Universal Theatrical Group announced Wednesday that the musical adaptation of Death Becomes Her is bound for Broadway with previews scheduled to begin October 23 for a November 21 opening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Midtown Manhattan.
In 2017, Tony-winning director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli enlisted writer Marco Pennette as well as composers Julia Mattison and Noel Carey to bring Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 gay cult classic film – starring Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, and Goldie Hawn – to the stage.
It’s only been two weeks since Death Becomes Her officially opened at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, IL where it is scheduled to run through June 2 before the entire production heads for the Big Apple.
Grammy-winning Destiny’s Child alum Michelle Williams portrays the mysterious wealthy socialite Viola Van Horn, who’s a slight variation of Isabella Rossellini’s delightfully camp Lisle von Rhuman from the original film.
Smash alum and Tony nominee Megan Hilty stars as aging actress Madeline Ashton while two-time Tony nominee Jennifer Simard plays her frenemy Helen Sharp, who vows revenge after Madeline ‘steals’ her plastic surgeon fiancé Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber).
Universal Theatrical Group announced Wednesday that the musical adaptation of Death Becomes Her is bound for Broadway with previews scheduled to begin October 23 for a November 21 opening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Midtown Manhattan
In 2017, director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli enlisted writer Marco Pennette as well as composers Julia Mattison and Noel Carey to bring Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 gay cult classic film – starring (from L-R) Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, and Goldie Hawn – to the stage
The logline reads: ‘After one sip of Viola’s magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored… and a grudge to last eternity.’
The newly-dropped teaser fittingly opens the same exact way as the film – on a rainy New York night on Broadway.
The narcissistic Madeline then belts a disco-inspired song called I See Me while starring in Songbird!, a disastrous Broadway musical adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ 1959 play Sweet Bird of Youth.
The $55M-budget Beverly Hills zom-com received mixed reviews from critics, but it still amassed $149M at the global box office and was fully embraced by the LGBTQAI community.
‘Illusion’ designer Rob Lake certainly has his hands full recreating some of the Oscar-winning visual effects (computer-generated skin texture) specifically invented by Industrial Light and Magic for Death Becomes Her.
‘My first, my last, my only [special FX film]. I think it’s tedious,’ Streep scoffed to EW at the time.
‘Whatever concentration you can apply to that kind of comedy is just shredded. You stand there like a piece of machinery – they should get machinery to do it. I loved how it turned out. But it’s not fun to act to a lampstand.
‘”Pretend this is Goldie, right here! Uh, no, I’m sorry, Bob, she went off the mark by five centimeters, and now her head won’t match her neck!” It was like being at the dentist.’
In 1993, cinematographer Dean Cundey and production designer Rick Carter reunited to work on Steven Spielberg’s beloved blockbuster Jurassic Park, which used the same ILM computer-generated skin texture to great effect for the dinosaurs.
It’s only been two weeks since Death Becomes Her officially opened at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, IL where it is scheduled to run through June 2 before the entire production heads for the Big Apple
Grammy-winning Destiny’s Child alum Michelle Williams (L, pictured April 30) portrays the mysterious wealthy socialite Viola Van Horn, who’s a slight variation of Isabella Rossellini’s delightfully camp Lisle von Rhuman (R) from the original film
Smash alum and Tony nominee Megan Hilty (L) stars as aging actress Madeline Ashton while two-time Tony nominee Jennifer Simard (R) plays her frenemy Helen Sharp, who vows revenge after Madeline ‘steals’ her plastic surgeon fiancé Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber)
The newly-dropped teaser fittingly opens the same exact way as the film – on a rainy New York night on Broadway
The narcissistic Madeline then belts a disco-inspired song called I See Me while starring in Songbird!, a disastrous Broadway musical adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ 1959 play Sweet Bird of Youth
The $55M-budget Beverly Hills zom-com received mixed reviews from critics, but it still amassed $149M at the global box office and was fully embraced by the LGBTQAI community
‘Illusion’ designer Rob Lake certainly has his hands full recreating some of the Oscar-winning visual effects (computer-generated skin texture) specifically invented by Industrial Light and Magic for Death Becomes Her
