‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Megan Hilty & Jennifer Simard. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

DEATH BECOMES HER
Based on the Universal Pictures film, directed by Robert Zemeckis
Book by Marco Pennette
Music & lyrics by Julia Mattison & Noel Carey
Directed & choreographed by Christopher Gattelli
Through June 28, 2026
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 West 46^th Street
https://deathbecomesher.com/

By Scott Harrah

The 1992 film Death Becomes Her, starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, was a phenomenal hit comedy, with iconic performances by the two actresses and state-of-the-art special effects. Broadway stage adaptations are always tricky and a gamble. Fortunately, this musical captures all the outrageous fun and special effects that made the movie so memorable. What’s more, at times the Broadway version surpasses the movie’s high-energy level of self-parody, and that’s a plus for anyone who loves exaggerated entertainment for laughter’s sake.

Like the famous film on which it is based, the musical Death Becomes Her revels in all the catty fun one can think of when two women who are best friends and celebrities take rivalry to outrageous lengths. It has all the ingredients for bona fide camp: Bitchy one-liners, the quest for eternal youth, and women fighting over men. Not exactly feminist fare, for sure, but the 1992 movie never tried to be that either. More like Clare Booth Luce’s The Women fused with a horror movie with a subtext about the dangers of extreme plastic surgery gone horribly wrong.

The plot

For those who have never seen the movie, here’s a brief synopsis. Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) is an aging Hollywood star who will do anything to restore her once-youthful beauty. Her friend and rival Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) is a struggling writer married to plastic surgeon Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber). Desperate to rejuvenate her looks, Madeline visits the enigmatic Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams), a woman who sells her a magic potion that will restore beauty and make one forever young. One catch: The potion makes people live forever, and beauty and immortality both have many sobering consequences and side effects.

Madeline and Helen have been “frenemies” for years, with Madeline obsessed with her vanity and Helen thirsty for revenge. When Madeline steals Ernest from Helen, all-out war ensues.

True to the film

The musical adaptation of Death Becomes Her is mostly true to the 1992 film, despite a few minor changes in the script and some character’s names that will only be noticed by those who have seen the movie dozens of times (this reviewer, for example).  Marco Pennette’s book is consistently crisp and full of quick-witted repartee. Thanks to “illusions” by Tim Clothier, a gorgeous set by Derek McLane, fantastic lighting by Justin Townsend, ultra-glamorous costumes by Paul Tazewell and hair and wigs by Charles LaPointe, Broadway’s Death Becomes Her is a nonstop glitz-fest. For years, critics have been complaining that Broadway musicals are too threadbare, utilitarian and not extravagant enough anymore, but this one pulls out all the proverbial stops.

The score

Julia Mattison and Noel Clary’s songs are all whimsical and witty. However, although few are particularly memorable, they certainly are never dull. One of the standouts is “For the Gaze,” Madeline’s gleefully silly production number in act one. The “Gaze” she sings about are actually “gays” and she impersonates everyone from Liza Minnelli to Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria while scantily clad chorus boys dance around her.

Sublime cast

The sublime cast truly makes Death Become Her shine. It is a treat to see the two female leads back on Broadway. Megan Hilty is a true comic delight as Madeline Ashton. With her seamless delivery of snarky wisecracks and her soaring vocals, Ms. Hilty is the perfect Madeline. Equally outstanding is Jennifer Simard, who makes the perfect transition from mousy frump Helen to a buxom sexpot. Ms. Simard has been slowly gathering momentum on Broadway over the years, and her portrayal of Helen Sharp is her best performance ever. Christopher Sieber is also amazing as Ernest Melville, the plastic surgeon who must endure “Mad” and “Hel” for too long.

Supporting cast members are equally extraordinary. Michelle Williams sheds her Destiny’s Child image and portrays the mystical Viola Van Horn with the right mix of mystique and the macabre. Of course, her vocals on such songs as “Don’t Say I Didn’t (Warn You)” are first rate. Josh Lamon gives a fun performance as Stefan, Madeline’s overworked assistant. Taurean Everett is wonderfully menacing as Chagall, Viola’s assistant.

