Betsy Wolfe has been a British orphan with a soaring soprano in The Mystery of Edwin Drood; a brooding, belting, pie-making virtuoso in Waitress; and a pop-singing woman of the Renaissance in & Juliet. There’s not a genre outside her wheelhouse. But if ever there were a Betsy Wolfe bull’s-eye, it would be Death Becomes Her’s histrionic glamourpuss Madeline Ashton.
Wolfe took over the role from Megan Hilty back in January, becoming the first new addition to the musical’s leading trio, alongside Jennifer Simard (Helen Sharp) and Christopher Sieber (Ernest Menville). She and Simard go head-to-head as egomaniacal frenemies, twisting themselves in knots (literally) as they grasp at youth and beauty, all while one-upping each other with zingers and high notes. It’s a musical made for scene-stealing, but, as Wolfe shared in a recent interview with Broadway Direct, what she loves best is there’s no need for it. “There’s so much funny in this show,” she says. “There’s enough to go around for everyone.”
You kicked off your run as Madeline Ashton in January, but you saw Death Becomes Her long before that. Can you tell me about your first time seeing the show?
I remember it so well. I had just left & Juliet on Broadway, which was a show that I had done for two and a half years. When you’re doing a show eight times a week, you don’t really get a chance to see other shows. So three weeks after I closed, I went to the opening night of Death Becomes Her, and I had no idea what to expect. I was laughing so hard that I was crying. My face hurt. And I remember writing everyone the next day saying how I was just transformed. I was like, “This is the best show I’ve seen in years.” It was the first time since Waitress that I was watching a show going, “Wait, this would be so much fun to be in someday.” I will often pinch myself just because I cannot believe that it’s actually happening.
Madeline has so many gigantic numbers throughout this show …
So many numbers. So many costumes.
… but “For the Gaze” is particularly epic.
A number like “For the Gaze,” where you’re constantly changing — there are so many things that have to go right. I wish so badly the audience could see what it looks like behind the mylar curtain. The first 20 minutes for Madeline Ashton are the craziest 20 minutes of the whole show for her. It’s nuts.
That number also pays homage to some of our favorite divas. Is your Madeline drawing inspiration from any one diva in particular?
Well, the diva that comes to my mind is my mother. I put on that blue jumpsuit and change into that wig for 10-years-later Madeline and I am like, “Oh my god, I am totally channeling part of my mom.” In fact, my mom saw it for the first time last week, and at intermission she could not help herself. She goes, “Wow, this show is so funny. I’m having the time of my life. Are you using me for your old-lady moves?” And I was like, “Mom, what do you mean moves?” I was like, “That is you. That is me. I am very much you.”
The shows you’ve done are so varied and range from intimate musicals, like The Last Five Years, to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, where you’re dabbling in British pantomime. What is it like to do a show that is full-throated camp?
You don’t want to think about it like you play “camp” or you play “broad.” It’s actually all rooted in truth, right? It’s just their truth is preposterous. But at the heart of it is this insanely truthful story about friendships. For Madeline and Helen, it is insane what they do, but as long as it’s rooted in truth, the comedy really just does its own thing. But this oddly feels more me than many shows have felt. And I am working with literal comedic geniuses. Chris Sieber and Jen Simard are so knowing of themselves and they are so funny. They are like, “Throw it at me. Let’s see what we can do.”
Speaking of the great Jennifer Simard, it’s not often that we get two leading ladies in a show. How has it felt to have another actress as your costar?
It’s my dream. I mean, look at why Wicked’s been running for so long. I think, look at why & Juliet’s been running. They’re stories that feature women and relationships. And I love nothing more than being on stage with someone who not only is beyond talented, but also is so confident in who she is as a person. I think most people would think, “They’re just like their characters: They’re insecure, they’re constantly trying to compete.” It is the coolest thing ever to walk in to your job every night and just know that we know who we are and we just get to have fun and celebrate each other’s unique strengths. I watched her do this show on opening night and just thought, “God, she is doing something so special in this show that’s going to be talked about for years.” The fact that I now get to come in and we get to do our own thing — it’s a special moment for me.
Have you also enjoyed getting to know the Death Becomes Her superfans?
This show has some of the best fans. I signed a shovel the other night outside the stage door. A huge shovel. I’ve signed some pretty crazy things at the stage door — lately it’s been a lot of mops. Every single day after Joy I would sign six to 10 mops. And now I’m signing shovels. I don’t know what my next show is gonna bring. But you bring it, I’m gonna sign it.
