They’re finally letting Smash be a star as it was announced that the TV musical series will be taking center stage on Broadway. In what seems like a very overdue announcement, it’s been made official that the beloved gone-too-soon show will take its rightful place under the bright lights where it will be produced by original backers Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt, and Neil Meron with music penned by returning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and choreography crafted by the original show’s choreographer Joshua Bergasse.
Expected to arrive during the 2024-2025 season, the stage version of Smash will blend the new and the old, featuring both songs familiar to fans with some new tunes added. Staying true to the original, the storyline will follow the creation of the fictional Marilyn Monroe-centered Bombshell musical and the stressed-out and over-the-top personalities trying to pull it all together. So, while we can expect a rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” somewhere in the mix, we can also plan on some brand-new material from the collaborative team that brought audiences the music and lyrics of the 2002 film adaptation of Hairspray as well as the Marvel in-universe musical, Rogers: The Musical in Hawkeye.
While a cast list has not been announced at this time, the creative team is stacked with some of the biggest names in showbiz. Tony winner Susan Stroman, who has a lengthy list of credits to her name including Mel Brooks’ The Producers and Crazy For You, will direct. Smash will be the follow-up to her latest project, New York, New York, which features a score from John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In The Heights). Meanwhile, the production will be working from a script co-penned by Rick Elice and Bob Martin. Elice is well-known for his hand in hits including Jersey Boys and Peter and the Starcatcher, with Martin making a name for himself writing books for The Drowsy Chaperone and The Prom.
Excitement is definitely in the air today for musical nerds (myself included) who have been (not so) patiently waiting for this news in the almost ten years since Smash took its final bow. We also suspect it’s a joyous day for Spielberg, Meron, and the rest of the team since the project not only sees their greatest wish granted but also gives them another chance to work alongside one another. Outside their time on the series, there are multiple ties between each creative with Shaiman and Wittman previously teaming up with both Meron and Spielberg for Hairspray and the Broadway adaptation of Catch Me If You Can, respectively.
With films like Mean Girls and Beetlejuice receiving their musical takeovers, today’s announcement is long overdue. As of right now, no specific release date for Smash has been set but stay tuned for more information. Check out a trailer for the original star-studded TV series below.