Director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli directs everything fluidly and smoothly, helping make Death Becomes Her one of the year’s best musicals. It’s hilarious from the moment the curtain rises and the madcap insanity never lets up.

Published November 25, 2024
Reviewed at press performance on November 23, 2024

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Michelle Williams (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Christopher Sieber. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Jennifer Simard & Christopher Sieber. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Megan Hilty (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Jennifer Simard & Christopher Sieber. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Taurean Everett (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: Jennifer Simard (center), Megan Hilty, Christopher Sieber & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘DEATH BECOMES HER’: (left to right) Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Josh Lamon & Christopher Sieber. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

COMPANY
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by Marianne Elliott
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), https://companymusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The latest Company revival could drive a critic (and purists) crazy with British director Marianne Elliott’s new, often confusing and very European spin on this masterpiece that has never needed tampering. Why?  It is the quintessential New York musical, a show renowned for its simplicity, sophistication and gorgeous score, featuring classics like “Being Alive,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “Another Hundred People,” “Getting Married Today” and others.  What’s offered here is a 21^st century perspective to dust off the narrative cobwebs and dated dialogue and make it relevant in 2021, but the score by Stephen Sondheim (who died last month) is so timeless that there was no need for a major overhaul here   More than 50 years have passed since Company first premiered on Broadway but much of the overall premise of the show rings true today.  Manhattan is still a maddening, overcrowded insane world with millions of people, and it’s still so easy to feel alone when you’re single.  This is certainly one of Mr. Sondheim’s greatest works, if not the best.  George Furth’s original book was—dare I say it?—ahead of its time back in 1970 when Company premiered on Broadway.  Many aspects of the show—tiny Manhattan apartments, expectations about getting married, the hustle and bustle of the New York City subway—are still relevant today.  Company is both an all-American musical and a paean to New York City, but Ms. Elliott’s interpretation (a hit in 2018 in London) has diminished many of the charms of the original show.

Director Marianne Elliott’s biggest change to the story is swapping the gender of lead character Bobby. Tony Award winner Katrina Lenk (The Band’s Visit) plays Bobbie, a single Manhattan woman celebrating her 35^th birthday.  Ms. Lenk has a great voice and an effervescent stage presence, but she appears too bland and emotionally distant for audiences to root for her, and this is problematic since the original Bobby was always the least interesting character in Company.

Marianne Elliott did such a superb job with the 2018 Broadway revival of Angels in America and the 2014 British import The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so it is disappointing that she has added too much European-style excess here, from a scene showing Bobbie in the rain to various characters running through Bobbie’s bedroom during the “Barcelona” number in act two.  The last revival in 2006, starring Raul Julia as Bobby, was also very minimalist and featured gimmicky touches from another British director, John Doyle.  Remember how John Doyle had the actors play instruments onstage in the revival of Company and, in 2005, Sweeney Todd?  One of the changes that truly works is changing a straight couple to a gay couple. The character of Jamie (originally Amy) is played with manic exuberance by Matt Doyle as a gay man about to marry his partner Paul (Etai Benson).  Mr. Doyle truly stops the show with his outstanding rendition of “Getting Married Today.”  He displays all the nervous emotions of wedding-day jitters that both men and women, straight or gay, can relate to, and Mr. Doyle should certainly be a front-runner for a Tony Award in a few months.

Another standout is Tony nominee Jennifer Simard as Sarah, the diet-crazed woman married to recovering alcoholic Harry (Christopher Sieber).  Fans of Patti LuPone will not be disappointed with her take on the glamorous, acid-tongued Joanne, Bobbie’s oldest and dearest friend who loves to talk about her many husbands.  Ms. LuPone is her usual over-the-top self, belting out one of the show’s most famous songs, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” with her famous tough-diva pipes.

Scenic designer Bunny Christie mostly fills the stage with Neon-lit boxes and Mylar balloons in an attempt to make the show more contemporary, but doing so takes away some of the show’s New York accent.  Anyone who has at least studied the 1970 original remembers the set was actually a character in the show. Walter Kerr wrote in his 1970 New York Times review that the set by Boris Aronson “at first looks like the prison setting for ‘The Last Mile’ [but] becomes a breath-taking mobile, an interlocked Tinker-Toy of rippling platforms, sighing elevators, spun-glass spindles for dances to chin themselves on.”  In this revival, the set designs look nothing like New York City and could be Anywhere, USA.

