Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...But in between, the musical encounters the treacherous waters of a caper movie plot for which it has all too little time. Huge comic talents both, Simard and Hilty are ideally cast but the show needs to better understand it's their relationship that delights audiences, not replicating the effects from the movie at the expense of veracity. In all fairness, this is a difficult movie to put on a stage and the show is filled with fun, inventive ideas and effects. But its plot is harder to follow than probably most of the creatives realize. At the end of the night, what we seek in a musical is an emotional trajectory, in this case on the part of two struggling, insecure but lovable characters for whom we come to care."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...“Death Becomes Her” the musical retains the camp and amps up the irony of the movie. But as directed by Christopher Gattelli, the musical tale of two frenemies and their quest to remain forever young falls short in two key elements: The larger issue is that like the movie, the musical never addresses why self-involved actress Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) and novelist Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) have such a phobic horror of wrinkles, sags and hand moles. There’s not enough depth to flesh out a satisfying story of their crippling fear of aging."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...Powerhouse leading ladies, an old-school score, bedazzled costumes, and awareness of what it is (and what it’s not) animate “Death Becomes Her,” the frothy albeit entertaining tuner premiering at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...But Death Becomes Her was never intended to be a feminist cautionary tale about prizing appearances over achievements. There are some touching moments here that glance at what it means to be someone’s person for life—and to lose most of your life in pursuit of impossible standards. But the musical’s creators wisely understand that nobody’s asking for a wholesale upending of the glossy histrionics underpinning the original film. To that end, this show (which could use a few nips and tucks of its own to trim the running time down a skosh) is eminently enjoyable and just sly enough about its politics to offer something for fans of the original and newbies alike."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The two-act, 22-song production, with a running time of 2 hours 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission, was so spectacular that it almost lost its audience in the second act, as people were soaring so high from act one, they couldn't stop the buzz of excitement during the admission. In the second act, the performance showcased the same electrifying and dazzling display of chemistry between the actors with more stunning scenic designs."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Chicago has become "ground Zero" for pre-Broadway try-outs. If you look at the plays that have had their birth in our city, and the success of these productions in New York, you will understand that the New York producers value the opinions of the Chicago theater audiences, a much more knowledgeable group than New Yorkers. For several weeks, they have been working on the new "hit" ( based on what I experienced tonight, it will rise above the lights of the "Great White Way") "Death Becomes Her", based on the Universal Movie written by Martin Donavan & David Koepp. The new version has a book by Marco Pennette with music and lyrics by Julia Mattison & Noel Carey."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Heading to Broadway in the Fall, here’s an opportunity to see this incredible show without traveling to the Big Apple. DEATH BECOMES HER, however, is a work in progress and there’s still time for some tweaks and tempering before October. After all, that’s what this Broadway in Chicago production is for. The script could use a few edits and the musical score is still being reworked, with numbers added and deleted daily. But this stellar new show, unlike many shows that’ve had their out-of-town tryouts in Chicago, is practically perfect in every way and ready for its closeup. DEATH BECOMES HER is a bonafide hit!"
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...In addition to the production quality and value delivered, what makes this adaptation so flawless is the story itself. The elegant-gothic motifs in Death Becomes Her are timeless and hold up in 2024 just as well as it did in 1992; beautiful women feeling the pressure of unrealistic societal beauty standards and attempting to defy the natural order of aging, friends as fierce rivals and competitors, love triangles, and the desire to remain as we are, to stop time."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...DEATH becomes... all of hers and him. This killer cast is da bomb! Tony Award nominees Megan Hilty (Madeline), Jennifer Simard (Helen), and Christopher Sieber (Ernest) plus Grammy Award-winning and Destiny's Child alum Michelle Williams (Viola) put on quite the show. This wickedly funny musical has childhood rivals, Hilty and Simard, in a heated competition for a guy, for beauty, for...ever. They want it all and will get it dead or alive."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Recommended
"...For a show about two women driven by insecurity, Death Becomes Her, now playing a Chicago tryout, seems to be a supremely confident enterprise. Not just because the purse holders hear what must be boisterous houses every night. That it entrusted this intensely beloved cult property to a relatively unestablished team—book by Marco Pennette, music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey—was evidence enough."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...With fabulous performances, gorgeous design, and a script full of camp, Death Becomes Her is a night to remember. This opening night performance ended with a full standing ovation. Whether or not you' re a fan of the 1992 film, I have a feeling you'll be joining in with the rest."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Has this been a review of “name dropping?” Why, of course! But I don’t believe Madeline Ashton, wherever she may be right now, still young and beautiful and slowly decaying, would have it any other way. I predict that the amazing spectacle that is Death Becomes Her will land quite successfully this fall in its Broadway home. But if you are a lucky one here in Chicago to catch it first, I encourage you to get your ticket soon!"
PicksInSix - Recommended
"...The world premiere of the rollicking new musical “Death Becomes Her” opened Sunday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre combining an all-star cast with eye-popping special effects for a high-flying, side-splitting show. The book by Marco Pennette, with an original score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, is remarkably true to the absurd 1992 film directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini about the search for immortality."
Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended
"...When Michelle Williams emerged from the depths of the Cadillac Palace Theatre stage via hydraulic lift to belt “If You Want Perfection” to kick-start Sunday’s opening-night performance of Death Becomes Her, now enjoying a killer pre-Broadway premiere courtesy of Broadway in Chicago, the crowd erupted at the sight of the Grammy winner’s wickedly bejeweled gown and the sound of her powerful, crystal-clear voice."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The original score of more than twenty songs in Death Becomes Her is composed by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey who are making their Broadway debut as lyricists and composers. Their lyrics and music are comedy gold and match the storylines flawlessly. Carey describes their style for this musical as “The score is doing that 1950’s over-that-drama where someone faints and it’s scored. We have winks and nods to that. It certainly can’t be ignored.” Superb musical supervision is by Mary-Mitchell Campbell. Ben Cohen is the music director."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...Based on director Robert Zemeckis’ cult-classic 1992 dark comedy, DEATH BECOMES HER, the musical is a laugh-out-loud, two and a half hour cat fight that’s equal parts “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” and any given episode of the old night time soap opera “Dynasty.”"
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Yes, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child is in the cast as Viola van Horn, the youth potion pusher. In the movie, it’s merely a plot device but in the stage musical, the tonic and its attributes get nothing less than the opening number, before we even meet—let alone care about—the characters in need of it. And in case you missed it the first time, there’s another elixir song when Madeline meets Viola and gets her own dose. Every character and scenario seems to have a song. They are well-crafted and luxuriously orchestrated by Broadway standards, but are by and large standstill moments. Instead of enhancing the action, they actually interrupt it."