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Musicals based on films are becoming increasingly popular these days. The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Burlesque, Back to the Future, Ghost, Mean Girls, The Devil Wears Prada, Cruel Intentions, 13 Going On 30 and Clueless (both coming soon), the list goes on. One of the latest to join said list is the 1992 cult classic Death Becomes Her. The comedy starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini, set new standards for visual effects in film (and won the Oscar and BAFTA for them) and has been labelled as one of the gayest movies that aren’t actually gay.

But while the film – about two “old friends” who vie for the affections of the same man and in the face of their fast vanishing youth and beauty turn to mystical, extreme and dangerous measures to keep him and save face – garnered mixed reviews from critics at the time, the stage adaptation has been a smash hit. And as someone who has seen many a show and several musical versions of films recently, I was thoroughly impressed by its drop dead brilliance.

The issue some musical adaptations of classic and especially highly quotable films such as Mean Girls and The Devil Wears Prada run into is balancing the insertion of the film’s most famous lines and scenes to appease fans of them and keeping it fresh and funny in other places too. By them changing the wordings of some lines which detracted from what made them originally hilarious and memorable or placing them in different scenes where they don’t land the same, it felt derivative or that there was too much of a conscious effort to alter it just to be different from the film.

With Death Becomes Her though, this was rarely the case. And with fewer “iconic” lines in the film compared to the two aforementioned, there was less chance of ruining expectations. And those that are most well-known, were kept the same and in the right places.

Seasoned musical theatre actresses Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard had electric chemistry as frenemies Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp, bouncing and vibing off each other’s opposite but also similar characters and each other’s wicked tongues. Hilty, who has played Glinda in Wicked (and it shows in her bright upper register) and also been in 9 to 5: The Musical, Annie Get Your Gun, Noises Off, Little Shop of Horrors and Smash (the TV series, which is also coming to Broadway very soon), shone as the vain Madeline who journeys throughout the show in an attempt to reclaim her youth, fame and beauty. Meanwhile, Simard (who has been in Shrek the Musical, Disaster!, Hello, Dolly!, Annie, Company and Mean Girls) – who played the role of hard-done-by and vengeful Sharp and certainly embodied such emotions well, felt a little wooden in comparison to her co-star. She seemingly moved about the stage quite stiffly and was often barely comprehensible when singing (even from the front row).

However, backing the two leads up and figuratively and literally standing in between them was Bud Weber (normally Christopher Sieber) as the handsome but easily swayed and not particularly forthcoming Dr. Ernest Menville, and Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child fame who has since made great waves in theatre, appearing in the likes of Aida, The Color Purple, Chicago, Fela! and Jesus Christ Superstar) as Viola van Horn (originally named Lisle von Rhuman in the film – no idea why there was a name change). Williams makes the absolute most of her limited stage time (compared to the main trio) and although she naturally commands the audience’s attention and rapture because of who she is, her vocal prowess as well as the character’s mystique and status as the queen of her followers (The Immortals), make each one of her appearances mesmerising as she steals and maintains the limelight, even when the other three are on stage too.

So enchanting is Viola’s role that it is mainly her songs that remain the most memorable in this show, where actually many of the songs are catchy, funny and have potential staying power in an ever-increasing list of musical theatre songs as new shows pop up. Her songs “If You Want Perfection” (the opening number), “Siempre Viva” and “Don’t Say I Didn’t (Warn You)” are reminiscent of mysterious, cunning and yet still oddly likeable villains and their signature tunes such as Scar from The Lion King and Ursula from The Little Mermaid, and are further elevated by her chanting, dancing band of Immortals in their sleek, chic and sexy costumes.

Other great songs of note include Madeline’s opening showstopper “For The Gaze”, which from the get-go (and especially early on in the show) cements this as an extremely camp, tongue-in-cheek musical that is predominantly “for the gays”. Madeline also performs “Falling Apart” which tells of her experience after drinking the secret potion and where Hilty is able exercise her extensive vocal range and overly dramatic chops. And Ernest’s solo “The Plan” enables him to come into his own after spending the majority of the time in the shadow of his two women and their egos – even if it does mark his own descent into madness like them.

Sadly, however, the two leads’ duets often did not rouse the same excitement, which was perhaps due to their contrasting vocal performances where Hilty naturally pulled more focus and sang well but Simard’s stiffness and lack of enunciation was distracting.

Production-wise, Death Becomes Her does not take itself too seriously. It proudly wears its badge as a camp, OTT cult classic that mainly only the LGBTQ community and women who were in their 20s-40s at the time of the film’s release would really appreciate. At times it’s almost slapstick and pantomime-like, especially in love triangle scenes between the three main leads and those featuring Madeline’s PA/butler Stefan, and especially those when Helen kicks Madeline down the stairs or when the “two of them” are “fighting” it out after Madeline shoots Helen in retaliation.

If you’re looking for a rip-roaring, irreverent and nostalgia-filled time, then watching Death Becomes Her on Broadway is a must-see, especially if you’re a tourist and want to watch a show you can’t see back home.

Rating: 4.5/5

Now, a WARNING!

NOW a warning? No, not really. But a bit of advice for you if you’re looking to get tickets for Death Becomes Her on Broadway…

1. Join the digital lottery at 7am each morning for the chance to get tickets for $35 each for the show(s) the next day. You’ll know by 2pm that day if you’re successful and have until 3pm to pay for them. If you make the standby list, after 3pm you may still have the chance of winning if someone didn’t pay in time and you’ll then have until 4pm to pay. I recommend using multiple email addresses if possible.
2. You can queue up outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre from 10am Tuesday to Saturday and 12pm on Sunday to purchase tickets for $35. If you do this, make sure you clear your morning just in case, as I queued up from 10am on Sunday (not realising it was 12pm) and there were already several people ahead of me so it is clearly very popular and in high demand.
3. Remember, neither option is a guarantee you’ll get tickets at all but certainly worth doing if you can or want to save money and have a longer time in New York, especially if you’re spending a morning outside a Broadway theatre like this. Tickets will more than likely have a “partial view”, hence why they are being sold at cheaper prices that no-one wanted to buy. As I said, I sat in the front row (see above picture), which is great for being immersed in what’s happening but you may miss a couple of things or have a twisted neck by the end of it!