Jennifer Simard: Broadway Diva Kills In ‘Death Becomes Her’ [VIDEO]

Broadway Diva Jennifer Simard has been killing it on Broadway for almost two decades. Note: I use the word “diva” in the best, most fabulous definition of that word.

She’s currently wowing audiences 8 performances a week at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in one of her most hilarious and outrageous roles, that of Helen “Hell” Sharp, frenemy of Madeline “Mad” Ashton (Megan Hilty) in the musical adaptation of Robert Zemeckis’s Oscar-winning cult film Death Becomes Her. Rivals since high school, Mad steals Hell’s man, Ernest (Christopher Sieber). Hell vows revenge and concocts a plan to win back Ernest and murder Mad. The plan goes awry when it turns out both women have swallowed a potion that will keep them youthful and gorgeous. Oh, and allow them to live forever. Sempre viva! But both Hell and Mad do not heed the warning to take care of their bodies and are left a shambles when they try and off one another. But they still have each other.

Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn played Mad and Hell, respectively, in the iconic 1992 film. While elements of the characters are similar, the actors have refreshingly deviated from any kind of mimicry or impression of the legendary actors (take that Back to the Future) and, instead, they breathe fresh, new life into each glam gal—creating their own crazy but bonded duo. In fact, the strong closeness that this Mad and Hell achieve goes well beyond the film. Visit the show’s website for tickets. See my review HERE.

Simard first became involved with the workshop of Death Becomes Her in 2022.

In the late 1990s, Simard starred in a few Off-Broadway musicals including I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change before making her Broadway debut as a replacement in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2007. She then appeared in both Shrek The Musical (2008) and Sister Act (2011). In 2016 she received her first Tony nomination for the jukebox musical comedy satire, Disaster!, stealing all her scenes. The Bette Midler revival of Hello Dolly! followed where she had us giddy as Ernestina. In 2019, she was a replacement in Mean Girls. Post-pandemic, the celebrated gender-bending revival of Company brought her a second Tony nomination in 2022. Last season she was featured in the Britney Spears jukebox show Once Upon a One More Time.

Besides her two Tony nods, she’s five-time Drama Desk Award, three-time Drama League Award, and Lucille Lortel Award nominee. She may very well add a third Tony nomination for Death to her ever-growing list of achievements.

Film credits include Somewhere in Queens, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Wish You Were Dead, and Sisters. And on TV she’s appeared in Girls5eva, The Good Wife, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, The King of Queens, and Younger.

The Contending had a blast Zoom chatting with Simard.