Death Becomes Her

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

I was in the audience last evening for Death Becomes Her.  It was a really enjoyable show.  Megan Hilty is cast brilliantly for the role of Madeline Ashton.  Unfortunately, Jennifer Simard was out; however, her understudy was good and not once would you have thought that it was not the regular lead performing.  Chris Sieber is good in the role of Ernest, and Michelle Williams gave a strong vocal performance.

For those of us that appreciate things other than the leads, the choreography was excellent, the costumes were good (especially considering how many quick changes there were in the early part of the show) and the ensemble's costumes were sexy, they used real sets rather than projection, and the lighting was effective.  And how they created the injuries on stage had me stumped.  I am hoping I can return to the city to see it again.

I would like to see it get many nominations come awards season.

[+ ApexNomad]

42 minutes ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I was in the audience last evening for Death Becomes Her.  It was a really enjoyable show.  Megan Hilty is cast brilliantly for the role of Madeline Ashton.  Unfortunately, Jennifer Simard was out; however, her understudy was good and not once would you have thought that it was not the regular lead performing.  Chris Sieber is good in the role of Ernest, and Michelle Williams gave a strong vocal performance.

For those of us that appreciate things other than the leads, the choreography was excellent, the costumes were good (especially considering how many quick changes there were in the early part of the show) and the ensemble's costumes were sexy, they used real sets rather than projection, and the lighting was effective.  And how they created the injuries on stage had me stumped.  I am hoping I can return to the city to see it again.

I would like to see it get many nominations come awards season.

Thank you for this review! I remember watching the movie’s opening, when Madeline/Meryl Streep is performing on Broadway, and thinking to myself, I would actually pay to see that show everyone was walking out on! LOL.

[hungry4darkmeat]

Thank you for posting this review I’m going to see if soon and can’t wait- the movie is legendary among my all time faves and I’m bringing a large crew with me so glad to hear it won’t be disappointing!

[skynyc]

It's TONS of fun. I saw it in Chicago and they fixed a lot of the problems from the second act. Opening number is just riotous. And there's not a shred of scenery left after all the chewing. Have a drink first to be fully relaxed and ready to laugh. I did find that Michelle Williams sang her songs well, but couldn't deliver a line...or walk in the costumes. Would love to see it again with HER understudy. And there's a descending the staircase moment that rivals Hello Dolly and Sunset Blvd (the original). 

Enjoy. 

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

12 hours ago, skynyc said:

And there's a descending the staircase moment that rivals Hello Dolly and Sunset Blvd (the original).

Oh yeah, how did I omit that?   

[foxy]

Good silly fun. Everyone works their sparkly butts off. 

[+ ApexNomad]

On 2/13/2025 at 9:12 PM, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I was in the audience last evening for Death Becomes Her.  It was a really enjoyable show.  Megan Hilty is cast brilliantly for the role of Madeline Ashton.  Unfortunately, Jennifer Simard was out; however, her understudy was good and not once would you have thought that it was not the regular lead performing.  Chris Sieber is good in the role of Ernest, and Michelle Williams gave a strong vocal performance.

For those of us that appreciate things other than the leads, the choreography was excellent, the costumes were good (especially considering how many quick changes there were in the early part of the show) and the ensemble's costumes were sexy, they used real sets rather than projection, and the lighting was effective.  And how they created the injuries on stage had me stumped.  I am hoping I can return to the city to see it again.

I would like to see it get many nominations come awards season.

I recently saw this and completely agree with your review—it was a lot of fun. It had a different feel from the movie, which is a classic in its own right. I saw Simard, who was terrific. The only weak link for me was Michelle Williams—she lacked the spark the rest of the cast had and didn’t quite gel in the same way. Still, all in all, great fun! And yes, the staircase scene was fantastic. Thank you Sam for the early review!

[mike carey]

@sam.fitzpatrick, I saw it last night and echo your assessments. I'm not one for a finer analysis of all aspects of a performance, I'm more a 'like/dislike' sort of critic. I'll leave that to you, B and others. I thought that the blending of real sets with projections into the background worked well, and liked the Moorish character of the columns in some scenes. Whether that was a conscious to portray the 'exotic' of the potion and its purveyor, I can't say but it had that effect. The show was spectacular and fun, but a reminder that eternal life might not be all the fun it first seems to be.