“The most fun night out on Broadway!” – The Daily Beast
Madeline Ashton is the most beautiful actress (just ask her) ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp is the long-suffering author (just ask her) who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies…until Madeline steals Helen’s fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for.
After one sip of Viola’s magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored…and a grudge to last eternity.
Time Out New York raves, “4 STARS! Death Becomes Her is savagely funny,” and Deadline declares it’s “wildly entertaining — a perfect musical comedy.” “Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard are two theatrical masterminds giving hilarious star turns” (The New York Times). Grammy® winner Michelle Williams is “irresistibly fabulous” (Theatermania), and “Christopher Sieber stops the show” (Time Out New York). Death Becomes Her, based on the classic 1992 film, is “a laugh-filled, tuneful musical to die for” (Variety).
The latest example is Death Becomes Her, which actually manages the neat trick of being superior to the 1992 fantasy film starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis. The musical adaptation, newly arrived on Broadway after a Chicago tryout, is a laugh riot from start to finish, featuring superb comic performances from its two female leads, a lavish physical production that actually reflects the astronomical (reportedly $31.5 million) production cost, and a book featuring more zingy one-liners than a Friars Club Roast. The only thing missing are memorable songs, but fortunately the show is so entertaining you’ll find yourself not minding very much.
Since Act 2 narratively does not have as much drive or emotion as the first, and the songs are still mush, Gattelli should have included even more body horror schtick. The Demi Moore film “The Substance” is a lesson in how upping the gore ante can rev up a story. But whenever the material sags, like aging skin, its sensational stars inject the show with new vibrancy. Even if the musical doesn’t have a discernible heartbeat, Hilty and Simard ensure “Death Becomes Her” stays fun and fabulous.
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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