The much-anticipated stage adaptation of TV’s Smash will open at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway next spring, Variety reports.
“The long-in-the-works musical will begin performances on March 11, 2025, at the Imperial Theatre ahead of opening night on April 10 … the Broadway version will follow the behind-the-scenes process of mounting Bombshell, a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. But producers say the adaptation will ‘depart liberally from the series,’ which had a short-lived run from 2012 to 2013. A TV spot for the production jokes, ‘If you loved the TV series, it’s exactly what you want. And if you didn’t, we changed everything.’
‘We always knew Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s fantastic score belonged on Broadway, and our show is a clever, funny adaptation of the series — with a few surprises — that we hope will delight die-hard fans as well as anyone who didn’t see the series,’ producer Robert Greenblatt said in a statement. Co-producer Neil Meron added, ‘This dream team has created the quintessential new musical about the rollercoaster ride of creating a new musical. (Very meta!) And it not only sends Broadway up, but sends Broadway a big love letter at the same time.'”
Robyn Hurder (top left), who participated in a live reading for Smash in 2023, will play Ivy Lynn, the aspiring actress made famous by Megan Hilty; while Krysta Rodriguez, who played Ana Vargas in the second season, will co-star as Tracy. Derek Wills – the stage director who must choose his Marilyn – has seemingly been renamed as Nigel, with Brooks Ashmanskas in the role first played by English actor Jack Davenport.
Among the supporting cast, Caroline Bowman (top right) will play Ivy’s rival Karen, reprising Katherine McPhee’s role in the series. And Casey Garvin – recently in Some Like It Hot: The Musical – will also appear. Susan Stroman will direct, and EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson – a guest star on the TV series – will join Steven Spielberg, plus Greenblatt and Meron, as a producer.
The Marilyn Report 