While in New York for the Club World Cup Final, Ian Cheeseman swapped the pitch for the stage, discovering a hilariously sharp musical take on the 1992 cult film Death Becomes Her, and a $40 ticket that proved priceless.
Last month I popped over to New York for football’s Club World Cup Final, which was certainly presented in a very theatrical way, but that’s another story. I’m certainly not a fan of the way football is being turned into an event rather than a sport.
While I was in the Big Apple, I took the opportunity to attend two Broadway shows. On the Saturday evening I chose a show I knew my travelling companion, John, would enjoy. MJ the Musical, the Michael Jackson story, filled will great songs and set piece dance routines. He loved it. I’d seen it in the West End, so I knew what to expect. It’s a great show which is soon to close in London but you might have a chance to see it when it tours the UK.
In the afternoon I fancied watching a matinee but couldn’t afford another expensive ticket. I queued at the box office at 10am on show day for cheaper tickets for &Juliet, but despite being near the front, there were no bargain tickets left. I suspect the inclusion of a pop superstar in the cast had boosted demand. Joey Fatone, from the boyband NSYNC was playing Lance.
As I passed the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, just off Times Square, I noticed their longer box office queue and thought, why not? When I reached the window, they offered me two tickets in the circle for $40 each, which was certainly a bargain. This was a musical version of the 1992 film which starred Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis, where two women drink a magical potion which promises eternal youth. It’s a comedy.
Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child (another pop star no doubt inserted to boost ticket sales) played Viola Van Horn, the supplier of the elixir. She wasn’t on stage much but was excellent when she did. The stars were Jennifer Simard as Helen Sharp (the Goldie Hawn character) and Kaleigh Cronin as Madeline Ashton (the Meryl Streep character). Cronin was the understudy and I was quite captivated by her performance. The show was fast paced and hilarious.
I know there have been a lot of films turned into Musicals and not all of them work. Back to the Future is a notable exception, which is still running in the West End and is perfect Musical Theatre, in my opinion. The Music and Lyrics for Death Becomes Her are by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey and are very good but it is the comedy that will attract audiences if it crosses the Atlantic to the West End at any point in the future.
My hope is that it will and you’ll get a chance to see it. The special effects are worth seeing on their own and it was certainly well worth the $40 John and I paid for our tickets!
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