Despite this revival’s many shortcomings, it is worth seeing Company simply for the score resurrected one more time to truly appreciate the late, great Mr. Sondheim and hear all the beautiful songs by the last of the great Broadway songsmiths.

Edited by David NouNou
Published December 12, 2021
Reviewed at December 11, 2021 press performance.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Katrina Lenk & Patti LuPone. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Claybourne Elder, Manu Narayan, Bobby Conte. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk & Claybourne Elder. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Rashidra Scott, Katrina Lenk & Greg Hildreth. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenbur.

‘COMPANY’: Matt Doyle. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.

‘COMPANY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘THE PROM’: The cast. Photo: Deen van Meer

THE PROM
Book by Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Directed & choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.theprommusical.com

By David NouNou

To say that The Prom is the best musical of the season may not sound like much of a compliment, considering some of the dreck that has opened since June. However, this musical would stand tall in any season with stiffer competition.

This is the perfect antidote for these harsh times we live in. A musical that is joyous for the holidays and delirious for the winter doldrums ahead. A musical with a heart, a message that is not preachy, a hysterical book, a memorable score, direction and choreography that are expertly paced and placed and the expertise of three of the best Grade A hams on Broadway: Brooks Ashmanskas, Beth Leavel and Christopher Sieber make this the perfect gift for Christmas, Valentine’s day and every holiday thereafter.

Four Broadway veteran narcissists (is that really possible?); two of whom who have just closed on opening night in the musical Eleanor, a romp with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt replete with hip-hop. They closed due to a drubbing they received from the New York Times (as if that is possible)? That was possible in the 1950s and 1960s but unfortunately not today.

Dee Dee Allen who portrays Eleanor (Beth Leavel) and Barry Glickman playing Franklin (Brooks Ashmanskas) are devastated by the reviews they received and are commiserated by their good friend Angie (Angie Schworer), a woman who has been in the chorus of Chicago for the last 20 years. They meet up that night with a fellow thespian that is a Julliard graduate but now works for cater waiter, and once was a TV star in the 1990s in a show called “Talk to the Hand.”

All four are in desperate need for image rehabilitation, so what do they do? They go on Twitter to look up worthy charitable causes to improve their public image. Along with their PR man, Sheldon Saperstein (Josh Lamon), they find their worthy cause. She happens to be a teenage lesbian, Emma (Caitlin Kinnunen) who can’t take a date to her high school prom due to the bigotry and homophobia of the town and its proclaimed leader of morality, Mrs. Greene (Courtenay Collins). Thus the prom is being cancelled.

So what do these Broadway angels of mercy decide to do? They go on a bus touring company of Godspell, thus bringing religion and pizzazz to the Midwestern town of Edgewater, Indiana in defense of uplifting their image and a town in desperate need of a makeover.

The plot may seem familiar but it does have some twists and the approach is different and refreshing. The book by Mr. Martin and Mr. Beguelin is grounded and hysterical. They bring the right amount of message, frivolity and a grand time. The score is relatable and Casey Nicholaw has done the same brilliant job he always does with his direction and choreography. As in Something Rotten, he has touched on his Broadway roots and no one does it better than him.

As for Beth Leavel, Brooks Ashmanskas, Christopher Sieber and Angie Schworer, they are at the top of their game. They all have show-stopping numbers, which are another dividend and a source of delight for the audience. You just can’t help but root for these lovable self-promoters (in this case they are the good people) and have these angels earn their wings.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 12, 2018
Reviewed at December 11, 2018 performance.

‘THE PROM’: (left to right) Josh Lamon, Beth Leavel, Brooks Ashmanskas & Angie Schworer. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: Isabelle McCalla & Caitlin Kinnunen. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: Christopher Sieber & cast. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: Beth Leavel & Michael Potts. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: Angie Schworer & Caitlin Kinnunen. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: Isabelle McCalle & Courtenay Collins. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: The cast. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘THE PROM’: (left to right) Christopher Sieber, Angie Schworer, Beth Leavel & Brooks Ashmanskas. Photo: Deen van Meer

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