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The Broadway Review: ‘Smash’ is a painfully unfunny farce

The inevitable Broadway adaptation of the backstage television drama suffers from a poor script, flat characters and performative progressivism.

(L-R) Megan Kane, Brooks Ashmanskas, Robyn Hurder, Kristine Nielsen, Krysta Rodriguez and John Behlmann with the cast of “Smash” on Broadway, 2025 (Credit: Matthew Murphy)

Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “Smash.”

RUNDOWN

Robyn Hurder (center) with the cast of “Smash” on Broadway, 2025 (Credit: Matthew Murphy)

Backstage antics make juicy fodder for a comedy — the mishaps, the divas, the looming urgency of opening night. There is a show behind the show, after all. The new Broadway musical “Smash” wants to turn that premise into farcical gold, but in co-writers Rick Elice and Bob Martin’s hands “Smash” is all slush

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