‘Death Becomes Her’ Broadway Run Ends June 28

After 20 months, 650-plus performances, and 900,000 tickets sold, Death Becomes Her is taking its final bow on Broadway. The musical will close at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on June 28, producers confirmed, ending a run that started with serious momentum but couldn’t quite sustain it through the spring.

The show, based on the beloved 1992 Robert Zemeckis film — itself a cult classic starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn — opened to positive reviews in November 2024 and quickly became one of the season’s strongest box office performers, regularly pulling in more than $1.2 million a week. But grosses began slipping in January, and by the week ending May 10, the show was bringing in just above $760,000. The writing, it seems, was on the wall.

What stings a little: the show is closing without recouping its widely reported $31.5 million capitalization. That’s a big number, even by Broadway standards, and the effects-heavy production never quite earned it back. It’s a frustratingly familiar story for big-budget Broadway musicals — Variety notes that only five shows to open since the pandemic (Just In Time, MJ, Six, & Juliet, and The Outsiders) have actually recouped during their Broadway runs.

A Season-Leading Show That Couldn’t Quite Seal the Deal

Death Becomes Her earned 10 Tony Award nominations this season — tied for the most of any show in 2024-2025 — but took home just one trophy, for best costume design. Both leads were nominated: Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty, who originated the roles of Helen Sharp and Madeline Ashton (the parts played by Hawn and Streep in the film) and delivered performances that critics and audiences loved. Hilty departed the production in January; Betsy Wolfe stepped into the Madeline role and has been playing it since. The current cast also includes Christopher Sieber, Michelle Williams, Taurean Everett, and Josh Lamon.

The creative team — direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, a book by Marco Pennette, and an original score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey — built something that clearly connected with audiences, even if the math didn’t work out in the end. The cast and creative team made more than 30 national TV appearances during the run, hitting everything from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Today to Watch What Happens Live and CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live. They worked hard to keep the show visible.

“Bringing Death Becomes Her to Broadway has been an incredible joy, and we are immensely proud of every artist, musician, crew member, and individual who helped make this show what it is,” said Lowe Cunningham, SVP and Head of Creative & Strategy at Universal Theatrical Group. “Night after night, it has been a thrill to watch audiences come together to laugh, celebrate, and embrace the wildly entertaining spirit of this production. We are deeply proud of what this show has brought into the world, and we are excited for its life to continue as it tours across the U.S. and beyond in the years ahead.”

The Show Lives On — On the Road

Broadway may be closing, but Death Becomes Her isn’t done. A multi-year North American tour launches this September at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio, giving the show a chance to reach new audiences — and, potentially, finally recoup that investment on the road.

For the fans who never got to see it at the Lunt-Fontanne, that’s genuinely good news. And for anyone who did catch it in New York, June 28 is your last chance to say goodbye.