I wasn't too familiar with the film in the beginning as well when I was first cast in the show.

So, I had to watch it and kind of get an idea of what this show is and also just how important the falling down the stair scene is to the movie and to that story and what the expectations would be around it and making sure that it was delivered properly and done right and all the things that fans of the show and the movie have been expecting that entire time.

A little touch of magic in a world obsessed with science.

My name is Warren Yang.

I am in the ensemble of "Death Becomes Her."

I'm also the fall and the uh acrobatics and stunts captain.

The story of "Death Becomes Her" really centers around these two best friends that are aging and start to want and yearn for their youth and they're also fighting over Ernest Menville who is part of that love triangle as well.

There is an acrobatic scene and a stunt scene in the show that requires a lot of attention and requires a lot of fine-tuning to it as well which is the stairfall.

So that is where I come in and I help maintain that, teach it, note it and make sure that that is maintained as part of the show.

In the development process of the stairfall, when we got to the rehearsal studio, they had actually built us a replica staircase that we could utilize for that process.

We didn't have that much time.

Actually, we only had a couple weeks to create something that we could tech on to put in front of an audience.

But fortunately, we had all the resources that we need there to do it.

And from day one, it was just like, okay, we got to play.

We just got to get on the stairs and we just got to see what's possible.

So, we're holding on to the railings and flipping around and seeing other ways we can flip around.

Can we get into a handstand here?

Can we go upside down?

How do we integrate snapping the neck so that Madeline dies at the end of the stairfall?

Where do we want to do that?

We had to kind of deconstruct a little bit what the movie had done and adapt it for the stage.

So it was very much a collaborative process around all the departments, sound, lighting, choreography, direction, music.

Like it was such an amazing process to be a part of.

Yes.

Everything I do is for the game.

In the beginning, we explored what the tone of that stairfall would be.

We kind of knew what the movements and the moments would be within it, but we really needed it to be over the top and grand and all the things that represent who that character is in that moment.

Because at the end of the day, if we're pushing Madeline Ashton down the stairs, how would she fall down the stairs, truly?

And it would be in the most dramatic fashion, the most long drawn out way you could possibly do it.

And it would also be glamorous because that's who she is as a person.

And I think we're really proud of how we were able to nail that aspect of the character as well within the confines of choreography and a stunt.

But only for the gates.

85 00:03:44,239 --> 00:03:48,239 My hope when people come see our show is that they got to escape all their problems from outside of the world and just come in and enjoy and laugh and leave with a smile.

At the end of the day, theater is a place to express art and a place to express ideas, but sometimes it is a beautiful place to forget about our problems, forget about the world, and just enjoy and laugh and forget.

Um, and I really hope that we affect people in that kind of way.

We are Broadway