METEOR SHOWER on Broadway with Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key by Steve Martin

Steve Martin's new play on Broadway METEOR SHOWER is broad comedy about relationships that fires and misses but also strikes with acerbic insights.  Martin who got his early start in the 70s as a comedienne known for clowning around with an arrow running through his head while juggling bowls in the air.  Martin's comedic talents have matured into a Tony award winner for playwrighting & musical score (BRIGHT STAR).   That's not to say he's strayed far from his wild and crazy humor.    METEOR SHOWER is a one act play with 2 major comedic/actor stars Amy Schumer (Corky) and Keegan-Michael Key (Gerald) and 2 leading Tony winning Broadway veterans Jeremy Shamos (Norm) and Laura Benanti (Laura).  Corky & Norm are a married couple living outside LA in the 1990s who take their new age marriage counseling advice so seriously its becomes gut wrenchingly funny.  They appreciate & acknowledge each other's feelings while holding hands & making eye contact.  They're expecting a new couple to drop by for drinks on the brink of a spectacular spectral Perseid meteor shower.  Their yard & the audience have exceptional vantages to these celestial wonders that occur whether we're aware or not.  Gerald and Laura are the new couple who are about to rock Corky & Norm's world.  The farcical spoof on what makes sparks in a relationship is shockingly funny and before the shtick overstays its welcome & collapses, the deceptively clever play takes an unexpected turn.  METEOR SHOWER is a medley of salacious jokes, absurdists humor and slapstick.  Not everything connects in the play.  Schumer & Key brought their comic kryptonite but Shamos & Benanti's acting outshines.  The play felt off-balance & buffoonish at times.  But the play embraces all its moving parts and will fasten you to its velcro orbit.  What makes for a lasting relationship?  Nothing bonds people together stronger than a common enemy.  Perhaps, Martin's dark comedy has gravitas fired at political commentary.