**** Highly Recommended This is your chance, Chicago! Broadway-bound Death Becomes Her is absolutely fabulous! It’s a gorgeous, outrageously funny, larger than life, almost old-fashioned musical. The music is glorious, the lyrics are fast-paced and snarky, the costumes sparkly and the frenemies just bitchy enough. With standing ovations from the opening night audience the stars have aligned and this show is a hit! Best of all – Chicagoans have bragging rights – we saw it before Broadway! 4 BIG Spotlights
The show opens with the mysterious Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams), in a gorgeous, sparkling gold gown, singing If You Want Perfection. She’s surrounded by the Immortals – all wearing nude body suits with strategically placed strips of black leather crisscrossing their bodies, dancing an incredibly sexy routine. Spectacular opening!
That opening is followed almost immediately by a song from a Broadway show called Me, Me, Me, starring the most beautiful actress to grace any stage, Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty). The song, From the Gaze, features our star making at least 4 different costumes changes – a sparkly gold dress falls – literally – into a sparkly blue number. After a quick trip off-stage, she emerges wearing a red sparkly pant suit and black wig – ala Judy Garland, another dress, and finally Dorothy’s gingham dress and ruby slippers.
Back in her dressing room, Madeline dismisses several important potential visitors but invites a former friend backstage. Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) was a writer who dropped out of (Madeline’s) sight when she couldn’t compete (Madeline’s assessment). Madeline and Helen air kiss, then Helen introduces her fiancé, Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber), a plastic surgeon who works with children from impoverished countries. Madeline, who has people who see to every aspect of her body, sees a potential resource in him, singing Tell Me, Ernest as she dazzles him.
Ernest, wearing a tuxedo, is getting married – to Madeline! Unfortunately for the hapless groom, the wedding has become a production – and an opera singer is singing his vows. Meanwhile, in a mental institution somewhere, Helen is obsessed with killing Madeline!
Jump ahead ten years. Ernest refers to Madeline as the worst mistake of his life, as he mourns his successful career as plastic surgeon to the stars. Madeline is distraught, she’s not getting parts, in fact, she’s not even getting calls. When she finally does get a call, it’s for a cosmetics commercial – and she’s the before!
When they get an invitation to a book-launch for Helen Sharp, Madeline insists they attend. Wearing a rather matronly royal blue pantsuit, Madeline is pretty much ignored – which infuriates her. When a rejuvenated Helen sweeps in wearing a gorgeous red gown, Madeline loses her cool.
Instead of going home, she visits the mysterious Viola who offers her a potion that will make her young again – except, she warns, it’s only good for ten years in the public eye, and then she has to disappear forever.
Younger, more beautiful Helen drops in to gloat, but Madeline is younger, more beautiful too. When they get into a pushing match, Madeline falls down the stairs – in a spectacular slow-mo cartwheeling fall – and breaks her neck.
Ernest is ecstatic because he’s finally free. Just as he’s planning his life with Helen, dead Madeline stands up, her head at an awkward angle. She’s still disagreeable as she orders Ernest to fix her neck, but she’s also still dead. Soon they're in a pitched battle with shovels (Ernest was going to bury Madeline in the garden). Eventually, Madeline gets a shotgun and blows a hole in her! Now they’re both alive – and dead – for eternity. What do they do next?
The Death Becomes Her ensemble includes Marija Abney, Sarita Colón, Kaleigh Cronin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Gabriella Enriquez, Taurean Everett, Michael Graceffa, Neil Haskell, Kolton Krouse, Josh Lamon, Sara Meahl, Diana Vaden, Sir Brock Warren, Bud Weber, Ryan Worsing and Warren Yang.
The Death Becomes Her orchestra is conducted by Ben Cohn (Music Director/Conductor/Keyboard) and Cam Moncur (Associate Conductor/Keyboard). The orchestra includes Michéle Lekas (Violin), Karla Galva (Violin/Viola), Mark Lekas (Cello), Jim Gailloreto, Steve Leinheiser, David Orlicz, Jacob Slocum (Reeds), Chuck Parrish (Lead Trumpet), Josh Rzepka (Trumpet), Michael Joyce, Tom Matta (Trombones), Greg Flint (French Horn), Steve Roberts (Guitar), Marc Hogan (Bass), Damien Bassman (Drums) and David Victor (Percussion).
Death Becomes Her, based on the 1992 film written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan, starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis, was written by Marco Pennette, with music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. The production is directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli with associated director Bethany Pettigrew.
Death Becomes Her runs through June 2nd at Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 West Randolph Street, Chicago. Best parking option SpotHero found is the Lake-Franklin Garage, 180 N. Franklin, $10.
Running time is 2 hours, 30 minutes, with an intermission. Remaining performances are Tuesdays at 7:30 pm; Wednesdays at 2:00 & 7:30 pm; Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm, with Saturday 2:00 pm matinees on May 25th & June 1st; Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets range from $30.00 to $122.00. FYI www.BroadwayInChicago.com