In a cultural landscape banking on uninspired nostalgia and needless remakes, the musical reinvention of “Death Becomes Her” shines as a killer example of breathing fresh life into an aging corpse of material. Nominated for 10 Tony Awards earlier this year, “Death Becomes Her” is a triumph of the musical form, and has since amassed a worldwide fanbase whose cravings for a catchy, comedic score have finally been satisfied. 

Crucial to building the “Death Becomes Her” adaptation were Emerson alums Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, composers who tell a humorous story of decomposing. On Nov. 7, the duo received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. 

As the musical passed its first anniversary on Broadway last month, Mattison and Carey reflected on their “Death Becomes Her” journey.

“This year went really fast, and I think that’s telling of all of the good things that the show is generating,” said Carey. “We spend most of our time with the project before its life in the public eye, and to see it have as good of a life as its having… [There’s] endless gratitude on our end.” 

While the show began previews on Broadway on Oct. 23, 2024, the pair worked on the project for over five years behind the scenes. 

“For so long it was just that magical journey of originating ideas from the ether and just making each other laugh,” Mattison said. “It’s such an amazing time stamp to see people make it their own the way that we were fans of musicals as kids and made [them] our own.”

Before they wrote the “Death Becomes Her” score, Mattison and Carey were at Emerson College “rolling around on the floor in the Colonial Building in some acting class,” as Carey recalled.

Mattison and Carey graduated in 2011 with BFAs in Musical Theater. They met their freshman year, quickly discovering their pattern of making each other laugh, and have stuck together since. 

The pair reflected on the opportunities and community at Emerson that led them to where they are today. 

“The comedy scene at Emerson really helped keep that [creative] fire alive,” Carey said. 

Both Mattison and Carey were members of campus comedy troupes: Chocolate Cake City and This is Pathetic. 

Within their four years in Boston, they felt inspired by the community around them.

“That was my favorite thing about Emerson,” Mattison shared. “There wasn’t any kind of conformity to do things in a certain way. There was a real celebration of individuals.”

Both Mattison and Carey pursued theatrical performance for several years after graduating, and this background went on to inform their compositional work for “Death Becomes Her.” 

“We always say we use ‘Scott LaFeberisms’ when we write,” Mattison said, nodding to the Emerson performing arts professor. “We reference our teachers often when we’re using acting terminology because it helps us make an active song…we want to write songs that a kid would want to bring into their class and dig into.”

The writing duo auditioned for Universal to compose the score by preparing a song that showcased their writing skills and personal voice. Carey noted that when you strip back the complexities, the process is very similar to auditioning to perform.

“We jammed our audition song with so many jokes that we were like, ‘This would never get on Broadway, this just cracks us up!’ And success is the same when you just bring yourself into a room, a role, a job,” Carey said.

After landing the “role” of composers, the duo eventually joined a team of hundreds working to bring “Death Becomes Her” to life. Imperative to Mattison and Carey’s overall experience, however, was their collaboration with each other.

“We trust each other’s tastes so much,” Mattison said. “It’s so easy when you’re writing alone to get caught up in that vulnerable little flicker of an idea that you think you might fall in love with, but you’re scared it might not be the one… I think the beauty of a good collaboration is, if we make each other laugh [or] see the other person light up and grab onto it, then there’s just a high of chasing it without doubt.”

Throughout the process, Mattison and Carey spoke of being inspired by the work of composer Stephen Sondheim. Carey jokingly said he wished he had a sign saying “What Would Sondheim Do?” that he could point to on his wall. 

“He [Sondheim] passed while we were doing a lot of this work,” Mattison said. “I think that was where the ‘What Would Sondheim do?’ came from, of [thinking] no new lyric goes into this show that we can’t imagine getting a little wink from the clouds.”

While many modern musicals, especially movie adaptations, have featured a pop score, “Death Becomes Her” feels like a fresh blend of classic Sondheim-era Broadway infused with modern pop-rock elements, weaving a tapestry of dynamic genres and characterizations. 

“Something we’ve always loved to do is playing in different musical genres,” Mattison said. “We love the idea that we figure out what the world is overall, then who each character is inside of it, and how they might have different musical sounds.” 

They discussed the idea that not all characters have to be at the same level of musicality, either. Ernest, the famed plastic surgeon featured in both the original film and musical, has a more chaotic musical style. 

“We always say that [Ernest’s song] ‘The Plan’ was like if Harold Hill sang ‘Ya Got Trouble’ walking away from a car crash,” Mattison joked. 

Mattison and Carey’s work is key to the show’s comedic tone, largely achieved through their sharp, witty, double-entendre-filled lyricism. 

“I think every song had that same level of joy and obsession in carving out really intentional turns of phrases,” Mattison said. 

Their lyricism has also sparked online virality, with several people, including Madonna, creating videos to songs from the show. 

“We see ourselves in all the people and kids [posting videos],” Mattison said. “We are first and foremost fans of musical theater and wrote the show that we would be fans of when we were kids.”

These videos have proved to the duo the undying enthusiasm for the show.

“Our goal in our mind is that we just wanted these songs to be actable,” Carey said.  “It’s really dawning on me that all these people want to do [the musical] and do their take on it, which is also a great thing about this art form in general.”

Moving forward, the writing duo is excited to dig into their backlog of projects and decide what’s next. For now, they shared some advice for those beginning their journey. 

“Whatever you want to do, it’s not a linear, easy path,” Mattison said. “It’s a crazy thing to try and do, but if your North Star is always doing what feels true to you, and if you could do that with friends and collaborators that you meet along the way, then you’ll get there.”

Carey recalled his most memorable college moments and how they shaped his artistic voice. 

“If you’re a creator, book a night in the cabaret right now,” Carey said. “Even if you only have a seed of an idea…those were some of the most electric nights of college that I remember.”

Both Mattison and Carey expressed gratitude for the years they were free to experiment creatively and how it led them to become the visionaries behind the “Death Becomes Her” score, now immortal in theater history. Mattison emphasized the importance of using these years to learn from uninhibited creativity.

“Use the safety net of [college] while you have it to be outrageously bold.”