Hilty & Simard to lead DEATH BECOMES HER in Chicago spring 2024; Broadway in the fall- Page 14

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/24 at 11:48pm

BalconyClub said: "Second night in the same theatre as Jordan. Is there anything better?

Awwwww. <3 <3 <3

 

Well I'm glad I got to check this out a couple times before heading back tomorrow morning and REALLY glad my last night here they gave me the frosting. It's as if they read here and wanted to treat me. lol

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 3:20pm

jacobsnchz14 said: "In response to the ending:

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I also had wished the large angel grave opened up (almost like the vial container does) to reveal Viola delivering her last lyric. Also, there HAS to be a way to implement the signature ending of the film in there with the two women collapsing down the stairs and breaking into pieces and then having Helen deliver the “Did you remember where you parked the car?” Like instead of a giant statue center stage in the graveyard, it’s a mausoleum (so there are still steps) and do a switcheroo where Madeline and Helen go inside, have dummies/mannequins/puppets trip over the steps and fall to pieces, then a voice over of the final line. It enhances the finality of their fate that they’re “doomed” to live this way that just walking offstage together doesn’t.

"

I wrote almost the exact same things in the survey they sent out. The current walk off ending just seems so anti-climactic.

[ChiDoc]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 4:06pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "Unfortunately, it carries over the film’s weaknesses. It is utterly heartless. There’s no attempt to flesh out the central relationships. Who are these people? What do they want? Madeline’s a familiar type. But Helen’s a different person each time we meet her. By act two she’s settled into a second Madeline. Doctor Menville has no personality or goals beyond pursing, and then running from, the women.

Wow, did I write this?  I think you hit the nail on the head.  I enjoyed it, but I was left cold by the substance.  And Helen's establishing number has nothing to do with the arc she actually undergoes in the show.

"Another show I’d compare it to is Little Me. Ethan Mordden described Little Me as a show that “never takes any of its characters or their needs seriously.” I leave that show feeling empty, as I did this one. But Little Me also has some catchy melodies. Death Becomes Her needs a few."

I think I like Little Me more than you do, because I find that show's cartoonishness endearing.  It commits to being mostly just a farcical ridiculous trifle.  Death Becomes Her to me is trying to be both cartoonish and earnest in its messaging, which are too far at odds.

 

Updated On: 5/9/24 at 04:06 PM

[Mskuphantm]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 10:35pm

as far as Elvis goes...does it really matter? could it be someone in the ensemble playing him, that they themself, do not have an elvis body type?  or could it also read more into the "now a warning" be good to your body, maybe for the stage they were going for different route that Elvis took the potion years before he even gained weight, or took it even after he gained weight, lost it but still gained weight back, since with the potion you only get to have it once , so he just took it too soon or after since he in the show is still alive so why would it matter? Lol

Updated On: 5/9/24 at 10:35 PM

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 11:05pm

The new song HIT ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT was added to Thursday night’s show - it’s a dueling shovel duet in Act 2 between Helen and Madeline.

The number begins soon after Helen returns with her smoking hole.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 11:07pm

Awww dammit, the day AFTER i leave! Lol

[darquegk]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 11:10pm

They took out “sordid topic of coin?” That’s an iconic line! I may not be one of The Gays but I was a truly devoted Tales from the Crypt and B-horror kid in general, so I know this one back to front. 
 

As far as the clams line that didn’t land, “clams” is a Julia Mattisson thing. It’s a recurring nonsensical insertion in the Advent Carolndar series, and I wonder if it was a tip of the hat to that, which didn’t play. Apparently the audiences for out of town musical comedy and absurdist YouTube musical improv don’t overlap much if at all.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 11:35pm

Are Simard and Sieber coming out the stage door to sign? I’d love to get them to sign my company playbill.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 5/9/24 at 11:55pm

"The numberbegins soon after Helen returns with her smoking hole."

They definitely should make that line merch.

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 12:17am

nasty_khakis said: ""The numberbegins soon after Helen returns with her smoking hole."

They definitely should make that line merch."

I'd buy a shirt that says "Stop looking at my hole, pervert."

Updated On: 5/10/24 at 12:17 AM

[MatthewS1]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 8:42am

Call_me_jorge said: "Are Simard and Sieber coming out the stage door to sign? I’d love to get them to sign my company playbill."

Sieber happily signed my Company playbill (and Matilda)!! Simard did not sign anything. 

