In the world of musical theater adaptations, it takes years if not decades to find just the right property followed by choosing just the right creative team to birth a new show with Broadway aspirations.
Universal Theatrical Group, the live theater division of the motion picture studio that oversees both Universal Stage Productions and DreamWorks Theatricals, has plucked source material for its latest stage musical directly from Universal’s vast film catalog.
About 10 years ago, UTG began looking at the 1992 film, “Death Becomes Her,” a dark comedy starring Meryl Streep as the fading, self-involved actress Madeline Ashton, and Goldie Hawn as meek, nerdy novelist Helen Sharp — two best frenemies willing to go to unfathomable lengths to retain their youth and beauty.
The twisted tale, directed by Robert Zemeckis, also starred Bruce Willis, as a milquetoast plastic surgeon Ernest Menville, and Isabella Rossellini, as Lisle Von Rhuman, a woman with an age-defying magical potion.
Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (“SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical”), the show’s director/choreographer, says fans of the movie “will want what they love” but adds “this isn’t simply a version of the movie with songs stuck in it. It’s definitely for the stage but it keeps the best parts [of the movie] and reimagines them in a really exciting way.”
Leading the cast are two Tony Award-nominated actresses, Megan Hilty as Madeline and Jennifer Simard as Helen, with another Tony nominee, Christopher Sieber, as Ernest and Grammy winner Michelle Williams as Viola Van Horn (a name change from that given to Rossellini’s character in the movie).
The creative team includes Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, the songwriting duo penning their first Broadway-bound musical, and book writer Marco Pennette, a veteran television writer/producer.
Hilty, who originated the role of Doralee Rhodes in “9 to 5 The Musical” and starred in the television series “Smash,” says Madeline “may come across as vain or a narcissist” but she can’t look at her that way.
“I see her as an actress who is reaching a certain age in a profession that can be particularly harsh when it comes to age and that does something to your psyche,” Hilty explains. “She is willing to go to great lengths to obtain her idea of youthful perfection which unfortunately does not exist.”
Broadway veteran Simard (“Company,” “Disaster!”), says her character, Helen, who seeks revenge on Madeline after she steals and marries her boyfriend, has a “chameleon-like arc” in the story.
“She transforms from a woman who is quite beige at the start but turns red hot as the story unfolds,” Simard says, adding, “She’s bookish and nerdy and then claims her power and innate sexuality.”
Fans of the movie know Madeline and Helen both are over-the-top; they do horrible things and make horrible choices. The dark in this comedy is very dark.
Hilty and Simard are “so inherently funny,” says Gattelli. “But the story is very grounded and real. It’s beautiful to watch them both in terms of how far we can get away with pushing the comedic end, the heightened end but also still have a foot in keeping it grounded so you can root and care for these characters.”
Michelle Williams, one-third of the chart-topping music group Destiny’s Child, portrays the mysterious woman whose fountain of youth potion causes more problems than it solves.
The Rockford native, who is thrilled to be back performing in Chicago, has a long list of Broadway and touring credits. She was added to the cast in February and admits she was “late to the party”; her first rehearsal was in March.
“My role is a light lift but at the same time I have to be powerful, I have to be present for those four scenes as they are some of the most riveting moments in the show,” Williams says, adding, “Viola is the total opposite of who I am in real life so it’s fun to portray her. She’s that sneaky voice in people’s ears every day when you look in the mirror. She’s a dose of reality.”
The performers and director can’t say enough about Mattison and Carey’s score, which includes about 20 songs.
Fledgling Broadway songwriters, the duo has worked around the New York entertainment scene for years. For the past four years, they’ve been working on the new songs.
“’We’ve written a number of comedic musicals for ourselves as writer-performers, but this is our first big two-act proper musical,” Mattison says.
They agree that balancing the comedy and the darkness of the show’s story was a comfortable task.
“Beautifully, it’s in our wheelhouse,” says Mattison. “We love that combination of finding humor in dark twisted situations and finding the gravitas in silly situations.”
Carey adds: “It’s incredibly liberating for us and our huge imaginations to get permission to write for something with this type of scale, this type of magic, this type of world building. It’s a permission you rarely get, and it allows you to go beyond anything you’ve ever done before.”
Simard says the music is her favorite part of the show and that Mattison and Carey “are about to have their lives changed.”
“Julie and Noel have taken the source material and run with it in a way that is surprising and delicious,” Simard says. “The producers took a risk on this unknown [songwriting team]. They had a few options, and they chose the best one.”
The film, which won an Oscar for visual effects, was one of the first to use CGI to achieve some crazy visuals. In the movie, after taking the potion Madeline can turn her head in 360-degree circles and her skin develops an unsettling texture. And there’s also the unfortunate incident that leaves a large hole in Helen’s torso.
No one interviewed for this story would give any secrets away about how these effects will be presented on stage. As is usual, the pre-Broadway run will serve as a testing ground.
“We definitely have big magic, illusions and special effects,” Gattelli hints. “Ultimately, what is so exciting about doing these effects is that it’s not done in front of a blue screen and it’s not computer-generated. You’re absolutely seeing these things happen in real time in front of you. So what’s exciting to play with here is the different forms in which to do that. We’re really excited to have this playground.”
Update: “Death Becomes Her” will open on Broadway on Nov. 21 at the at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City.
