Meryl Streep Sends Flowers and 'Undying Love' to Megan Hilty Ahead of Opening Night of Broadway's “Death Becomes Her”

Streep starred as fictional star Madeline Ashton in the original 1992 dark comedy film, and the movie is now a Broadway musical

Meryl Streep is telling Megan Hilty to "break a leg" — quite literally — as she prepares to take on the role originated by Streep in Death Becomes Her on Broadway.

On Nov. 21, Broadway star Hilty, 43, shared a photo to Instagram showing off the bouquet of dark red and purple flowers Streep, 75, sent her ahead of the musical's opening night performance on Thursday evening. The theater star wrote that she was "dead" after receiving the note the Oscar-winner had sent along with them.

Channeling Madeline Ashton, her evil character from Robert Zemeckis' 1992 dark comedy, Streep wrote, "Break a leg, or I'll break it for you. With dried and undying love and respect, Meryl."

Related: Megan Hilty Hilariously Uses Meryl Streep's Bio as Her Own in Broadway's Death Becomes Her Musical Playbill

According to a synopsis of the musical, when Madeline steals her frenemy Helen’s fiancé, Helen sets out for revenge, but "their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for — after one sip of Viola’s magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored … and a grudge to last eternity."

The tagline for the horrific comedy is: "Life’s a bitch and then you die. Or not!"

Hilty, a Tony nominee for Noises Off, has completely leaned into the idea of taking over the role from Streep. Broadway fans went crazy online after it was revealed that her biography in the show's Playbill is actually just Streep's bio.

"Megan Hilty (Madeline Ashton) has been lauded as 'the best actress of her generation,'" the "Who's Who" section of the Playbill reads, before listing a handful of Streep's credits. "The countless accolades for her career include 9 Golden Globe Awards and 21 Oscar nominations, winning three for Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Her bio ends with another joke: the inclusion of a singular television credit from Hilty's resume: Smash, the NBC TV series about the making of a Broadway show.

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Hilty, who starred in the original production of Death Becomes Her when it opened at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in 2023, spoke with PEOPLE about how she might react if Streep were to reach out to her over the role."I don't know her and I can't imagine that she has any time to reach out to me," she said at the time. "But I'm sure that they're aware that this is happening."

When asked how she would react if Streep were to take the time to contact her, Hilty admitted, "I would fall to the floor. I don't know if I'd be able to take it."

The musical features a score from the songwriting team of Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, and a book by Marco Pennette. Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli directs and choreographs. Hilty stars alongside Tony nominees Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber, as well as Destiny's Child star Michelle Williams, who will make her Broadway debut in the role.

Death Becomes Her officially opens at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City on Thursday, Nov. 21, with tickets now on sale through Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025.