REVIEW: ‘Death Becomes Her’ is poisonously, devilishly good entertainment
Photo: From left, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard star in the new Broadway musical Death Becomes Her. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
NEW YORK — Death Becomes Her, the latest film-to-stage adaptation, is a rollicking, hilarious time that perfectly captures the comedic chops of its two leading actors: Megan Hilty, making her Broadway return after several years, and Jennifer Simard, one of the most talented singers of this generation. Together they are comedy heaven, or more like comedy hell, in this devilishly fun show.
Death Becomes Her is based on a cult classic from the 1990s starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini. The movie is funny for its outrageousness and competitive revenge scenes, and now audiences can feast on a new musical adaptation from Christopher Gattelli (direction and choreography), Marco Pennette (book), and Julia Mattison and Noel Carey (music and lyrics).
The story surrounds the characters of Madeline Ashton (Hilty), a successful actor in her youth who faces the harsh reality of Hollywood’s closed doors when she grows older, and Helen Sharp (Simard), a friend of Madeline’s and burgeoning writer. Theirs is a classic friendship that’s not really a friendship. When Madeline is young and successful, she flaunts her riches and successes in Helen’s face, but then the tables are turned when Madeline is no longer cast in productions. Complicating matters is when Madeline falls for Helen’s husband, a cosmetic surgeon named Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber). This drives Helen into a mental health breakdown where all she can think about is exacting revenge on Madeline.
Hovering over this twisted tale of friendship is the fact that the world is cruel and discriminatory toward women of a certain age. Both Madeline and Helen face ridicule and are forgotten about as they grow older, and this drives them to search for the fountain of youth. That fountain comes in the form of a powerful purple elixir purveyed by Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams, of Destiny’s Child fame). She promises eternal youth and immortality, and Madeline and Helen are more than willing to gamble on the side effects and take a sip.
All throughout this tangled plot are hilarious bits and nonstop jokes, each of them brought to life thanks to the perfect timing of Hilty and Simard. The two have great chemistry together, even during the scenes when they hate each other’s guts. One gets the feeling that the two actors are having a blast on the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where Death Becomes Her continues in an open-ended run.
Both Hilty and Simard have commanding singing voices and are able to fill the cavernous Lunt-Fontanne with their powerful vocals. They’re also not above silly fun, with pratfalls and diabolical schemes that are childish and hilarious. They are the reason this musical works so well.
Williams and Sieber are enjoyable in their roles, and the rewrites on Sieber’s Ernest make sense in 2024. The women are fighting less for him and more for that perpetual glow of youth. He simply gets in the way. Williams is in fine vocal form, especially in the opening number, which sets the production on the right course. Extra credit for for the performative talents of Taurean Everett, who is excellent as Chagall, and Josh Lamon, who is Stefan, a funny, funny sidekick to Hilty’s Madeline.
The hard-working ensemble, under the direction of Gattelli, populate the stage as a variety of characters, most notably the denizens of Viola’s underground lair. The scenic design by Derek McLane is fitting and appropriate for the story, in particular an iconic staircase in Madeline’s house, which should be familiar to lovers of the original film.
Death Becomes Her doesn’t move the musical dial by too many notches. This is not exactly groundbreaking and revelatory high-art. Instead, the musical, which runs two hours and 20 minutes, leans into the obvious comedy of this convoluted plot while Madeline and Helen seek their revenge. This enormous spectacle knows exactly what it is, and that’s to be cherished. Death Becomes Her is one of the funniest shows on Broadway and one of the best musical comedies in years.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Death Becomes Her, directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, features a book by Marco Pennette and music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. Starring Megan Hilty, Jenifer Simard, Christopher Sieber and Michelle Williams. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Now running at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
