Death Becomes Her officially opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre November 21, and the reviews are rolling in! See what critics have to say about the stage version of the 1992 film below. Christopher Gattelli is directing and choreographing.
The cast is led by Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard as Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp, respectively, two rivals who gain eternal youth via a magic potion with some dirty side effects in the musical version of the 1992 film. Christopher Sieber and Michelle Williams are co-starring as Ernest Menville and Viola Van Horn, respectively. All four are reprising their performances from the musical's Chicago pre-Broadway tryout earlier this year.
Joining them are Taurean Everett as Chagall, Josh Lamon as Stefan; and Marija Abney, Lauren Celentano, Sarita Colón, Kaleigh Cronin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Michael Graceffa, Neil Haskell, Kolton Krouse, Sarah Meahl, Ximone Rose, Sir Brock Warren, Bud Weber, Ryan Worsing, and Warren Yang. Swings Kyle Brown, Lakota Knuckle, Johanna Moise, and Amy Quanbeck round out the company. Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting.
The work features a book by Marco Pennette, adapted from the screenplay by Martin Donovan and David Koepp; and songs by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey.
Read the reviews below.
The Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
CitiTour NYC (Brian Scott Lipton)
Digital Journal (Markos Papadatos)
Entertainment Weekly (Dalton Ross)
New York Magazine/Vulture (Jackson McHenry)*
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
New York Stage Review (Frank Scheck, David Finkle)
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)
New York Theatre Guide (Austin Fimmano)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
TheaterMania (Zachary Stewart)
The Wall Street Journal (Charles Isherwood)*
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The production features scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Justin Townsend, sound design by Peter Hylenski, hair and wig design by Charles J. LaPointe, makeup design by Joe Dulude II, fight direction by Cha Ramos, music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, music direction by Ben Cohn, orchestrations by Doug Besterman, and dance and incidental music arrangements by Sam Davis. Rachel Sterner is production stage manager.
Get your copy of the Death Becomes Her opening night Playbill at the Playbill Store
The film, directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis, was noted for its relatively early use of CGI to achieve effects like star Meryl Streep's head turned completely backwards and a gaping hole going through her co-star Goldie Hawn. This musical version has been kicking around since at least 2017, when Kristin Chenoweth was attached to star, then with a separate creative team.
Universal Theatrical Group—overseen by Jimmy Horowitz and led by Lowe Cunningham—is producing.
Visit DeathBecomesHer.com.
Company of Death Becomes Her
Taurean Everett and cast of Death Becomes Her
Michelle Williams, Megan Hilty, and cast of Death Becomes Her
Michelle Williams and cast of Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Josh Lamon, and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty and cast of Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard, Megan Hilty, and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard, Megan Hilty, Christopher Sieber, and cast of Death Becomes Her
Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
