For Those With Two and a Half Hours To Spare and Who Don’t Want To Stream the Film, the Musical ‘Death Becomes Her’ May Be for You

From here on out, can we agree that no musical comedy adapted from a hit film should run longer than two hours? With a handful of exceptions — among them the holiday tonic “Elf,” which recently returned to Broadway — such outings do little more than rehash familiar stories, seldom with much imagination, while the songs that essentially pad them out are even less frequently memorable. The new musical “Death Becomes Her,” based on the 1992 movie, takes two and a half hours to run its course, including a 15-minute intermission, and suffice it to say that if you still wear a watch, you’ll likely check it at least once or twice. That’s despite an aggressively playful and often clever book and a glittering cast, nimbly helmed by Christopher Gattelli, a prolific, Tony Award-winning choreographer and director.The libretto, by Marco Pennette, a television and theater veteran, follows Martin Donovan and David Koepp’s screenplay in focusing on a pair of female frenemies and the man who’s unlucky enough to fall for them both. Madeline Ashton, introduced on screen by Meryl Streep, is a glamorous but fading actress; Helen Sharp and Ernest Menville, respectively played in the film by Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis, are a mousey writer and the cosmetic surgeon who becomes her fiancé — until he meets and marries Madeline, driving Helen to a nervous breakdown.But Helen recovers and demonstrates her own moxie, and vanity, and the battle between our aging anti-heroines eventually extends to one for eternal youth. A mutual ally emerges in another woman, a mysterious figure who proffers a magic potion — one that will give Madeline and Helen much more than they bargained for.In the musical production, the role of Madeline falls to Megan Hilty, a Broadway star who has chosen not to cite her many credits in the playbill, winkingly listing Ms. Streep’s instead. (“Megan Hilty has been lauded as ‘the best actress of her generation,’” her bio begins.) Ms. Hilty brings the same breezy wit to her performance, and looks fabulous in Paul Tazewell’s scrumptiously decadent costumes, a consistent high point of the staging.Jennifer Simard, whose own flair for wry humor has in recent years benefited shows such as “Mean Girls” and the 2021 revival of “Company,” makes a worthy foil as Helen, and Christopher Sieber, another musical theater favorite, brings the right haplessness and comical frustration to Ernest, depicted here as a righteous humanitarian who only devotes himself to remodeling the wealthy and famous at Madeline’s prodding.Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber in ‘Death Becomes Her.’ Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman“You used to help poor, starving children,” Helen tells him at one point. “Now you help rich women look like poor starving children.”Michelle Williams, an alumna of the girl group Destiny’s Child (Beyoncé’s vehicle to fame) who has found steady work as a stage and television performer, slinks across the stage beguilingly as the enchantress, named Viola Van Horn in the musical. And the ensemble members amuse in supporting roles and execute Mr. Gattelli’s slick production numbers with finesse.Yet as is so often the case with projects like this, the score seems like so much filler. Composer/lyricists Julia Mattison and Noel Carey deliver songs that, while not as ungainly or simply boring as those in several other movie adaptations I could name, suggest whipped cream layered on or between plot developments. They can be fun on occasion, but they add little to the cake, and ultimately make the show feel bloated. I have a hunch that both Ms. Mattison and Mr. Carey — not to mention the cast and other talents contributing to “Death Becomes Her” — might have fared better with a premise that inspired more invention. But with audiences continuing to flock to Broadway to see recreations of movies they could stream for a tiny fraction of the price, the artists can hardly be blamed.

For Those With Two and a Half Hours To Spare and Who Don’t Want To Stream the Film, the Musical ‘Death Becomes Her’ May Be for You

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