Take two Broadway vets, a pair of comics, a hearty pinch of absurdist vision and Steve Martin. Shake it all around and you'd have the makings of a pretty great reality show.

And a peek into what's currently happening at the Booth Theatre.

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Tony winner Laura Benanti returns to the stage alongside Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key and Jeremy Shamos in Martin's new comedy "Meteor Shower," which she calls a "dream job."

"It's really very funny and it's an interesting exploration of human behavior, and human relationships and the parts of ourselves that we sublimate and the parts of ourselves that we allow to come forth," Benanti, a Kinnelon High School grad, said.

"The character that I play is sort of like the part of Amy's character that she does not allow to live in the world. My character behaves in a way where she is not bound by the rules of being a quote-unquote nice girl."

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While her character may be the flip side of Schumer's coin, Benanti says that's true to an extent in reality as well.

"She has a real sense of freedom that I think sometimes I don't have. Especially as a person who does a lot of theater, you can get a little bit into 'now I do this' and 'now I do that,' and her sense of abandon and freedom is really an awesome thing.

"She is brilliant, so she can't help but be her brilliant self. She's the quickest mind I've probably ever worked with. She is so quick and so witty and so creative and so in the moment and present and comfortable in her own skin. It's really a joy to watch and I feel like I learn from her."

Benanti says it's exciting to be part of Schumer's Broadway debut.

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"Amy has such appreciation and respect for Broadway. She's not coming in to it like 'I'm a movie star and you should be grateful I'm here.' She's taking it very seriously and she's certainly a theater fan and has been since she was a child.

"This is a big moment for her. Her dad came the other day and sat in the back and was crying afterwards and I could see how much it meant to her. So it makes it extra exciting to have such a talented, successful person who is venturing into this different art form than what she's used to. It's really an awesome thing to be part of."

Benanti, a Tony winner and five-time nominee, also is enjoying the opportunity to introduce a new character, although she says it doesn't radically alter her approach to the material.

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"I've done a lot of revivals and I always approach the character as if no one had played that person before. I try to approach it as if it's a brand new play, so that I'm not stealing from another actor or just giving a carbon copy of a performance that people have already seen before. But there's certainly less of a road map. Way more changes in a new play. There's new lines and you don't have people who have come before who have cleared your path, so to speak."

Speaking of changes, "Meteor Shower" started previews on Wednesday, Nov. 1, but as a new show particularly, Benanti hopes you haven't heard too much about it just yet — at least from message board critics.

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"Once we get an audience in there, we'll learn a lot from the audience as well and I'm sure things will change and that's what previews are for," she said.

"Right now we're doing an absurdist's farcical comedy with no laughing — which is like torture," Benanti said as the first preview drew close.

"It's so hard now in the age of the Internet because you're sort of not allowed your previews. Everyone's reviewing you on the first preview, which is a bummer. We're artists. This is art, it's not math. There's no equation in which you're going to have the right number. You have to be malleable. Things are going to grow and change and evolve, and we're going to make mistakes and we're only going to learn not only from the successes but from the failures. So I hope that people allow us our process."

Benanti's return in "Meteor Shower" follows up a critically acclaimed turn in "She Loves Me," which just aired on PBS and is available for streaming. That followed the show's broadcast on the big screen ("I saw it in the movie theater when I was extremely pregnant with Ella. She kicked the entire time. It was amazing. It was like she was going 'wait, we gotta get out there, I know those songs.' I was pregnant with her during the taping.").

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Benanti also recently finished filming on season three of the TBS comedy "The Detour." She also returns to Feinstein's/54 Below from Feb. 20 to 23, 2018, to reprise her show "The Story Goes On" with her mom, Linda Benanti, and will appear at South Orange Performing Arts Center on March 10, 2018.

"Meteor Shower" is playing a limited run through Jan. 21 at the Booth Theatre. Visit meteoronbroadway.com for more information.

Ilana Keller: @ilanakeller; 732-643-4260; ikeller@gannettnj.com

'METEOR SHOWER'

WHEN: Through Jan. 21

WHERE: Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th Street

TICKETS: $59 to $169

INFO: meteoronbroadway.com