Once a TV show, ‘Smash’ to make its Broadway bow in 2024

Mar 22, 2023, 6:21 AM

Steven Spielberg appears at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023, left, and Susan Stroman ap...

Steven Spielberg appears at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023, left, and Susan Stroman appears at the after party for the opening night of "Bullets Over Broadway" in New York on April 10, 2014. Spielberg and Stroman will produce the glitzy, fictional Broadway musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe that formed the heart of the TV show “Smash." (AP Photo)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — The glitzy, fictional Broadway musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe that formed the heart of the TV show “Smash” will make the leap to an actual Broadway stage next season.

Producers said Wednesday that “Smash” is slated for Broadway in the 2024-25 season, welcome news to many of the show’s fans and the Broadway community who embraced its look at the inner workings of their industry.

“’Smash’ is near and dear to my heart, and it was always my hope that a musical inspired by the show would eventually come to the stage,” said lead producer Steven Spielberg in a statement.

The new book for “Smash” will be co-written Tony-nominated Rick Elice, who penned “Jersey Boys,” and Tony-winner Bob Martin, who won for “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

No casting for the Broadway version was revealed. The series on NBC lasted two seasons starting in 2012 and starred Megan Hilty, Jeremy Jordan, Katharine McPhee, Leslie Odom Jr., Krysta Rodriguez, Christian Borle and Debra Messing. The songs included ““History is Made at Night,” “Let Me Be Your Star” and “Hang the Moon.”

Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, who wrote many of the songs for the TV show and whose credits include the Tony-winning score for the 2007 musical “Hairspray,” will continue with the stage adaptation, as will original choreographer Joshua Bergasse, who has gone on to choreograph “On The Town” and “Gigi.”

In the series — created by playwright Theresa Rebeck, who left after the first season — viewers watched the long process of casting, composing, mounting and rehearsing a Broadway-bound musical, “Bombshell.”

In the second season, a gritty, low-tech off-Broadway show called “Hit List” competed with “Bombshell” for the Tony Award. Since “Hit List” songs included writing credits for Drew Gasparini, Joe Iconis, Andrew McMahon, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Lucie Silvas — in addition to Shaiman and Wittman — it seems that the “Hit List” part of the fictional tale will not make it to “Smash” on Broadway.

The new musical will be helmed by five-time Tony-winning director Susan Stroman. Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron join Spielberg as lead producers.

“Ever since the show ended in 2012, not a week goes by that someone doesn’t ask us when will they see Smash as a musical. We think we’ve come up with something the die-hard series fans will love but that will also be exciting for people who never saw an episode of the show,” Meron said in a statement.

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

United States News

People pray over the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apos...

Associated Press

Nun whose body shows little decay since 2019 death draws hundreds to rural Missouri

Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a Black nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019.

19 hours ago

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, top left, bows for prayer in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in...

Associated Press

Impeachment trial of Texas’ Ken Paxton to begin no later than August 28

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A historic impeachment trial in Texas to determine whether Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be permanently removed from office will begin no later than August in the state Senate, where the jury that would determine his future could include his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton. Ken Paxton was immediately suspended from […]

19 hours ago

Associated Press

Teenager walks at brain injury event weeks after getting shot in head for knocking on wrong door

Ralph Yarl — a Black teenager who was shot in the head and arm last month after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell — walked at a brain injury awareness event Monday in his first major public appearance since the shooting. The 17-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was shot while trying to pick […]

19 hours ago

Crew members assemble the main stage ahead of the 2023 Scripps Nations Spelling Bee on Sunday, May ...

Associated Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.

19 hours ago

Eugene and Linda Lamie, of Homerville, Ga., sit by the grave of their son U.S. Army Sgt. Gene Lamie...

Associated Press

Biden on Memorial Day lauds generations of fallen US troops who ‘dared all and gave all’

President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who died fighting for their country as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

19 hours ago

Associated Press

Motorist with sign claiming to have an explosive device drives to Canadian border

HOULTON, Maine (AP) — The driver of vehicle with a sign indicating there was an explosive device on board led Maine State Police on a chase on Interstate 95 to the Canadian border on Monday, officials said. A trooper fired shots after the motorist attempted to maneuver the truck toward the Canadian port of entry […]

19 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

Once a TV show, ‘Smash’ to make its Broadway bow in 2024