THE TONY AWARD®-WINNING • GRAMMY AWARD®-NOMINATED
MUSICAL COMEDY
TOUR LAUNCHES AT PLAYHOUSE SQUARE THIS SEPTEMBER
"A cheek-aching laughter rollercoaster!" — The Daily Beast
"★★★★ Savagely funny." — Time Out New York
“Wildly entertaining. A perfect musical comedy. It grabs the audience by the jugular fast and doesn’t let go.” – Deadline
(New York, NY) Universal Theatrical Group is thrilled to announce the full cast for the first year of the multi-year North American Tour of DEATH BECOMES HER, launching at Playhouse Square with performances September 12 - October 3, 2026, as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. Tickets for all performances are on sale now at playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000.
Leading the company are Jackie Burns (Madeline Ashton), Kristen Beth Williams (Helen Sharp), Ken Marino (Ernest -Menville), Nasia Thomas (Viola Van Horn), Louis A. Williams Jr. (Chagall), Michael Buchanan (Stefan), and Gail Bennett (Standby for Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp).
Joining the company are Calvin Cooper, Nick Cortazzo, Tiki Hopson, Karma Jenkins, Tyler Jimenez, Caroline Kane, Bryn Purvis, Jordan Vasquez, and Candace Janin Washington, with swings Ian Liberto, McKinley Knuckle, Alicia Albright, and Savannah Cooper.
Lowe Cunningham, producer of DEATH BECOMES HER and Senior Vice President, Head of Creative & Strategy at Universal Theatrical Group, said, “It has been such a joy bringing DEATH BECOMES HER to life on stage and I’m beyond thrilled to be embraced as we have by Broadway audiences. On behalf of the entire creative team and company, we are so proud that we will be able to share this musical and entertain audiences with laughter across the country for years to come with this tour.”
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Madeline Ashton is the most beautiful actress (just ask her) ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp is the long-suffering author (just ask her) who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies… until Madeline steals Helen’s fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for. After one sip of Viola’s magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored…and a grudge to last eternity. See it now and laugh for eternity.
DEATH BECOMES HER features direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli, a book by Marco Pennette, and an original score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey.
DEATH BECOMES HER features scenic design by two-time Tony Award winner Derek McLane, costume design by Tony Award and Academy Award winner Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Tony Award winner Justin Townsend, sound design by Tony Award winner Peter Hylenski, hair and wig design by two-time Drama Desk Award winner Charles LaPointe, make-up design by Joe Dulude II, fight direction by Drama Desk Award winner Cha Ramos, with music supervision by Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell, orchestrations by three-time Tony Award winner Doug Besterman, music direction by Matt Doebler, dance & music arrangements by Tony Award nominee Sam Davis, vocal arrangements by Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Julia Mattison & Noel Carey, music coordination by Kristy Norter, casting by The TRC Company, and general management by 321 Theatrical Management. Marcia Goldberg serves as Executive Producer.
Following a critically acclaimed pre-Broadway engagement at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre in May–June 2024, DEATH BECOMES HER opened on Broadway on November 21, 2024, playing 20 months, more than 650 performances, and selling over 900,000 tickets at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre before closing on June 28, 2026.
DEATH BECOMES HER was the most nominated show of the 2024–2025 season with 34 total nominations, including 12 Outer Critics’ Circle Award nominations, five Drama Desk Award nominations, four Drama League Award nominations, two Chita Rivera Award nominations, 10 Tony Award nominations, and one GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
DEATH BECOMES HER became a viral sensation on social media following the release of the Original Broadway Cast Recording, which has been streamed more than nine million times. Jennifer Simard’s performance of “Hit Me” peaked at #2 on the TikTok Viral Chart and #13 on the TikTok 50 Chart, with more than 491,000 creator uses and over 2.7 billion views. “Let’s Run Away Together” has also inspired more than 10,000 TikTok videos.
The cast and creative team made more than 30 national television appearances during the Broadway run, including NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tony Awards on CBS, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and NBC’s TODAY.
The GRAMMY-nominated Original Broadway Cast Recording is available now via Concord Theatricals Recordings.
DEATH BECOMES HER is produced by Universal Theatrical Group (UTG), overseen by Jimmy Horowitz, Chairman of Business Affairs and Operations, NBCUniversal, and led by Lowe Cunningham, SVP, Head of Creative & Strategy, Universal Theatrical Group. DEATH BECOMES HER is based on the Universal Pictures 1992 film, written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
The first show on the 2026-27 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square, DEATH BECOMES HER launches its national tour in Cleveland, playing the KeyBank State Theatre for 26 performances, September 12 – October 3, 2026. Show times are Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. There is also a special weekday matinee at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30. Tickets are available at playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000. Groups of 10 or more are encouraged to call 216-640-8600.
For more information visit: DeathBecomesHer.com.
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