These are the productions that are set to begin their Broadway runs in the final months of 2024.
There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the musical Death Becomes Her, which begins its Broadway run on October 23.
For starters, the show is adapted from the iconic 1992 film starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as two women fighting for the same man. If that sounds predictable, we should remind you that the plot also involves a magic potion that promises the women eternal youth.
There is also the casting. Death Becomes Her, which premiered in Chicago earlier this year, stars Megan Hilty (as Streep's Madeline Ashton) and Jennifer Simard (as Hawn's Helen Sharp). They’re two of the most charismatic and vocally exciting stars on Broadway—and also, not coincidentally, two of the most hilarious.
So much so that we featured them on Time Out New York’s Fall Preview digital cover this month, which is set in the the cemetery of Trinity Church downtown.
Because what’s perhaps most exciting about Death Becomes Her is that it is an old-fashioned musical comedy: Marco Pennette’s book and Julia Mattison and Noel Carey’s score promise laugh-out-loud hijinks that stand out amid the darker, more serious productions that have dominated Broadway in recent years. Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary!, a spoof on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, may be closest in vibe to what Death Becomes Her hopes to be. That is not lost on the stars themselves, who are excited to revel in the joy and laughter of it all.
“Broadway is due for a big, silly, fun show,” says Hilty over Zoom. “Just a big dumb time where you check your worries at the door, come in and laugh with us for two and a half hours. I think we’re due for that.”
"This is the sort of salve and medicine we can all use," says Simard. "I am very tired of the narrative that comedy is not as important. As any comedian out there [can tell you], it's frankly harder! So I'm excited to lean into what our show is."
Despite their characters’ mutual animosity, Hilty and Simard share an affinity that’s apparent even on a video call, where their banter flows easily. Here are two Broadway personalities whose stars align in more ways than one. And their real-life friendship is no secret: They have made a conscious decision to put it on display.
"Megan said this to the press once, and I agree," says Simard. "We need to reclaim the narrative and tell the press that it is possible for two women at this level to work with each other, and to genuinely care about and respect each other. It's something that we are very committed to."
The cultural tendency to pit women against each other is highly germane to what Death Becomes Her itself is about.
“I always thought that this would be the best movie to turn into a musical,” says Hilty. “It’s such a heightened reality. There is never a question of why we break into song because the stakes are so high that the story just lends itself to it very naturally.” But while the characters go to comic extremes, that doesn’t mean they’re not relatable.
"I have been sort of marveling at how much my career has mirrored Helen's character arc—minus some of the wackiness, of course," notes Simard. "It's a bit of an actor's responsibility to find that person within you." Helen, she feels, might even share her quirky proclivity to visit cemeteries after a storm and turn urns that have fallen over upright. ("We should put that in the show!," Hilty declares. "I'm putting it in!")
But would they ever consider taking a potion that guarantees eternal youth?
“No!” Hilty insists without hesitation. “I learned my lesson from the show. There is a reason why everything has its season and its time. I wouldn’t want to stick around forever.”
Simard seems less sure. "I think I would have to convince myself not to take it," she admits. "It's not that I'm afraid to be dead. But I think I'm afraid of dying."
So let’s put forever aside. For now, at least, these talented women seem to be having the times of their lives.
Death Becomes Her starts previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on October 23, and opens officially on November 21. You can buy tickets here.
