DEATH BECOMES HER is a campy, hilarious romp of a musical. I wasn’t sure exactly how book writer Marco Pennette and composers Julia Mattison and Noel Carey would pull off a stage adaptation of the cult classic 1990s movie starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, but they’ve made stage magic happen. The musical has great flow and pacing as audiences watch the antics of frenemies Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) and Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) in their attempts to one up each other and retain their youthful looks. 

Madeline and Helen are ruthless in their quests to preserve their good looks. This leads them to Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams), a mysterious woman who offers them a potion that will allow them to maintain their youth and beauty forever. Of course, the twist is that that proffered eternal youth and beauty might be more difficult to preserve than it first appears. While some of the movie’s original plot points are decidedly outdated (and the musical’s writers have nicely dusted off the cobwebs), the satirizations of these women’s desperation to go to any lengths to maintain their looks holds up remarkably well. In fact, watching DEATH BECOMES HER, I was struck by the fact that culturally we haven’t moved much beyond that.

Madeline and Helen are exactly the kind of characters you love to hate, and these roles are magnificent star vehicles for Hilty and Simard. While Madeline and Helen are both self-serious in their quests to come out on top, the musical delivers much of its material with a campy, clever wink. Hilty dazzles in Madeline’s opening number “For the Gaze” (pun intended, as the original film is beloved in the queer community), conceived as a diegetic number in her current Broadway musical. The number’s chock full of musical theater in-jokes, and it lets audiences know they’re in for a treat. Madeline’s performance soon catches the eye of Helen’s fiancé Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber). And when Madeline succeeds in stealing Ernest away, the two frenemies are off to the races again. 

While Madeline and Helen lack redeemable qualities, Hilty and Simary are simply delicious in their duplicity and maliciousness. Hilty commands the stage with self-obsessed poise and energy; she delivers the one-liners in Pennette’s book with panache and a delectable hair toss. Her patter song “Falling Apart” is a particular highlight; after seeing Helen’s glow-up at her book party, Madeline descends into madness. Fans of the original film will also recognize that the song’s title is a nod to its iconic, bizarre ending. Hilty delivers this number with a dizzying frenzy, but her vocals always remain expert. 

Simard is a spectacular match for Hilty. Her delivery is more dry and wry, which is a great foil for Madeline’s “heart on her sleeve” deliveries. Madeline’s not one for irony, but Helen certainly is. Simard simultaneously plays Helen as cunning yet daffy in her own ways, and she’s particularly deft in “Let’s Run Away Together,” a duet with Ernest in which she plots Madeline’s demise. 

Also, watching Hilty and Simard spar both physically and vocally in their act two duet “Hit Me?” They kill it. 

While Williams has a much more subdued presence as Viola, her vocals are spot on and it’s so fun to watch the moments that director/choreographer Christopher Gattelli has conceived for her to pop up. 

Sieber plays Ernest as utterly harried and spiraling further and further into unhinged territory. He brings the classic musical theater meltdown to life in his second act solo “The Plan.” 

DEATH BECOMES HER has some iconic scenes, and I was curious how the musical would pull them off. Audiences will be delighted to know that many of them are brought to life on stage, expensively and gloriously. That said, the musical deviates substantially from the movie in its ending. Relative to the movie, the musical’s ending is softer, though it provides one final button for Hilty and Simard to remind us that Madeline and Helen are as catty as ever. 

The production itself is gorgeous. I was particularly enchanted with Paul Tazewell’s costumes, which are a wash of vibrant colors, glitter, and sequins. He’s conceived total diva looks for Madeline and Helen, as well as undeniably sexy illusion costumes for the ensemble — referred to as Viola’s “Immortals.” Particular kudos to ensemble member Josh Lamon, who’s also hilarious as Madeline’s long-suffering assistant Stefan. 

The main visual challenge is that Madeline and Helen’s appearances remain largely unchanged throughout the show, even after they’ve taken the potion. Hilty and Simard wear a series of different wigs to determine when they’re older or younger, but that’s about it. That said, I understand that’s an immense challenge in a stage musical (no CGI here like film). And still it’s mostly enough to see Hilty and Simard looking absolutely impeccable, while bemoaning the demise of their looks. It’s precisely like what their two incredibly vapid characters would do!

DEATH BECOMES HER is utterly fun and campy, and the writing and production teams have lovingly and cleverly transformed the original movie into a glitzy, glam, biting musical. And it’s no secret: Hilty and Sharp absolutely slay. 

The Broadway In Chicago pre-Broadway world premiere of DEATH BECOMES HER runs through June 2 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 West Randolph. Tickets are $30 – $122, with premium seats available at an additional cost. 

Visit broadwayinchicago.com

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman 

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