Casting, a venue and start dates have been announced for the Broadway premiere of “Smash.” The previously announced musical based on Theresa Rebeck’s NBC series will begin previews on March 11 and open on April 10 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, current home of “Water for Elephants.” At the helm of “Smash” will be Susan Stroman.
The company of the musical will be led by Tony Award nominee Robyn Hurder as Ivy and Caroline Bowman as Karen, with Tony nominee Brooks Ashmanskas as Nigel, Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen as Susan, Krysta Rodriguez as Tracy, John Behlmann as Jerry, Jacqueline B. Arnold as Anita, Bella Coppola as Chloe and Casey Garvin as Charlie.
Hurder, who appeared in both the fall 2023 and winter 2024 industry presentations of “Smash,” is a Tony nominee for her featured turn in “Moulin Rouge!”
Bowman headlined the national tour of “Frozen” and is currently the standby for the role of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard.”
Ashmanskas is a two-time Tony nominee for his work in “Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me” and “The Prom.” He is currently featured in the Main Stem revival of “Once Upon a Mattress.”
Nielsen is a two-time Tony nominee for her performances in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.” Rodriguez played Ana Vargas in the “Smash” series. Her Broadway credits include the revival of “Into the Woods,” the original company of “In the Heights” and the original and revival mountings of “Spring Awakening.” Behlmann appeared in “Shucked” and “Tootsie,” while Arnold’s Main Stem credits include “Moulin Rouge!” and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” Coppola played a year-long tenure as Jane Seymour in “SIX,” while Garvin most recently appeared in “Some Like It Hot,” his sixth Broadway production.
“Smash” features a score by Tony-winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book co-written by Tony winner Bob Martin and Tony nominee Rick Elice. Tony nominee Joshua Bergasse will serve as choreographer.
“I am thrilled that it is the best in the business,” Stroman told Broadway News. “When we have creative meetings, they’re filled with electricity. Everybody is funny, everybody’s smart and everybody understands what it takes to do a Broadway show.”
Indeed they do. Stroman is a five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer. This year will mark the fourth time she has had two productions open in the same season (she is also helming Delia Ephron’s “Left on Tenth”). Shaiman and Wittman earned a Best Score Tony Award for 2002’s “Hairspray” and an additional nomination for 2022’s “Some Like It Hot.” Martin and Elice have each earned two Tony nominations for Best Book of a Musical (with Martin winning for “The Drowsy Chaperone”), on top of additional nominations in other categories. Bergasse received a Tony nomination for choreographing the 2014 revival of “On the Town.”
While the résumés of each of the creatives stand on their own and span decades of work, “Smash” marks the first time, with one exception, when these artists have teamed up on a Broadway production.
“The collaboration is very strong and very energized,” Stroman continued. “It is joyful. What excites me most is the comedy. It’s really funny. Bob Martin and Rick Elice are hysterical, both of them personally and then in their writings. They really have done an incredible job on making the script funny. I love comedy, so I can’t wait to do these scenes with this cast — I have real comics doing it.”
In addition to the roles re-created from the television series, the musical will feature new names and faces, which aims to broaden the audience appeal beyond the series’ fanbase.
“There’s a character in there that the audience can relate to,” Stroman explained. “There’s an accessibility about the show. Whether you are a theater person or not, there’s some kind of character in the show that you can really identify with. And I think the audience is going to love that.”
Also newly announced are the “Smash” ensemblists, which comprise Wendi Bergamini, Sarah Bowden, Jacob Burns, Deanna Cudjoe, Chelle Denton, Daniel Gaymon, Merritt David Janes, Megan Kane, David Paul Kidder, Ian Liberto, Libby Lloyd, McGee Maddox, Connor McRory, J Savage, Jake Trammel and Katie Webber. Additional casting, by Bernard Telsey and Kristian Charbonier, will be announced.
The creative team for “Smash” includes Tony-winning scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Alejo Vietti, Tony-winning lighting designer Ken Billington, Tony-winning sound designer Brian Ronan and projection designer S Katy Tucker. The music team includes Tony-winning orchestrator Doug Besterman, Tony-nominated dance/incidental music arranger Sam Davis and Tony-winning music supervisor Stephen Oremus. 101 Productions, Ltd. will serve as general manager.
“Smash” is being produced by Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron and Jennifer Hudson.
