INTERVIEW: With ‘Death Becomes Her,’ it’s Josh Lamon’s turn!
Photo: Death Becomes Her stars, from left, Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Josh Lamon and Christopher Sieber. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
NEW YORK — There’s a moment in the second act of the hit musical Death Becomes Her when Josh Lamon’s character of Stefan looks out at the audience and finally lets them know how he’s feeling. The song is called “Stefan’s Turn,” and it speaks to the character’s yearning for freedom and how he has a chance to fulfill some of his own goals in life, especially when his nondisclosure agreement is gone. It’s a beloved number in a beloved show, and Lamon loves bringing that song and this character to life eight times per week.
“It’s been incredible,” Lamon said in a recent phone interview. “It’s a dream come true. It’s so nice to be in a show that you’re also obsessed with, you know, in comparison to when you’re in shows that you just think are OK. So it’s great to be in this one.”
Lamon is a Broadway veteran at this point, having appeared in everything from Hair to The Prom to the first national tour of Wicked. He has been with Death Becomes Her since its very first reading, following the musical on every step it took before landing in Midtown Manhattan.
The musical is an adaptation of the campy, witty 1990s comedy starring Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis. The narrative follows two friends who are in constant competition with each other, and then they find an elixir for eternal youth and decide to have a drink. Stefan is the assistant to Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty for a few more performances, with Betsy Wolfe waiting in the wings).
Joining Lamon and Hilty for the Broadway engagement are Jennifer Simard, Christopher Sieber, Michelle Williams and Taurean Everett.
“I was a part of it from the very first reading,” Lamon said. “Jennifer and I are actually the only two people in the show that have been with it since the first reading, though originally I was just hired to kind of be in the ensemble, sing backup and just take on a bunch of smaller roles. I think even in the first two readings I was Chagall, which is hilarious. The first reading had a different director, and by the time the lab came around, that was when we started auditioning it for the out of town. But, I always say, ‘Everything that you do is an audition.’ The first reading is an audition for the second reading is an audition for the lab and the workshop, and so on and so forth.”
Lamon counts himself as a fan of the original movie. He remembers seeing the comedy at a drive-in theater with his best friend when they were children. He became obsessed with the film and actually owns a special gift that reminds him of his obsession.
“There’s this incredible artist named Joey Glitter who takes fun memorabilia and makes these beautiful art pieces with glitter out of them, and there’s a magnet that I found at a store with the Meryl Streep Song Bird of Youth Playbill from the movie that was all bedazzled,” he said. “I have had that for years.”
He added: “I remember the first reading. I saw the character that I’m playing now, and I was like, that’s me. I need to be him. And so for the first two readings, I wasn’t him, and I remember being just, ‘Please, please, let me read this part. I know I can make it really funny.’ And so I was really, really tickled when Chris [Gattelli] believed in me and let me do it and cast me for Chicago and then Broadway.”
Gattelli is the director and choreographer of the show, which features a book by Marco Pennette, and music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. Together with the creative team, Lamon has developed and crafted the character of Stefan over the years.
“For me, he’s a different version of me, just heightened,” the actor said. “He’s kind of an underdog. He is a little self-deprecating. He’s very funny, very witty, and I just felt like he was a part of me. Also, when Megan came on board, Megan and I played Glinda and Boq opposite each other like about 20 years ago, and so when she came on board, I was like, it’s like Wicked Part III. Like Glinda and Boq escaped, and now he works for her under the name of Stefan. I was just always really, really drawn to it.”
Now that Lamon has been with the musical for an extended period of time on Broadway — and still loving it — he needs to appreciate that there are going to be highs and lows. This is his first long run since the pandemic, and he doesn’t take any day for granted.
“OK, I’m about to say the same joke for the 500th time, how do I deliver it freshly, and how can I look for something new?” he said. “My favorite challenge is looking for something new, whether that’s adding a small, little curtsy bow when I say, ‘Top of my class at Juilliard,’ or different things. … [I love] being on stage with this remarkable company of comedic scientists. Chris Sieber and I, who is a dear friend from The Prom, we have a scene together, and every night it’s a little bit different. We’re always trying something just slightly new, which keeps us active and in the moment in the scene, but also it’s so fun and exciting to do comedy where you can find something new after 500 performances. It’s just very, very well-written that way.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Death Becomes Her, featuring Josh Lamon, continues at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
