“Smash” is about to take another major step in its march to Broadway.
The cast and crew will gather for six weeks starting this month to mount a fully staged and choreographed workshop, with an orchestra, culminating in five performances for recruited audiences.
The new Susan Stroman-directed musical, inspired by the NBC television series of the same name, is slated for Broadway in the 2024-25 season.
The workshop cast includes Brooks Ashmanskas (“The Prom”), Alex Brightman (“Beetlejuice”), Yvette Nicole Brown (TV’s “Community”), Bella Coppola (“Six”), newcomer Nihar Duvvuri, Casey Garvin (“Some Like it Hot”), Robyn Hurder (“Moulin Rouge”), Kristine Nielsen (“Vayna and Sonia and Masha and Spike”), Krysta Rodriguez (“Into the Woods”) and Jonalyn Saxer (“Back to the Future”).
The full company includes Wendi Bergamini, Giovanni Bonaventura, Jim Borstelmann, Zachary Downer, Tiffany Engen, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Megan Kane, Caleb Marshall-Villarreal, Connor McRory, JJ Niemann, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, Brian Shepard, Sarah Sigman, Jake Trammel and Katie Webber.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who wrote songs for the series, also handle the score for the “Smash” musical, which will feature tunes from the TV show as well as new material. Book writers are Bob Martin and Rick Elice.
The musical is produced by Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron. “Bob, Steven and I are thrilled to take this next big development step on the road to bringing ‘Smash’ where it was always meant to be: a Broadway theater,” Meron tells me. “Not a week goes by when someone doesn’t tell us how much they loved the original series, and it’s time to pull back the curtain on how we’re transforming this show into a funny, joyous stage musical.”
Greenblatt adds, “This workshop/rehearsal process will give the creative team a chance to get reactions from real theatergoers who will experience it for the first time in a theater setting. We’re so fortunate to be working with this fantastic cast of Tony and Emmy nominees, and it will be exciting to see the show on its feet, fully staged by Susan Stroman and choreographed by Josh Bergasse.”