Updated On: 5/10/24 at 08:42 AM

[actuary]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 6:04pm

I've only entered a few times now, but I thought this would be an easy lottery to win.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 11:53pm

They continue to work on this and surprise… there is definitely something going on with the angel. It needs work still but gives the button I think folks were feeling was missing. 
They need to make more of the pin business when Mad gets it. When Madeline notices Helen’s in act two, it was hard to put that together had I not known the source material. Elvis doesn’t work alone. They should add a Marilyn and then during the chase have a moment where Madeleine and Marilyn get mixed up. Just something small that flys under the radar for most. Nothing big but a chuckle for the SMASH crowd (I mean, this is for the gays) and something to cut away from the dancers, who are outstanding in every way, but I just think the chase thing needs work. 
The score is good, but no real earworms. I’m trying to remember how that Runaway number or the Asylum song went and can’t. HOWEVER it does a MUCH better job of capturing the film score’s essence and vibe than Beetlejuice. I’m seeing again tmw so will share any changes. 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 5/11/24 at 12:19am

The Potion had a new initial entrance Friday night - rising from the orchestra pit.

Madeline's line about receiving a bread maker was cut.

Originally, near the end of Act 1, there were two Ensemble men helping to inflate Madeline's breasts after she sampled the potion. You would see the two men at the base of Madeline's feet, manipulating a mostly hidden contraption, pumping up Madeline's headliners, through a full size, vertical mirror.

The mirror is still used in the short scene, but the two Ensemble have been removed. Lightning flashes across the curtains. Viola has been added - in a very good way - and the mirror visual is more dramatic.

In Act 2, a crossbow has been added to HIT ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT.  

And a wedding sponsor update: On Thursday, "Capital One, What's in Your Wallet, then Friday "Charmin. Enjoy the Go."

[Ke3]

Posted: 5/11/24 at 12:52am

MrsSallyAdams said: "A rewatch of the film gives me a greater appreciation of Marco Pennette's libretto. It makes some smart tweaks to the plot and adds some great gags.Most importantly the musical likes the leading ladies far more than the film does."

I have loved this movie since childhood but in adulthood this latter part has really stuck out to me. Ernest is redeemed by the story because he chooses not to take the potion excusing all previous actions while Mads and Helen are irredeemable because of their vanity. Now of course, in many ways the movie is a morality play. Combined with its B-movie sensibility it was never going to be subtle but it is a bit shocking to get older and fully digest a man who kills his wife getting a happy ending because he's okay with getting old. Of course stories are not about right or wrong and real world morality should not necessarily impact how we view fictional characters but it feels a bit different when the film is trying to lecture us about what is and isn't moral.

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 5/11/24 at 6:33pm

It’s likely just imaginary coincidences, but I like the brief nods to other Broadway tales.

The opening stanzas of the waltz entering Viola’s ball may pay tribute to West Side Story’s DANCE AT THE GYM.

Are the “I can’t” and “you cans” ahead of LET’S RUN AWAY TOGETHER mirroring Annie Get Your Gun’s ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER?

When Helen and Madeline belt ALIVE FOREVER, I sense a moment of I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU from Sideshow.

At Saturday’s matinee, in THIS WAS THEN, THIS WAS NOW, the ball capped Ensemble man who placed his arms around Helen has been removed from the scene. Ernest takes his rightful place.

Later, in Viola’s mansion, Madeline and Helen carry a bundled Ernest across the stage in a white sheet.

OLIVE GARDEN  - When you’re here, you’re family - sponsored the afternoon wedding.

Updated On: 5/11/24 at 06:33 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/11/24 at 11:26pm

Viola was revealed to be inside the Angel at the end of tonight’s performance!

[Dolly80]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 3:02am

BalconyClub said: "It’s likely justimaginarycoincidences, but I like thebrief nods to other Broadway tales.

The opening stanzas of the waltz entering Viola’s ball may pay tribute to West Side Story’sDANCE AT THE GYM.

Are the “I can’t” and “you cans” ahead ofLET’S RUN AWAY TOGETHERmirroring Annie Get Your Gun’s ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER?

When Helen and Madeline belt ALIVE FOREVER, I sensea moment of I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU from Sideshow.

At Saturday’s matinee, in THIS WAS THEN, THIS WAS NOW, the ball capped Ensembleman who placedhis arms around Helen has been removed from the scene. Ernest takes his rightful place.

Later, inViola’s mansion, Madeline and Helen carry a bundled Ernest across the stage in a white sheet.

OLIVE GARDEN - When you’re here, you’re family- sponsored the afternoon wedding."


Are you literally watching this every single day?

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 7:35am

Dolly80 said: "Are you literally watching this every single day?"

So far yes, but only one visit on two show days, and I'll take the fourth week off during the 5-week tryout. Seeing the show thru a mix of lottery wins, StubHub purchases, and regular ticket buying.

It's amazing that the production has had many minor changes almost daily.

