Abbott and Costello. Bugs and Daffy. Hilty and Simard.

Add two more names to the list of great comedy duos, because the new musical Death Becomes Her is anchored by two fan-favorite actresses, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard. The pair wowed Chicago critics and audiences alike in a summertime world premiere that had Variety praising their “teamwork, timing, and ribald titillation”; WGN TV/Radio labeling them “Broadway royalty” who “explode on stage with the kind of performances we don’t see often enough”; and the Chicago Tribune proclaiming them “huge comic talents.” Now Broadway will get a chance to see what all the buzz is about when the hotly anticipated production starts performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on October 23.

“These two are like the yin and yang of comedy, and it makes the show so rich,” director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The Cher Show) says of his two stars. “When the comedy kicks into full gear, it’s thrilling to watch them both really go for it.”

Based on the 1992 fantasy-comedy film starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, Death Becomes Her tells the story of two frenemies, actress Madeline Ashton and novelist Helen Sharp, and their increasingly absurdist pursuit of eternal youth and beauty — with the help of a mysterious magic potion. Hilty, familiar from starring roles in everything from 9 to 5 onstage to Smash on TV, plays Madeline opposite Simard, a hilarious standout and Tony Award nominee in shows such as Disaster! and Company. Also in the cast are Christopher Seiber (The Prom, Company) as the plastic surgeon caught between the two ladies, and Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child, Chicago) as the mystical potion purveyor.

“We’re both funny, but in this I think I’m more the straight man to Megan’s really hilarious clown,” Simard says. “Although I hesitate to use the word clown, because she’s so nuanced.”

“I’ll take clown!” Hilty interjects with a laugh. “Jenn is like a comic legend, so our rapport is just so easy.”

The two performers first met in 2016, when they were both nominated for Tony Awards (Hilty for Noises Off and Simard for Disaster!), but Death Becomes Her marks their first time working together. In the show, they might play two women pitted against each other in a desperate race for immortality, but behind the scenes, Hilty and Simard say it’s all love. “There’s no competing between us, and I feel like that’s important to articulate because so often when there are two women involved, it’s painted as a competition,” Hilty explains. “The opposite is true.”

“We have such trust that we’ve built,” agrees Simard. “We hold for each other’s laughs. We talk with our eyes on stage all the time. From the get-go, we knew this relationship is the most important thing to protect, onstage and off.”

Gattelli says that that the mutual respect is palpable, both in the rehearsal room and onstage. “It’s so beautiful, the care they take of each other,” he says. “You can tell there’s this bond between them, and to me, that’s what gives this show — as campy and as silly as it — its heart. Even when they’re whacking each other with shovels.”

One of the most memorable elements in the film is the fantastical (and, at the time, groundbreaking) special effects that gave Hawn a comically gaping hole in her torso and twisted Streep’s head around a full 180 degrees. Fans can expect the same macabre whimsy in the musical, executed with an array of stage illusions and magician’s effects.

For now, the actresses are keeping mum on the details. “But I will say that I think the script and the score work so well on their own that the illusions are a really delicious frosting on a fabulous cake,” Hilty teases. “The tricks are extra goodies, but the show doesn’t hinge on them.”

“We learned in Chicago how secondary the illusions are to what’s satisfying about the show, which surprised us,” Simard echoes. “But it’s really fun to be a part of. Because I guess Megan and I are magicians now?”

“Looks like we’ve got another union to join!” Hilty cracks.

Beyond the stage tricks, the core of the story — just like the heart of the experience backstage — comes down to the relationship between the two leading ladies.

“Death Becomes Her is one of my favorite movies, and this musical version really elevates it and makes it something special,” Hilty says. “It very much addresses how insane we can make ourselves trying to achieve these impossible ideals of perfection and youth and beauty. And as the musical dives deeper into our relationship, it shows us what’s really important are the relationships we have in our life.”

“As wild as it gets, it’s almost a platonic love story between these two women,” Simard adds. “Because it’s always the people we love the most who drive us crazy, isn’t it?”