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Video: DEATH BECOMES HER Finds Life on Broadway
Sep 13, 2024
Broadway is about to get a drop-dead hilarious new musical comedy in Death Becomes Her, which is set to arrive at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in October of 2023. Watch in this video as Julia Mattison and Noel Carey give us even more exciting insight into what the musical is all about, why audiences couldn't get enough of it in Chicago earlier this year, and so much more!
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0:00
I'm excited for people to see things that are jaw-dropping on camera right in front of their faces with no screen between them
0:07
I'm excited for them to hopefully fall in love with a new score played by an 18-piece orchestra
0:13
I'm just so excited for the energy I really feel this show is going to bring and for people to just really have a great time
0:30
Well, first of all, I am thrilled to be sitting with the two of you here at the legendary Sardis
0:35
So you're about to make your Broadway debuts as creators writing the music and lyrics for Death Becomes Her
0:41
How excited are you two? I mean, beyond. Beyond. It's crazy. It's all very surreal, but we could not be more excited
0:48
And we're being cool right now, but we're screaming inside. Yeah. And to go to Broadway with this show is the ultimate dream
0:55
It's so much fun. So how did you each get connected? I mean, how did it come about for you
0:59
like, you're going to write the score. Yeah, you know, I had a general meeting when I was in L.A
1:03
with the Universal Theatrical Team, and it was kind of one of those great conversations that
1:08
lasts for a couple hours, and you're forgetting it's a work meeting at anyway, and we just
1:13
really hit it off, and they were like, there is this one project. The night before, I should say
1:18
I had written down a couple properties of theirs, like, if they asked, if there was something
1:22
you'd ever want to turn into a musical, Death Becomes was one of my favorite films of all time
1:26
and at the very end of the conversation Brian, who works at just happened to go
1:31
there is this one project we don't have the music team for if you're just, do you know the movie Death Becomes Her
1:37
And I stood up out of my couch and got back down and I was like, I would love, we would love to submit
1:43
so I immediately called Noel on the lot. It was very Hollywood for a very theater moment
1:48
and I was like, I'm going to be back in two days, let's write a spec for it
1:52
And then we wrote two spec songs for the show that are..
1:55
The next week. that are now still in the show. So, and then we were just often
1:59
well, it was about six months of waiting and then we got the job officially in March of 2020. Yeah. Wow
2:06
They said there's no more Broadway and you're writing a Broadway show
2:10
This is like old school. You used to look back at composers, they were like, oh, we sent two songs in
2:15
I mean, these big songwriters used to do that to write on Broadway. Right, it was a true audition
2:20
Like I remember finding out that there were like six different versions of rag time because all these like composer duos
2:25
So what were the two songs that you sent in? One song is called Falling Apart, and it's what Madeline sings, what Megan sings in
2:31
Act One. It's kind of what she sings after she sees Helen in the red dress at the book launch
2:37
And then the other is a song called Till Death that's had many iterations, but a piece
2:41
of it still remains. It's an earnest song. So how did you two write the first two songs
2:46
Did you write them together? Did you write them on Zoom? Yeah, thankfully, because we wrote the first two pre-pandemic and we were just in your living
2:54
room I think for like a day or two. We got together. We wrote falling apart in a day and we
2:59
we gave ourselves two days and so by the second we were like, we're hungry, we want to try
3:04
Let's write a second one and see it and what happens. So I worked out
3:08
I love it you work together. You do both music and lyrics. Does it change of what comes first
3:14
Sometimes you do lyrics then add music. Do you come up with music first and then add the words
3:18
Like does it change? It does. It does. We're pretty cons. We're pretty consistently, I'd say, music forward
3:29
Yeah. In that, that provides sometimes the most inspiration of just vibes, tempos, soundscapes, things like that
3:38
And that really gets our brains cooking. Yeah, it starts by talking a lot
3:42
We talk a lot about where this character is at this point in the story, what needs to change by the end of the song
3:49
We're both, we both met in an acting program. have the acting training that kind of informs like okay where does character want to go What the pace What the energy What the style We like to perform as we write and try it on Yeah then we kind of just improvising doing musical improv and then find it from there and then hone with lyrics
4:07
Yeah, sometimes a lyric will come up. But every song does have a different journey. Yeah. Which it would be really helpful if we just had one way of writing song
4:15
If you could give us a formula that works, that would save us a lot of time
4:19
No, but I love that you do it that way. So you played all the characters. like in your living rooms or whatever, right
4:23
Absolutely, especially during the pandemic. We played every movie. So you know the show Inside Out
4:29
Absolutely, yeah. Every version of it. There's like 100. Well, let's talk about collaborating
4:33
with your book writer, Marco Panette. What was that like? It was crazy because we got to meet in person
4:38
when we first got the job. We had an interview in L.A. to all kind of make sure we vibe
4:43
And then it was, you know, the challenges of writing during a pandemic
4:47
Like, we were all on the phone, on Zoom, on phone calls for hours on end
4:52
And thankfully, he had been attached earlier, so he wrote kind of a script version initially without songs
