish 
heritage as much as possible. For me, 
it’s important to keep the legacy of 
being Jewish. I have never once not 
been proud of my religion, faith and 
culture. It’s a testament to my family 
and how I was raised.”
Price’s parents named him Nimrod at 
birth. 
“When we moved to the states, my 
parents added an ‘i’ at the end of my 
name, Nimrodi, to sound more ‘normal’ 
and blend in which, I guess, never 
works,” Price said.
When he was in third 
grade, the movie Another 
Cinderella Story with Selena 
Gomez and Jane Lynch came 
out.
“There was a scene where 
the limo driver was called 
‘Nimrod,’ which means 
stupid in English, so I started 
getting bullied. Around that 
same time, I began writing the name 
‘Lee’ in my notebook at school. I was 
always fascinated that people have 
three names in America. It isn’t that 
common in Israel,” Price said. “By fifth 

grade, I asked to be called Lee. But 
after having to always explain to 
substitute teachers that I wanted 
to go by Lee and not Nimrodi, we 
officially changed my name to Lee 
N Price when I was 17. I dropped 
Nimrodi altogether, but I keep the 
‘N’ professionally to still honor my 
Hebrew name.” 

LIVIN’ THE DREAM
Price is certainly enjoying seeing 
his professional stage name in the 
Beetlejuice program and being part of 
the splashy musical that was based on 
the original 1988 Tim Burton-directed 
film. 
“I’m the only theatrical one in the 
family. Thank God, because I 
like all the attention,” laughs 
Price, who was in all the plays 
in middle and high school 
in Westchester, New York. 
“It’s such a joy I get when 
I’m performing. I could be 
having the worst day and just 
not be in the best mood and 
the second I walk into the 
theater, I instantly light up 
and all the bad things fade away. I’m a 
firm believer in live theater. It’s so raw 
and beautiful, and to make a career out 
of it is truly one of the greatest gifts I 
have ever received. To get to do this 

professionally and have this be my job, 
I’m so eternally grateful.”
While Price had seen Beetlejuice the 
musical on Broadway several times, 
he only saw the movie for the first 
time right before he auditioned for the 
national tour.
“People love this show — the 
incredible music, book and wacky 
characters. It’s a huge musical and set 
that gets you ready for a crazy, wild 
ride. It’s very interesting that the people 
who have seen the movie will come to 
the show and fall in love with it. It truly 
honors the work that Tim Burton did 
with the movie, but it also gives it a 
180-degrees spin for the storyline. But, 
at the heart, they’re very similar,” said 
Price, who plays six characters in the 
ensemble, including a pizza delivery 
guy and a groom who gets killed by his 
wife.
Because, after all, as Beetlejuice 
gleefully sings, “Welcome to a show 
about death.” 

Details 
Beetlejuice will be performed Jan. 
31-Feb. 12 at the Detroit Opera House, 
1526 Broadway St., Detroit. Tickets 
for Beetlejuice start at $29 and can 
be purchased online at ticketmaster.
com, by phone at (800) 982-2787, and 
in person at the Fisher Theatre Box 
Office. For more information, visit www.
BroadwayinDetroit.com.

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW MURPHY, 2022

Lee N Price (first 
on the left), Justin 
Collette (center) as 
Beetlejuice and the 
Tour Company of 
Beetlejuice.

Lee N Price

