When NBC debuted its musical series “Smash,” the thought on the theatergoing public’s mind was: Will they bring this to Broadway? When the series was canceled after two seasons, the question shifted to: When will they bring this to Broadway? And over the years, rumors have abounded and glimpses of possibility have shone (a concert of “Bombshell,” the show within the series; a fully staged “Smash” workshop). Now, a “Smash” stage musical is in previews at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, where it will officially open on April 10.
But when the curtain rises on the Main Stem “Smash,” it will be different from what aired on TV more than 10 years ago.
“We didn't want to put the TV show onstage,” Bob Martin, one half of the musical’s book-writing team, told Broadway News in the latest episode of “Broadway Press Day with Ruthie Fierberg.” “What we were interested in doing was making a comedy about how to make a musical. So yes, we switched genres [from melodrama to comedy], but we use many of the elements of the TV show, including the wonderful songs written by [Marc] Shaiman and [Scott] Wittman, to create an entirely new story that we hope will exist well alongside the original.”
The creators have said to think about the stage adaptation as part of a “Smash” multiverse. This world still includes Ivy Lynn, “but the character has been changed to protect the innocent,” co-book writer Rick Elice joked. For the Broadway iteration, Ivy has been cast as Marilyn Monroe in a new bio-musical about the late film star called “Bombshell.” And Karen Cartwright is Ivy’s understudy.
“[Karen] is a classic Broadway person,” Elice said. “When big stars are cast, they usually come with their own dresser. They always use the same understudy, so the relationship between Ivy and Karen is nothing like it is in the TV show.”
“We always really wanted to explore the understudy and the lead and the partnership and the frustrations therein,” Martin added. And those aren’t the only frustrations.
Ivy, played by Robyn Hurder, also has an up-and-down relationship with her director, Nigel, played by Brooks Ashmanskas. As Hurder said slyly, “I give him some problems.”
The “Smash” company noted that the comedy of the production comes from the innate trials (and ridiculousness) in the process of making a new musical — and this “Smash” will offer theater lovers and novices alike a backstage look at the chaos.
But whose idea was it to create a brand-new “Smash” for Broadway?
“Steven Spielberg,” said producer Neil Meron. “[He] said, ‘If we’re going to do it onstage, it needs to be a comedy.’”
Why? Listen to the full episode below to find out.
Plus, hear more from Elice and Martin, songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, director Susan Stroman, choreographer Joshua Bergasse, producers Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron and actors Jacqueline B. Arnold, Ashmanskas, Bowman, Bella Coppola, Casey Garvin, Hurder, Nicholas Matos and Kristine Nielsen.
