A stage musical adaptation of the NBC television series “Smash” will arrive on Broadway during the 2024-2025 season. Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron and Steven Spielberg will produce.
The musical will feature a book co-written by three-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice and Tony winner Bob Martin. Tony and Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (of this season’s “Some Like It Hot”) — who earned a Grammy nod and three Emmy nominations for their songs from the “Smash” series — will pen the musical’s score, which will feature numbers from the TV show.
Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman (who is helming this season’s “New York, New York”) will direct the “Smash” musical. Tony nominee Joshua Bergasse — who won an Emmy for his work on the TV show — will choreograph.
The series “Smash,” which was created by Theresa Rebeck and debuted in February 2012, follows the mounting of a fictional Marilyn Monroe bio-musical called “Bombshell.” While the story for the stage musical is expected to follow the same premise, a release from the production indicates that it will “depart liberally” from the TV show. NBC’s “Smash” ran for two seasons, gaining a fanbase with theater lovers but ultimately receiving a cancellation after just 32 episodes.
Spielberg, whose idea helped launch the series, said in a statement, “‘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. We now have an incredible creative team, and I’m looking forward to completing the ‘Smash’ journey which began with my producing partners over 10 years ago.”
The musical will mark the longtime film director’s first lead-producing credit on Broadway, though Spielberg is among the co-producers on the new play “Good Night, Oscar,” which is set to begin performances at the Belasco Theatre on April 7.
“Smash” producer Meron added in a statement, “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. And, above all else, it will be a valentine to the Broadway musical and the exhilarating rollercoaster ride of bringing one to life.”
Meron is currently represented on the Main Stem as a lead producer on Shaiman and Wittman’s “Some Like It Hot,” adapted from the film starring Monroe; Greenblatt is also a co-producer on the show. Shaiman and Wittman are best known for writing the Tony-winning score to “Hairspray.”
A “Smash” stage musical has long been in development, beginning perhaps most notably with a 2015 Actors Fund benefit concert featuring many TV cast members, including Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Christian Borle, held at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.
Official dates, theater, creative team and casting for the “Smash” stage musical will be announced.
