DEATH BECOMES HER Reviews — Page 5

ACL2006 said: "honeslty surprised they haven't added more swings for this show yet. Megan was once again out this weekend and Simard was out tonight. Plus Michelle Williams has been out lately for a few shows. Please add more coverage already!!"

The weekend shows all went on as scheduled, so what would more coverage have done?

eta: Or what Ms. Ellis said. ⬆️

Updated On: 1/20/25 at 12:00 AM

I went again last night and was actually elated to get Kaleigh AND Natalie on as the leads.

While it took me a while to warm up to Natalie because Jennifer Simard is so singular that it’s a double-edged sword for her to hew close to the character, but not be a carbon copy, by Act II, she was in full control and on par with Simard.

I actually found Kaleigh Cronin to be more credible as an older actress than Megan Hilty, despite being 8 years younger. Hilty is great and has a lot of very broad musical comedy affectations, but Cronin seemed to dial that back and lean more into the dry self-absorbed vanity that gave Meryl’s character some bite.

A funny moment from last night. At the end, as they when Madeline says “What are we doing tomorrow?”, Helen ad-libs, “I don’t know. Download our TikTok videos?” and the audience near me HOWLED.

Also, I take back any substantive praise I had for Michelle Williams. Despite having a handful of big sexy numbers, gorgeous gowns, and not much choreography (basically the most fabulous princess track one could have), she was truly giving little last night. The vocals were there, but she wasn’t really moving with any purpose and even from the back of the orchestra, she just looked dead behind the eyes. My friend and I (who have each seen it a few times now) were not happy and would’ve rather seen her understudy (Ximone Rose, who we saw as Rafaela in LEMPICKA) go on instead.

If she’s gonna phone it in this early in the run, then maybe Broadway isn’t really her destiny, child…

You have described the performance Michelle Williams has been giving all along, I think. I mean....is she a good actress? I would not call her such. She is an exceptional singer and has a certain amount of stage presence, and this role has been tailored to her strengths. Viola is asked to say comparatively little in the way of dialogue, and to my understanding they actually gave a number of her lines to members of the ensemble during the Chicago run. She generally is asked to make high-impact entrances in fabulous costumes and sing her face off. And these are two things in Michelle's wheelhouse, and so it works. I wouldn't want to see her as Mamma Rose, but she's used well in this show. I would be interested to see her role performed with someone who is more of an singing actor rather than just someone who serves Diva, but I also think this would be a FASCINATING role to retool for a drag performer like Monet X Change. I haven't seen the show since November so obviously, I can't testify to her current level of dead behind the eyes, but from what I'm hearing, this is kind of what it's always been.



I'll add that after hearing her screlt out "Siempre Viva", I turned to my wife and whispered "okay, I feel bad about making all the Michelle Williams jokes now." If nothing else, she does sing the ever-loving crap out of that song.

Updated On: 1/20/25 at 02:45 PM

We saw seven shows last week and this was one I was really looking forward to. I found it so mediocre after the first two numbers. It seemed by the second act that it had lost its way and did not know how to end. I would have also cut about most of Michelle Williams’s numbers, truly not an actress at all.

Sutton Ross said: "Who told anyone in Destiny's Child they could act?"

Based on an email I got at 4pm today for a 7pm performance, Kaleigh Cronin will be going on for Megan Hilty tonight.

Right, I'm still going tonight and a thought occurred to me in regards to Natalie Ellis' point about people need to be reasonable about actors missing shows.

I was originally supposed to see Death Becomes Her the day after Thanksgiving and was super excited at having a front row seat, but ultimately stayed home because I got a horrible ear infection. In the context of me not even being able to show up when I had to do was sit in a chair, asking actors to actually perform when sick is nuts.

They each seem to be missing quite a few performances. I'm seeing the show this weekend for the first time and really hoping they are both back. I'm a big Simard fan and find her comedic choices to be next level so I'll be pretty disappointed to miss her. However, it sounds like the understudies are doing a stellar job stepping in which is always great to hear.

An actual cast member of the show responded directly to your previous demand for more swings (which you didn't acknowledge or respond to). Do you think you know better than she does?

They need to add standby positions for the two lead roles, a la Wicked.

You've also been so factually wrong in this very thread that an actual cast member in the show was compelled to call you out on it. Rather than acknowledge your error and sharing of false information, as anyone with any self-awareness and humility would have done, you're simply grinding away at that same ax that is really about you and not about this show. Yes, covers, and more of them, are a good thing. It's just hard to take you seriously when you've already demonstrated you don't necessarily know what you're talking about with this show.

Updated On: 1/22/25 at 05:20 PM

MemorableUserName said: "You've also been so factually wrong in this very thread that an actual cast member in the show was compelled to call you out on it. Rather than acknowledge your error and sharing of false information, asanyone with any self-awareness and humility would have done, you're simply grinding away at that same ax that is really about you and not about this show.Yes, covers, and more of them, are a good thing.It's just hard to take you seriously when you've already demonstrated you don't necessarily know what you're talking about with this show."

Seems weird to hyper fixate on one aspect of a statement and ignore the broader intent if we're gonna talk about people ignoring posts...