‘Death Becomes Her’ revived for stage laughs in Chicago

There’s a survey question going around about whether people would rather be five times richer, five times smarter or five times more attractive. In “Death Becomes Her,” the world-premiere, pre-Broadway musical now at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace, the two lead female characters – Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty) and Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) – want it all, but mostly they want to be more attractive, never having to worry about the effects of aging anymore. And since Madeline, a self-centered, seductive Broadway and movie actress, is able to steal away unsuccessful author Helen’s fiancé – plastic surgeon Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber) – early on in “Death Becomes Her,” Helen can’t be blamed for also wanting revenge.

If the plot sounds familiar, it’s because the original source material for this hilarious new musical is a nonmusical, dark comedy from 1992 of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis that starred Meryl Streep as Madeline, Goldie Hawn as Helen, and Bruce Willis as Ernest. Isabella Rossellini also starred as a mysterious woman with a glowing potion that Ponce de León would have loved to get his hands on.

In the stage musical, Grammy Award winner Michelle Williams [Destiny’s Child] is that mysterious character, renamed Viola Van Horn for this version of the story. As she rises from under the stage during the opening number, “If You Want Perfection,” surrounded by her incredibly fit followers, thunder, lighting effects and an eerie orchestral tune all combine to make us sense there’ll be some non-earthly magic elements to our story. As she enigmatically tells us, “I have a secret you would die for.”

The magic doesn’t stop with the glowing potion Viola offers – for a price – to a select clientele.

Tony Award nominees Hilty, Simard and Sieber all get to sink their teeth into fun characters with dialogue provided by Marco Pennette, whose bio includes writing stints on TV series such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Mom.” Pennette’s book of the show is filled with zingers for all three. For example:

• Helen (at a book party for a best-seller she’s written, after saying she’s surprised Madeline came): “My publicist said you would go to the opening of an envelope. But they never read your name.”

• Madeline (talking about Helen’s less stylish attire): “Where’d you get it – ‘Forever 61?’”

• Ernest: “Well, if it isn’t the ‘Bipolar Express!’”

The creative original score by composer/lyricists Julia Mattison and Noel Carey includes catchy songs that run the gamut from “For the Gaze” (a major production number staged to indicate that the last word of the title is a homonym celebrating certain fans of Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland and Madeline herself) to “The Plan” (in which Ernest’s drinking and hallucinations get in the way of his determining an exit strategy from both Madeline and Helen) to “Siempre Viva” and the 11th-hour number, “Alive Forever,” which both refer to immortality in very different ways, the latter song giving both Hilty and Simard the chance to show their strong voices.

Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli both directs and choreographs the four talented leads and the excellent 20-member ensemble (including swings). A few dance sequences may be a bit longer than necessary (as in using the dancing ability of the “Immortals” to extend any song Viola is in), but they’re executed flawlessly.

Also worthy of praise:

• The awesome lighting effects throughout the show ranging from dozens of candles lighting up together to vibrant neon to that glowing potion (kudos to lighting designer Justin Townsend).

• The illusion designs of Rob Lake. If you recall the line, “I can see right through you,” from the film, you’ll be pleased to see how the action that prompts that remark is handled in a live stage performance.

• The set designs of Derek McLane. From a massive staircase to a perilous roof to the marquee for Madeline’s self-centered musical early on (“Me! Me! Me!”), it’s clear that a lot of thought went into the look of the show.

The lyrics of some of the songs were occasionally hard to understand. A better balance between the leads and the skilled orchestra should be all that’s needed to address that.

Bottom line, though – I laughed a lot, loved the music and enjoyed the twists of the plot, including an ending that I didn’t see coming. Head to the Cadillac Palace ASAP so you can tell your New York friends you caught this before its Broadway opening this fall. To put it another way: Dying to laugh? You’d best be coming to “Death Becomes Her.”

• Paul Lockwood is a communications consultant at Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago, as well as a local theater actor (including the ensemble of the upcoming inaugural season of Woodstock Shakespeare Players), singer, Grace Lutheran Church (Woodstock) and Toastmasters member, columnist and past president of TownSquare Players. He and his wife have lived in Woodstock for more than 23 years.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Death Becomes Her” musical

• WHERE: Cadillac Palace, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago

• WHEN: Playing through June 2

• INFORMATION: broadwayinchicago.com