PicksInSix Review: Death Becomes Her - Broadway in Chicago
“Death Becomes Her” - Masterful Musical Macabomedy!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy
The world premiere of the rollicking new musical “Death Becomes Her” opened Sunday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre combining an all-star cast with eye-popping special effects for a high-flying, side-splitting show. The book by Marco Pennette, with an original score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, is remarkably true to the absurd 1992 film directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini about the search for immortality.
The new show is a masterful musical macabomedy with an unmatched, award-winning creative team led by director/choreographer Christopher Gattelli with music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell and an equally outstanding cast starring Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber as the love triangle in the sights of the mystical temptress Viola Van Horn played by Michelle Williams who promises physical perfection and “Siempre Viva” (forever life) for a not-so-small fee and some stringent strings attached.
At the heart of the storyline is the embattled relationship between the aging actress Madeline Ashton (Hilty) and struggling author Helen Sharp (Simard) who have been competing for the other’s riches all their lives. Everything Helen has Madeline wants which includes her doctor fiancé Ernest (Sieber) who is an easy mark for the wily starlet. The two are married which spirals Helen into a nervous breakdown.
Seven years pass and while Madeline and Ernest are trapped in an unhappy, loveless marriage, Helen emerges as a youthful, successful author seeking revenge for all of the misery Madeline has wrought. As she begins to plot with Ernest to put her out of the way so the two can live happily ever after, Madeline returns from her own meeting with Viola and the two face off, well, to the death. And that’s just the beginning of Ernest’s problems to keep the two looking fresh and fit in their forever lives.
At its best, the Mattison/Carey score—with magnificent orchestrations by Doug Besterman and dance and incidental music arrangements by Sam Davis all under the music direction of Ben Cohn—is terrific as evidenced by the electrifying crowd-pleaser “For The Gaze,” showcasing Hilty and the ensemble in the show within the show. Individually, Simard’s vocal and versatile comic abilities are on full display from the tortured, outcast in “Madeline” and “Falling Apart” to vengeful ex-lover who stands up for what she believes is rightfully hers. Williams’s stoic Viola, and the cast of immortals who surround her, delivers the soaring anthems “If You Want Perfection” and “I Warned You” in high style. Sieber shines throughout as someone we can root for in “Till Death” and “The Plan” but it is the musical duel of Hilty and Simard evidenced in “Confrontation,” “Hit Me” and “Alive Forever” that propel the show forward to life ever after.
Derek McLane robust scenic design with Justin Townsend’s dazzling lighting provides the perfect backdrop for an array of magnificent costumes by Paul Tazewell. Peter Hylenski’s sound and Rob Lake spellbinding illusions make the Broadway-bound “Death Becomes Her” a visual feast for the senses. Previews begin in October with opening scheduled for November 21, 2024, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, but you can see it now at the Cadillac through June 2.
PHOTO|Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman, 2024
BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
presents
World Premiere
DEATH BECOMES HER
Cadillac Palace Theatre
through June 2, 2024
TICKETS
SHOW WEBSITE
BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
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