4:59
And so we had some freedom to play with it as source material to bounce around
5:03
And then it was just, you know, a couple years of getting back and forth on it
5:09
And he's just, he's a joke machine. So we knew from the jump, the first line of the show we laughed
5:15
So it was like, oh, this is going to be great. That's going to be fun. So you told me how you fell in love with the film
5:20
How did you fall in love with the original film? You know, I always say it was the movie that I caught halfway on on TV
5:26
and then would probably watch it till the end. But I, it's made by one of my favorite teams
5:33
Like, I love the Zemeckis Silvestri collaborations, who framed Roger Rabbit is very close to my heart
5:40
because I do think these films blend so well comedy and serious stakes
5:46
and, like, whimsy and these ideas that you've never seen on film before
5:50
like a Flying Delorean or like a cartoon next to a detective or like a woman with her head around
5:55
and a woman with a hole through her stomach. Like it's a very distinct imaginative style that I think kind of a lot of those films have
6:03
And so this one just fell right in line. I said, I'm totally game for that. You know, this is such an iconic film
6:07
So talk about how you found the balance of keeping the brilliance of the film that the fans expect
6:12
but creating a brand new musical. I think the key for us is just being fans of it first
6:19
like, I think, in knowing and loving it. You know those quotes that you need to have
6:23
You know those moments that you have to honor. But it was really exciting to get to use it as source material
6:28
And Noel said this before, that there's an operatic high drama feel to it
6:33
so it lends itself very well to a musical. Yeah, it feels like a fable, or it's a very familiar, you know
6:40
tale of Faustian bargains and betrayal and stolen love and all those things
6:45
All those great things. They should pop up every now and again. Yeah. Yeah. But I hear there's a lot of Easter eggs that are in there, which is really great
6:52
Yes, yes. Yeah, you have to have your now a warning. You have to, every quote you've seen that's on the building, of course, we're going to make sure that's you're in there
7:01
But, you know, there are great tributes. You know, it opens on a Broadway show
7:06
So you have, you know, we have a hint of I see me in there and not a way that is necessarily as expected, but in a way that we're really excited about
7:14
And we get to honor the kind of Madeleine and a show element. Yeah
7:18
I think we have fun giving people what they want, but surprising them with how they're going to receive it
7:23
Yeah. Yeah. Well, the show premiered in Chicago where critics and audiences fell in love with the show
7:29
I told you I had friends and family go already, and they text me at intermission saying, this is brilliant
7:33
Move it to Broadway tomorrow. So what did you learn from the show in Chicago
7:38
It was fascinating. I mean, I think we've never been on a ride so major
7:43
And so a lot of it was just kind of letting it wash over us and feel that adrenaline, feel that ride
7:48
It was really wild to have thousands of people every night see a thing you still shaping and working on But I think what was so fascinating and so cool is to see when every design team we getting to work with absolute geniuses on this thing and who are all put their all into it
8:04
So we just kind of went back for a second going, wait, we did write this
8:09
It just felt like an out-of-body experience. But then when you could sit in the back and watch the audience every night
8:14
you could got to get a sense of these moments where you know the audience is in
8:18
and then moments were go, okay, we can clarify this and, you know, little things. Yeah
8:22
I think for a while when there was no audience, we were worried, will they buy into this
8:27
Will they be on board? And it was so refreshing. And maybe it's post-pandemic. Maybe it's the show and the story itself
8:32
Maybe it's a cocktail of all of the above. But it was great to see just how quickly audiences were on board to laugh and go on a weird ride
8:41
and meet these characters and hate these characters and love these characters all at the same time
8:45
They were just a really willing crowd, which was helpful for us because we throw a lot of crazy stuff at them
8:53
You know, you talked about collaboration. Talk about collaborating with your director, choreographer Christopher Guitelli
8:58
We love Christopher Gatteli. A dream. A dream. An absolute dream. And Easter egg
9:01
Easter egg. Yes, we met in Godspell in 2011, and he was the choreographer
9:06
I was his dance captain. And so we, one of the first people I met when I moved to New York and just loved him instantly then
9:14
And so when he came on board, it was like family already
9:18
And so it was such a gift because when this can feel so high stakes and so major
9:23
we were still able to feel very heard and really communicate with someone who values the work we're doing
9:28
and wants to collaborate. And he just came in and saw what needed to be done and has just been such a dream
9:36
So we're really excited for everyone to see what he's been doing as well with it
9:40
Yeah. What's like I work with Christopher? Let me tell you, if you want to write on Broadway
9:45
just be the friend of a dance captain, and they'll all work out. He's so willing, so fun-loving
9:54
he does have this, like, a twinkle in his eye. It sounds cliche, but it's there all the time
10:00
And he's always having as much fun with it as he wants the audience to have, I think
10:06
It's so alive for him. And to say nothing of the room he runs in the kind of just this year's saying
10:11
the kindness and the familial nature of the, of the whole team
10:16
That element of the collaboration is incredibly, it's a blessing. But what he's done with the show is really special and silly and fun and earnest and..
