While her Death Becomes Her character isn’t a good sport, Meryl Streep sure is — and drop-dead hilarious at that.
Tony nominee Megan Hilty, who is currently reincarnating the self-centered has-been actress Madeline Ashton (whom Streep originated in the 1992 Robert Zemeckis fantasy-comedy) on the Broadway stage, shared an apt note the original star gave her ahead of her debut yesterday.
“Break a leg, or I’ll break it for you. With dried and undying love and respect, Meryl,” the note read, accompanied by flowers past their best-by date. Of course, the on-theme well wishes reference the comical ends eventually reached by frenemies Madeline and Goldie Hawn’s Helen Sharp, who break all kinds of bones in their desperate bid toward eternal youth and beauty.
In keeping with the joke, Hilty responded, “I’m dead. ☠️”
Death Becomes Her opened on Broadway Thursday night, with MyRumors’s review calling it “a virtually perfect big-budget, broad-appeal musical comedy that improves in every way over the 1992 film.” Hilty stars opposite Jennifer Simard in the adaptation led by director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli.
The show, taking place at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, features a book by Marco Pennette and music from Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. The cast is rounded out by Christopher Sieber and Michelle Williams. Death Becomes Her is currently running through August 2025.
The original satire additionally stars Bruce Willis as the somewhat moot point of the triangle also featuring Madeline and Helen, aka the former’s husband and latter’s ex-fiancé, as well as Isabella Rossellini, the mysterious svengali-like potion-seller Lisle Von Rhuman. While the David Koepp and Martin Donovan-penned movie was a box office success upon its release, it didn’t hit its stride as a consumer favorite until its embrace as a cult classic by the queer community for its campy humor.