Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, and Michelle Williams, the three leading ladies in the Broadway show Death Becomes Her, sat down with CBS Sunday Morning to talk about the lastest trend — movies getting stage adaptations. Death Becomes Her is only one of the latest shows to be apart of this trend. The original movie came out in 1992 and starred Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Isabella Rossilini.
When asked about what it was like to follow in the three actresses footsteps, Megan Hilty, who portrays Meryl Streep’s role of Madeline Ashton, said, “You could get really hung up on the fact that some of the greatest actresses of all time played our roles… The thing is, we’re not recreating their performances. We’re recreating this story.”
“The dark humor in the show lends itself to a musical because it’s very dramatic,” says Jennifer Simard, who portrays Goldie Hawn’s original role. “The movie’s dramatic, and so it’s perfect for stage.”
When bringing the show to life, director Christopher Gattelli knew the importance of bringing the memorable moments of the movie to the stage adaptation. “It feels like an ocean of waves of laughter,” Hilty says. “Most of those, like, huge waves are in response to how things have been translated from the movie to the stage.”
Simard added, “I think it’s a laughter of respect that we got it right.”
This musical is part of a new trend on Broadway, where movies are being turned into stage adaptations. However, this didn’t use to be the case. Until the 40’s and 50’s, Broadway had stayed clear of Hollywood for source material. Disney then stepped, leading the way with many stage to screen adaptaions with shows like Beauty and the Best, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Frozen.
To learn more from the interview, check out the video.
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