Death Becomes Her

 Death Becomes Her
Lunt-Fontainne Theatre
November 2, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her is a bold and brassy new Broadway musical, based on the 1992 movie of the same title.  The music and lyrics, by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, are dazzling, energetic, and zestful.  The songs both drive the plot and offer an insightful look into the characters.  Marco Pennette’s book is crisp, campy, and full of one-liners that bring the house down.  Christopher Gattelli’s direction is fast paced, and his choreography is vigorous.  It keeps the audience fully engaged.  The cast is great, and the ensemble creates an atmosphere that allows the audience to joyfully buy into the magic and mystery of the storyline.

Helen Sharp (played by Jennifer Simard) introduces her life-long friend and two-time Academy Award nominated actress, Madeline Ashton (played by Megan Hilty), to her fiancé, Ernest Menville (played by Christopher Sieber).  At first, Madeline is not impressed.  She then finds out that Ernest is a plastic surgeon.  She immediately puts her hooks into him, and steals him from Helen.  This is the last straw for Helen, who has suffered from Madeline’s petty jealousies for decades.  She winds up in a mental hospital, and vows to seek revenge. 

Megan Hilty & Jennifer Simard
Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Fast forward ten years.  Madeline’s career has gone downhill, and her marriage to Ernest is failing.  Meanwhile, Helen has published a new bestseller, looks fabulous, and is riding high on her success.  This sends Madeline into a downward spiral, until she meets Viola Van Horn (played by Michelle Williams), who sells her a potion that restores her youthful looks.  It does, however, come with a serious warning.

Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard are amazing as Madeline and Helen.  Their characterizations are over the top.  Their comic timing is perfect, and their singing is spectacular.  The scene where Madeline falls down a flight of stairs is skillfully staged.  The biggest surprise is when she loses her head, literally.  Megan Hilty plays the next scene with her head on the bar cart.  It is hysterical… and highly effective.  Christopher Sieber plays Ernest with heart.  Both women use him for their selfish need, yet he never gives up on himself.  

Michelle Williams & the Ensemble
Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Scenic design by Derek McLane is sumptuous.  The lighting by Justin Townsend is superb.  Paul Tazwell’s costumes are incredible and full of imagination.  There are a lot of very fast changes, both for costumes and sets.  Everything is seamless and brilliantly paced.  This creates a stunning glamour that, combined with the campy, over the top humor, gives this show an opulent style of its own.

Death Becomes Her is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.  It is presently in preview, and officially opens on November 21.  Go see it! 

Domenick Danza

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

March 7, 2019

Photo courtesy of The New Group

The New Group production of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is a nostalgic throwback to the time of free love and sexual liberation.  Jonathan Marc Sherman’s book explores the four title characters from the Columbia motion picture.  Duncan Sheik’s music captures the time period and surrounds the audience in a sublime and tranquil atmosphere.  Lyrics by Duncan Sheik and Amanda Green are a perfect balance intellectual and quirky.

When Bob (played by Joél Pérez) and his wife Carol (played by Jennifer Damiano) attend a therapeutic encounter weekend, they return fully in touch with their feelings.  Carol’s enlightenment becomes evident when Bob admits that he cheated on her and she does not feel jealous.  She in turn explores her sexual freedom by playing around with a tennis pro.  Their friends, Ted (played by Michael Zegen) and Alice (played by Ana Nogueira), find Bob and Carol’s sexual awakening a little startling.  Carol is very uptight, and Ted doesn’t push.  When Ted goes out of town for a convention, he follows Bob’s example and cheats on Alice.  She retaliates by suggesting the two couples sleep together.  This creates a surprising turnaround for all four of them.

Jennifer Damian, Joél Pérez, Ana Nogueira, & Michael Zegen
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Joél Pérez and Jennifer Damiano play the groovy, hip Bob and Carol with a flawless tongue-in-cheek humor.  Their timing is smooth and their connection is truthful.  Ana Nogueira is sharp and witty as Alice.  She and Michael Zegen play off one another very well.  The bickering between their characters is humorous, while their bond is genuine and strong.  Suzanne Vega plays the character of the Band Leader, transitioning the action with subtle humor and stylistic vocals. 

Scenic design by Derek McLane and costumes by Jeff Mahshie beautifully evoke the time period.  Director Scott Elliott pulls together every detail, creating genuine moments in this highly stylized environment.  Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is playing at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 22.

Domenick Danza

Children of a Lesser God

Children of a Lesser God

Studio 54

March 24, 2018

Photo courtesy of Children of a Lesser God

The Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God is vibrant and powerful.  A diverse cast of skilled actors bring Mark Medoff’s 1980 Tony Award winning play into the present with clarity and relevance.  Scenic design by Derek McLane and lighting design by Mike Baldassari are slick, clean, and unified.  Director Kenny Leon builds the conflict to a high point of revelation that will shift your point of view and open your awareness.  

