Megan Hilty 'Would Fall to the Floor' If Meryl Streep Contacted Her About Death Becomes Her Musical (Exclusive)

Megan Hilty is ready to get her inner Madeline Ashton on!

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE tied to an intimate holiday concert she is taking part in from Dec. 1 through Dec. 4 in New York City, the actress, 42, also opens up about the upcoming Death Becomes Her musical, which is set to open next year.

Taking on the role of the character Meryl Streep played in the 1992 cult classic, Hilty says she hasn't heard from or reached out to the Academy Award winner about the part.

"I don't know her and I can't imagine that she has any time to reach out to me," she says. "But I'm sure that they're aware that this is happening."

When asked how she would react if Streep, 74, were to take the time to contact her, Hilty admits, "I would fall to the floor. I don't know if I'd be able to take it."

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It was announced in September that the Death Becomes Her musical will open at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago next year for a pre-Broadway run from April 30 to June 2.

Directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, with a book written by Marco Pennette featuring music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, Jennifer Simard will star opposite Hilty, playing her frenemy, an author named Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn in the film).

According to a synopsis of the musical, when Madeline steals 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 show is: "Life’s a bitch and then you die. Or not!"

Hilty, who is known for Wicked and TV's Smash, earned a Tony nomination for the play Noises Off.

When she returns to the stage next year, she tells PEOPLE she is "really excited" to work with the cast and crew behind her latest project.

"We did a workshop this summer, and it's really excellent," she says. "It's good enough to uproot my entire family and move them across the country for a year."

"Madeline Ashton is such a delightful part, and they've written such incredible songs for me to sing," the mother of two continues. "What I love is that in general, not just for my character, but for everything, they made such smart changes in adapting it to the stage. They didn't just pluck it from the movie and set it on stage. It really is crafted for the theater, and there's such wonderful Easter eggs in it for people who love the film."

Hilty adds: "It's just enough that it gives everybody what they want and remember from the film, but it also breathes a whole new, different kind of life into the story."