10:29
Madeline and Helen. Well, speaking about them, talking about it. You're a brilliant cast
10:35
Look at you having this show. An embarrassment of riches. It's really wild
10:39
It's crazy to have these... Our leads in the show are like, we're Megan Hilty fans forever and ever
10:47
And then to see her come back, I think everybody, base level, just are so excited to see her back on stage
10:53
And then to have the honor of seeing her work and what she's created with this role and how funny she is and that voice and that star power
11:01
Like, it's just a dream. And the consistency, like, we get to watch it night after night and she just knocks it out of the park every time
11:07
And then you also have Jennifer Samard as her counter. who is a comedy genius and her voice and her talent and her like magic on stage
11:19
And they play off each other in such a brilliant way that they have this, it's this comedy
11:25
ping pong match that is so delightful to see. And I just, we feel so lucky that they were the ones who took these roles on
11:33
It was Kismet. It was like perfect timing too because I think if you've seen Jen Samar do what she does so well
11:40
you've been dying to see her do it on this level and this spotlight and this type of character And I also think if you seen what Megan Hilty can do you wouldn necessarily suspect that she would make the perfect matter Like you are getting a total 180 I think
11:56
from a lot of the other roles she's played, which is incredibly just fresh and exciting
12:01
and she nails it. My favorite thing to hear from Friends is how everybody just so badly wants to give the two of them
12:07
their flowers and have this moment where they're both starring. And so I think for them to have these starring roles
12:12
and to just let people see what they're doing on that stage, is it's going to be a really fun ride
12:18
Then you add the comic foil of Christopher Seber. I mean, then you have..
12:22
Who's already, Jen Samard's musical theater husband. That's right. The paperwork was already done
12:26
Match made in heaven. The paperwork was done. I mean, and what a perfect trio and his ability to, first of all, again, comedic brilliance
12:33
His genius in timing and in balancing them, too. You have someone who, you know, it's a big, crazy wild show, and you have to have that foil
12:45
and that person who kind of has life hit him in a bunch of different ways and how he kind of goes through it
12:51
And he's just made it a wonderful track as well that I just can't wait for people to see what he's done
12:57
And then you have Michelle Williams. Who is hilarious. We all know how she sounds
13:02
Michelle Williams is a dream. Oh my goodness. Me. I was it
13:07
Just as funny in the room too, just like being herself. Funny kind. I mean, this is the thing
13:11
She has just been an absolute angel to work with, to hang
13:15
out with. She's so giving. She's so giving with her time and her attention and her love
13:19
of wanting to just make this the best thing possible. But also, I'm nerding out
13:23
because I was a huge, and remained a huge Destiny's Child fan. First of all
13:28
and I was always listening to Destiny's Child and for the bridges
13:31
and getting that voice, I've always been obsessed. So the first day we
13:35
heard her sing one of our songs, I was not handling it. Well, I was like
13:39
stay cool. This is very exciting. But as great as create as you have pitch me moments too
13:45
when you get to work with these kind of people. I mean, there's nothing better than working for the theater
13:50
because it's so collaborative from every element, if it's wig, makeup, anything, light, sets, costumes
13:56
And there's so many magical things that happen in this show that people still can't figure out how it's all done
14:01
It's really wild. And each designer in their own right, when you have Derek McLean, you have Justin Townsend, Paul Taswell
14:08
Cape White. Ernest, Helen, Malin. So when we have this incredible design team
14:15
and including for us, Doug Besterman doing the orchestrations, like, it's so unbelievable to watch each person at play
14:23
in every department at work, and what they do collaboratively. Talk about Chris having a twinkle in his eye, each of them
14:30
also have this kind of childlike twinkle in their eye when they're going, oh, yeah, we can try this and do this
14:34
And so the collaboration of everyone coming together is absolutely crazy. Well, you're literally a block away from Sardis
14:41
You're right through the alley, and there is your beautiful theater of the Lent Fontaine
14:45
I mean, I know you've walked by the theater and seen the front of house. I'd be living there every day
14:49
I mean, yeah, we're so excited to really just move in. We're just the ones hovering outside going, oh, look
14:55
Yeah. Well, I know your box office opens really, really soon. We wish you the very best
14:59
I mean, what are you looking forward to the most with bringing this show to Broadway
15:03
I'm just so excited for people to come see it and to be there every night and to just share this wild ride that we've been working on
15:11
It feels so surreal. but I just think it's going to be a fun, funny party
15:17
and I think people just want to laugh right now, and it's just a really joyful, magical, good time
15:22
So I'm excited. I'm excited for people to see things that are jaw-dropping on camera
15:27
right in front of their faces with no screen between them. I'm excited for them to hopefully fall in love with a new score played by an 18-piece orchestra
15:37
I'm just so excited for the energy. I really feel this show
15:43
is going to bring and for people to just really have a great time
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