Joshua Jackson & Lauren Ridloff
Photo courtesy of Children of a Lesser God

Speech Therapist James Leeds (played by Joshua Jackson) has great success teaching deaf and hard of hearing students to speak.  He is assigned a new student, Sarah Norman (played by Lauren Ridloff).  He is challenged by her certainty that communicating through sign language is sufficient.  His attempts to find an entry point around her resolve and stubbornness cause him to fall in love.  The challenge in their relationship increases after they are married.  Her close friends in the deaf community feel Sarah has turned her back on them, and the hearing world is unable to communicate with her unless her husband is translating.  The closer they get, the more out of reach they feel from one another.  How can they unite when there are elements in their worlds they cannot share and will never fully understand?

Photo courtesy of Children of a Lesser God

Lauren Ridloff and Joshua Jackson are drawn to one another as Sarah and James.  They ignite the conflict at the start of this well written play and keep the action aflame through the full two acts.  John McGinty is riveting as Orin Dennis, another of James’ students and close friend to Sarah.  His character is passionate about the rights of the individuals in the deaf community.  The chemistry between him and Ms. Ridloff is palpable.  Treshelle Edmond is fresh and vivacious as the naive Lydia, a hearing impaired student who has a crush on her teacher, James.  Her energetic spirit fills the stage every time she enters.

Children of a Lesser God addresses the differences that separate us.  The play definitively expresses that no one has the right to change or mold another individual to reflect their own image.  This is a strong and pertinent theme for audiences to experience at this time, and this production beautifully illustrates it.  Children of a Lesser God is playing at Studio 54 through September 9. 

Domenick Danza

The Parisian Woman

The Parisian Woman

Hudson Theatre

December 30, 2017

Photo courtesy of The Parisian Woman

Uma Thurman makes an impressive Broadway debut in The Parisian Woman.  Her presence is strong and her intentions carry each scene she is in, which is every scene in the play.  Beau Willimon’s script is set in present day Washington DC, and packs a number of direct and potent punches at the Trump administration.

Chloe (played by Uma Thurman) is married to Tom (played by Josh Lucas), a highly successful tax attorney who is being considered for a judgeship.  They are very adept at the Washington political game and their marriage is an open relationship.  When Tom confesses to her his motivations and truthful understanding of the good he can do if he is appointed, she decides to use her influence to help him.

Uma Thurman & Marton Csokas
Photo courtesy of The ParisianWoman

The plot has a few twists and surprises, and Ms. Thurman pulls them off glibly.  She beautifully plays the surface charm her character needs in her surroundings, and her deeper moments of truth are clear and genuine.  Josh Lucas is charming as her husband Tom.  Together they are a driving force.  Blair Brown is potent and grounded as Jeanette.  Phillipa Soo is eager and idealistic as Rebecca.  Marton Csokas is passionate as Peter.  He and Ms. Thurman share a few fiery moments that heighten the action of the story.

The play is well directed by Pam MacKinnon.  The set, designed by Derek McLane, stylishly establishes the locations and keeps the action smoothly moving from scene to scene.  The Parisian Woman is playing at the Hudson Theatre through March. 

Domenick Danza

The End of Longing

The End of Longing

MCC Theater

Lucille Lortel Theater

May 27, 2017

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

Matthew Perry is starring in The End of Longing, a play he also wrote, at the Lucille Lortel Theater.  He portrays an alcoholic character lost in fear and anxiety who struggles to face the truth and build a life of happiness.  As dark as the subject matter sounds, the play is written with the kind of witty banter expected from Mr. Perry.  His role is very different from his television characters.  His physical characterizations and vocal intonations are well crafted and genuine.  The audience cares for his character and roots for his success.

Jack (played by Matthew Perry) meets Stephanie (played by Jennifer Morrison) and Stevie (played by Sue Jean Kim) in a bar while waiting for his friend Jeffrey (played by Quincy Dunn-Baker).  Stevie has been neurotically texting a man she hooked up with, who, coincidentally, turns out to be Jeffery.  This gives Jack the perfect opportunity to connect with Stephanie, who is totally turned off by his brassy charm.  They end up spending the night and subsequently develop a close relationship.  This leads them both to face the uncertainty of their emotional ineptitudes.

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

All four actors are great in their roles.  They create multidimensional characters who stumble and struggle to achieve their goals.  It is the relationships that make it possible for these characters to see their way through, yet, as good as these actors are, the chemistry between them is lacking.  There are a few bold turn of events in Mr. Perry’s play that lead the characters to self-realization.   The reasons for these events are not always justified in dramatic action.  The journey of the characters is clearly mapped out.  This play is about human connection and how it can transform lives.  Although engaging, the story is not viscerally experienced.

Derek McLane’s scenic design is spectacular.  The walls are decorated with empty bottles that serve numerous representations.  The turntable spins the set quickly to keep the action flowing at the pace the play requires.

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

MCC Theater’s production of The End of Longing runs at the Lucille Lortel Theater through July 1.  If you are a Matthew Perry and Jennifer Morrison fan (from TV’s Once Upon a Time and House), go see this show.  You will definitely enjoy their performances.

Domenick Danza