DEATH BECOMES HER IS NOT FOR PURITANS
OR VICTORIAN GRANDMOTHERS.
BUT HOW MANY OF THEM ARE AROUND TODAY?
Death Becomes Her, the new musical based on the eponymous 1992 black comedy/fantasy and gay cult classic, starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, is boisterous, loud and crass. It’s filled with tasteless one-liners and bawdy slapstick. And it’s loads of fun.
Megan Hilty (center) and cast
Directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her has a score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, and a book by Marco Pennette. The score could have come straight from an MGM film, and the book might have been written by Groucho Marx – both without the steadying hand of censors. The show had a hit tryout at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre and is now awaiting its fate on Broadway, where it opened tonight at the Lunt-Fontanne. It looks like our two protagonists will be dying eight times a week for some time.
Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Josh Lamon and Christopher Sieber
The story centers on the long-standing rivalry between two women, the flamboyant actress Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) and the mousy aspiring writer, Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard). When Helen introduces Madeline to her fiancé, Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber), a plastic surgeon who is dedicated to serving humanity, we know that just as God created man and woman, Madeline will soon pull Ernest away from Helen’s loving embrace. This results in an unhappy marriage for Ernest and Madeline, and a mental asylum for Helen.
Jennifer Simard, Megan Hilty, and Christopher Sieber
The musical now moves forward several years to reveal Ernest an alcoholic who works only for money and Madeline a fading beauty who doesn’t work much at all. Their miserable life is disrupted when they are invited to a party launching Helen’s new book. Helen is now successful, youthful and crazy as ever. Madeline fears Ernest will slip through her aging fingers.
Michelle Williams (center) and cast
In desperation, Madeline turns to the mysterious sorceress Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams), who has discovered the elixir of eternal youth. Murder and mayhem ensue. And that’s only Act I.
Taurean Everett (center) and cast
Hilty is perfect as the narcissistic Madeline. Her long tumble down the steps of her mansion that ends Act I is a tour-de-force. And watching Simard effortlessly transform the timid Helen into a tyrannical monster is a sheer delight. Separately Hilty and Simard are quite wonderful. But together they soar, particularly in their eleven o’clock duet, “Alive Forever.”
Jennifer Simard (center), Megan Hilty, Christopher Sieber and cast
Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber
Every comedy needs a straight man, and Sieber works overtime as the wayward dentist. Williams has a big name but not the voice to go with it. Nevertheless, it’s sufficient for a part that really isn’t much to start with.
The cast
Paul Tazewell’s over-the-top costumes capture the insanity, and Derek McLane’s sets take us easily from Ernest and Madeline’s sumptuous home to Viola Van Horn’s eerie doorstep.
Christopher Sieber
Act II goes from the zany to the fantastic. But if you’re willing to leave both disbelief and decorum at the door, you can easily get caught up in the exhilarating and antic whirlwind ahead. Death Becomes Her becomes Broadway.
Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simar and Christopher Sieber
photos by Matthew Murphy + Evan Zimmerman
The Company
Death Becomes Her
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 W 46th St.
2 hours 30 minutes, one intermission
open run
for tickets (on sale to August 31, 2025), visit Death Becomes Her or Broadway Direct