Meteor Shower brings the satirical wit of Steve Martin to Theatre Calgary

Bahareh Yaraghi, Braden Griffiths, Helen Knight in Meteor Shower, at Theatre Calgary through Feb.11. (Photo: Trudie Lee)

What happens when a night unlike any other turns into the dinner party from hell? That’s the gist of the idea behind Meteor Shower, which opens Friday night at Theatre Calgary.

The play is by a Hollywood comedy legend, Steve Martin and when it premiered on Broadway, in 2017, it starred another comedy icon, Amy Schumer, as Corky, a California woman whose meteor shower-watching party in Ojai gets turned upside down by Gerald and Laura, a couple whose personal drama threatens to overwhelms the celestial light show in the sky overhead.

“This is a sharp and clever adult comedy written by one of the greatest comedians of the 20th century. And with Meteor Shower, expect the unexpected,” said Theatre Calgary artistic director Stafford Arima, in a media release. "Steve Martin stays true to his absurdist roots and writes in a nonlinear structure and focuses the story on the vulnerability and challenges of a modern marriage."

Meteor Shower stars Braden Griffiths, Helen Knight, Nathan Schmidt and Bahareh Yaraghi as Laura.

It’s directed by Lezlie Wade, who has directed a number of Stratford productions and also assisted on the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

“Steve Martin has written a comedy about that oldest of institutions: marriage,” said Wade. “As Martin so astutely points out, a 'meteor shower' is coming for us all, so it’s best to acknowledge its existence and stand prepared.”

Meteor Shower runs at the Max Bell Theatre in Arts Commons through Feb.11.

For more information, or tickets, go here.