It’s that time of the year again when I visit New York to see a number of broadway shows. This first show is the start of a very musical theatre heavy broadway weekend trip. It seems that since my last visit in October there has been more and more musicals opening on Broadway. I for one am not complaining as I had pretty much ran out of musicals to see, so a new smorgasbord of musical is very much appreciated.
The first show in question is “A death becomes her” which had an original run in Chicago back in the middle of last year (2024) and transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre towards the end of the year. It had its opening night on Broadway on November 21st 2024. Much of the orginal cast fro m hi cargo reprised their roles for the Brando way run. It has a book written by Marco Pennette and musical & lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. On one show days like the Thursday I was seeing the show it has a scheduled start time of 7pm however in typical broadway fashion did not start till at nearly 10 past. It has a running time of two hours and thirty minutes however it seem to finish before 9:30 PM so can assume since opening night they have tightened the show up.
As I took my seat in the front centre mezzanine of a theatre which had fully been taken over by the show themed décor. With period design covers all walls and large chandeliers around the whole auditorium. It is a big befit that Broadway has over the west end, as the theatre spaces are not historical and therefore can be altered and fitted out to the theme of the specific show. Which is impossible for most West End theatres due to the limitations of the historic buildings. Due to the high stage and the lateness of the booking due to only booking it a few hours prior to curtain up due to only landing in New York that afternoon. The front middle front mezzanine was a perfect view as shown in the view from my seat image below.
The show is a musical theatre adaptation of the 1992 film of the same name. Once again like many of these shows I have not seen the original film. So for those in the same boat as me her is a very brief overview of the synopsis of the show.
We are introduced to Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) a very successful and popular actress who seems to have it all. Until her long time old frenemy Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) turns up with her husband, Ernest Melville (Christopher Sieber). Madeline proceeds to steal Helens husband. Then we skip 10 years to where the tables have seemed to have turned. With Madeline aging and having less and less of a career while Helen is making it big a successful writer and looks better than ever. In a desperate attempt to save it all Madeline is introduced to Viola Vans Horn (Michele Williams). Who seems to shave the answer to save her future for the next ten years due to her magic potion. A push down the stairs proves that Madeline is invincible. During the second act we are exposed to the downside of immortal living as both Madeline and Helen are struggling with the side effects of living forever while everyone else continues a “normal” life expectancy.
Both the book and lyrics to this show are hilarious. This is very difficult to do and most “comedy” musicals are unable to achieve it correctly. But this show does with both the spoken scenes being equally as funny as the songs and vice a verse. Which really does create a literal laugh a minute. It was also very impressive how the concept of the original 90s film was able to be modernised. The most obvious is Viola Van Horn literally calling herself an “Influencer” and the brilliant ensamble of dancers her influenced. Which is such a modern concept which definitely would not have been “a thing” in the early 90s.
Not only was the whole production a laugh a minute funny it never forgot that it was a musical. And this was double down by the epic vocal performances from the three main leads of Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and Michele Williams, but more on them later.
All other aspects of the show also did not disappoint. The first being the costumes which seem to be constantly changing during the first act. And especially during the first act scene of Madeline character acting quick changes where she literally had four or five costume changes in the space of a few minutes. A glimpse to this scene and the amazing performance from Megan Hilty can be found on the “Death becomes her” YouTube video here.
Link YouTube video “for the gaze from their YouTube channel .
The amount and variation of costumes really did add to the whole “broadway” worthiness of the show and really made you feel like you were watching a broadway show. Another aspect of the show which added to this was the staging which had huge set designs and changes throughout the show. Each scene to be as grand and “broadway” and the one before.
The lighting for the production was outstanding and seem to be able to take over and engulf the whole themed auditorium. It especially came into its own during the many “magic tricks”/ illusions that occurred during the whole show. But especially within the second act each scene seemed to have at least one magic trick or illusion in it. I assume this is to replicate what would have been CGI in the original film. The lighting along with the amazing prop department and amazing direction made all the stunts and misdirection possible. Which is needed for this kind of show. The costume department also aided with the trickery and was high tied during the shotgun shooting sene and providing th on stage illusion of one of the characters having a whole in their torso. It was up their with ghost the musical for the illusion but more of a slap stick version which was needed for this comedy musical.
Before I talk about the main characters and actors, a special shoutout to the ensemble has to be made. As without them the show would simple not work, they aided in a lot of the misdirection as “stunt” doubles. As well as providing amazing dance routines which ensured that the musical theatre aspect of the show was not lost. Each and everyone worked continuously and tirelessly with constant contumely changes and appearance in the majority of the scenes.
This brilliant ensemble cast supports an amazingly strong cast which has many Tony nominees and even Grammy winners.
The first is Megan Hilty playing Madeline Ashton. As someone who has recently (within the last few weeks) has just finished the show “Smash” in preparation to see the broadway production on Saturday. I was very excited to see Megan Hilty perform live. I am so glad to say that she did not disappoint and was brilliant across the board. She was funny and her vocals were amazing. Her harmony’s with Jennifer Simard playing Helen Sharp where some of the best I have seen in any musical theatre show. The show has released a “Broadway sneak preview” EP which is on all major streaming platforms. Which I do recommend listening to especially “Alive Forever” which highlights both Megan and Jennifer vocal talents. It also gives me hope that their will be a full cast recording in the shows future.
Another cast member who deserves a special mention is Michele Williams, who for a Brit I did not know individually before the show but can see why she is a Grammy aware winner. Her Perla ovals and personalisation of the Viola Van Horn character was amazing and perfect casting for the role.
As mentioned before the whole cast was brilliant but the last specific mention goes to Christopher Siber who portages the husband Ernest Menville who really becomes a more and more important character as the show goes on and epscailly during the second act. He ability to portray the comedy but also emotion which is needed for the role is great.
The Thursday show was also a broadway debut for Nick Alvino who got a special dedication during the curtain call. It is also special to witness someone broadway or West End debut.
Overall I give this show 4 out of 5 stars. It is one of the best comedy musical theatre shows I have seen. A hilarious book and lyrics create a literal laugh a minute. Which set, prop and costume all living up to a high Broadway standard. With amazing vocals and performances from the whole cast. A must see for any musical theatre fan.
Further details and tickets can be found on the shows website.
A SPURDLE reviews 