The ad libs have been good, too.

In one performance, when Sara exited the stage from the cemetery, she dropped her purse. As she slowly bent over to pick up her purse, Ernest cracked, "She's still got it."

Updated On: 5/12/24 at 07:35 AM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 9:35am

Dolly80 said: "Are you literally watching this every single day?"

This poster has a history of providing daily updates on Chicago try-outs and, since I'm not the one paying for the tickets, I think it's very cool and enjoy reading it!

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 11:23am

kdogg36 said: "Dolly80 said: "Are you literally watching this every single day?"

This poster has a history of providing daily updates on Chicago try-outs and, since I'm not the one paying for the tickets, I think it's very cool and enjoy reading it!"

BalconyClub, very much like Siempre Viva, is keeping this thread ALIVE and I’m living just by these fascinating and fun updates! If the wedding sponsor is improv’ed every night, that’s smart and makes me look forward to the potential Broadway run and nightly visitors reporting back on message boards and social media letting everyone know who that night’s sponsor was! Haha. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 11:33am

These updates also validate that the creative team is truly putting in the work to make the show better. These daily additions take hours to create and implement so the cast and crew is truly putting in the hours and hard work as the new additions need to be rehearsed and teched. They definitely are still working on things as the audience is starting to get to into their seats. I’m sure the cast and crew is already at the theatre at 9am each morning to start learning that day’s new additions and changes. 

[musicman1985]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 12:38pm

Looking forward to seeing the show next Saturday night.  I may have missed it, but are there any themed drinks at the show?  
 

This is going to be my first time seeing a pre Broadway sit down production.  My goal is to see it in Chicago, see it on Broadway, and then again on tour to see how the show progresses and changes.

Im going with some friends and we’ve been planning this trip since the show and cast were announced.

[ChorusKitty]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 4:21pm

I saw the show on Thursday night and enjoyed it for the most part.  The show has a very strong book and the lyrics are often quite funny.  The actual music is less successful, imo.  Ernest's big number in Act Two gave me "Music Man"/Harold Hill patter song vibes, and as good as Seiber is, the song was a let down for me.  (The puppet props in the scene also didn't really make any sense to me as well).  The "For the Gaze" number and the final duet between the female leads are the two best numbers of the evening right now.

The first act is stronger, but I actually liked that they changed the final scene in the cemetery, as compared to the film (which didn't really work for me) and how it ties how "Mad" and "Hel" realize they have always been, in their own insecurities, more similar than dissimilar through all their ups and down.

 

Hilty and Simard seem to be having the time of their lives; Sieber cannily let's the ladies camp it up and then seizes his big moments with scene stealing stealth.  Sadly, Michelle Williams (while looking glamourous and having a pleasing voice) is, quite frankly, the biggest downfall of the show.  I was honestly shocked at how anemic her performance was; this is a character who, let's face it, is as self delusional as Madeline and Helen and needs to command the stage in the short time she's there at the center of it; instead we are getting a community theater level acting turn in a Broadway bound production.  And I concur that Josh Lamon's character needs to be written into the second act of the show, even if briefly, rather than just abruptly vanish. 

I also didn't love some of the costuming in the show.  William's opening outfit is a sparkly concoction that she can't move in.  Hilty and Simard are in stiff gowns in the second act which make no sense and are from some totally other era, in addition to make the characters seem not only older (after they've taken this youthful potion!) but heavier.  Terrible fabric choices.

All in all, though, I found more to enjoy about the show than MANY of the recent movie to musical adaptions we've encountered recently.  It's vastly superior to shows like "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Pretty Woman" and "Tootsie" already; hopefully they can continue to work on the show's kinks before heading to New York.   As it is, it's currently more of an entertaining than great night at the theatre.  

One quick addendum:  the night I saw the show they had "open captioning" which I loved when I missed a few words in the overlapping lyrics, or couldn't hear something due to laughter.  I've never seen those at a show before; not sure if that was just for that evening's performance, but I truly appreciated it. 

 

 

[greensgreens]

Posted: 5/12/24 at 6:08pm

I think I’ve figured out why I don’t think Michellle is effective in the book scenes (anytime she is singing is fine)… She is playing the role as a fierce diva who maybe died in the last decade. Not an ageless supernatural being who’s been around for hundreds of years - the “influencer” line doesn’t help. There’s none of the stillness and magnetism that Rossellini had in the film. I never thought I’d say this, but Williams would be wise to watch Kim Kardashian’s performance on American Horror Story this year. It’s a very similar character but Kim has a restrained modern edge that could work to influence Viola. And now I have to go wash my mouth out with soap for suggesting someone watch a Kardashian for acting inspiration. Lol