Introducing Viola Van Horn, a mysteriously secretive woman in the new musical, “Death Becomes Her,” Michelle Williams is eating up the role, and fans are here for it all.
Now playing in Chicago, “Death Becomes Her” features the Grammy-award-winning songstress in a dazzling purple gown and jewels until June 2. Her next stop is scheduled in New York City, where more audiences can witness her slay the Broadway stage this upcoming October. Meanwhile, clips of a ravishing performance have circulated social media.
Michelle took to her TikTok on May 21 with a teaseful snippet of her theater stage dramatization at the official opening night in the Windy City. Portraying a character initially named Lisle von Rhuman, the former Destiny’s Child star lit up the Cadillac Palace Theatre stage with powerful vocals and riffs.
In the clip’s caption, Michelle expressed how much fun she had performing as Viola Van Horn in the new musical.
In the comments section, fans are drooling over their keyboards.
“Marvelous!! Just stunning! It’s the lyrics with our belles vocals touch for me!! She strikes again,”
“Michelle, be working,” another fan chimed in. “Aida, Chicago, Fela, The Color Purple, Once on this Island, and Now Death Becomes Her!!!”
Earlier in May, the songstress blessed her followers with preview images of her onstage donned in captivating royal purple garments.
She describes her experience as a daily “gala” on the “Death Becomes Her” stage.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Death Becomes Her is a rendition of the 1992 dark, fantastical comedy that originally features Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini as Lisle Von Rhuman. The story follows two women, a fading actress and her long-time rival, who fight for the heartstrings of the same man.
In an interview, the Rockford native previously confirmed she was unaware of the musical’s correlation with the 1990s film but remained a fan. She also recalled overcoming rejection during her early theater days and eventually accomplishing her 2003 Broadway debut in the title role of “Aida.”
“I’m feeling good, I’m feeling so good; I’m at a place in my career where I’m doing what I want to do, not what’s expected of me,” she told ABC7 Chicago. “I want to be here.”
“On a show like this, you’re going to get the stillness and hush of a theater crowd versus people with their phones up; that’s a transition I have to get used to,” Williams told ABC7 Chicago. “You ain’t at church, you ain’t at a concert. The audience is taking it in. They love what you’re doing. You’re not going to get people up on their feet, swaying from side to side.”
Werk those vocals, Michelle, aka Viola Van Horn!
