A musical stage adaptation of the hit 1992 Robert Zemeckis film Death Becomes Her will take another step in its development this week when Universal Theatrical Group hosts a private reading in New York City, with a starry cast of Broadway performers, including Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber, taking part.
Based on the 1992 Universal Pictures film written by Martin Donovan and David Koepp, the musical reading will feature Hilty, Simard and Sieber in the roles played in the movie by Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis.
The creative team for the musical includes Marco Pennette (book), Julia Mattison and Noel Carey (music and lyrics), and Christopher Gattelli (direction and choreography).
Additional cast for the reading includes Nicole Scherzinger as Viola Van Horn, Kevin Smith Kirkwood as Zander Medly, and Marissa Rosen, Nikki Kimbrough, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Abigail Stephenson, Evan Harrington, Josh Lamon, Austin Ku and Mike Millan.
Hilty’s credits include Broadway’s Wicked and NBC’s Smash and Annie Live! Simard and Sieber were featured in the 2020 Broadway revival of Company.
A Death Becomes Her musical has been on Universal Theatrical’s to-do list for at least five years. In 2017 Universal’s theater arm announced it was then partnering with Kristin Chenoweth to develop the musical.