"Jacobs, don't give anyone ideas. McPhee would ruin this concert"
Hate to tell you but she will be in concert, it is on her web site.
Excellent post, never thought of connecting shows the two until you posted.
That line about recording was actually a line from the TV show, referencing the interactive media component of the Off-Broadway run of Hit List, which invited use of media devices during the show for a parallel narrative in social media (one of the musical's themes.)
I hope the concert utilizes as many of the television dancers as possible. For example, I'd love to see the saucy "Bobby" (as played by Wesley Taylor), ever so ready with a witty bon mot.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/2/14
McPhee sounded good on the stuff she did but i HATED her portrayal of Marilyn. Megan Hilty is far more talented in acting and singing. The only song I'm really not sure Megan could do well is Public Relations. In fact Megan's version of Don't forget me gives me major chills every time. I was on Team Ivy lol
I hated Ivy at first (they portrayed her as unlikeable IMO), but I grew to love her and it was clear she was far more talented than McPhee. I was blown away but Hilty's "Don't Forget Me" that I had to start a thread about it:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1059092
Anyway, the idea of McPhee coming back to share the role or whatever is such a turnoff. Whatever, with only one performance I'm sure they'll get a good turnout.
Leading Actor Joined: 1/23/12
Hilty is a very talented singer, but, personally, I preferred McPhee's take on the Marilyn character, so I'm hoping that they'll give her that role by herself for this performance and find something else for Hilty to do.
To each their own, though.
Does anyone think it'll be like the Actor's Fund FUNNY GIRL Concert with each song sung by someone different?
I definitely think neither Hilty nor McPhee will get to sing all of Marilyn's songs themselves. They'll each get their fair share and maybe a few duets here and there.
I'm so mad I just moved my trip to New York from June 4th to the 9th up one week to May 28th thru June 2nd. This would have been so amazing to try to get tickets to (even though Katharine McPhee wasn't so great in the show).
Broadway Star Joined: 7/29/12
"I definitely think neither Hilty nor McPhee will get to sing all of Marilyn's songs themselves. They'll each get their fair share and maybe a few duets here and there."
I agree. I'd be surprised if either actress could sing the entire score in one sitting. A lot of the songs are extremely vocally demanding.
"They'll each get their fair share and maybe a few duets here and there."
They will probably split it the same way they did the album, except for "Don't Forget Me" where they will probably do a duet. In my opinion, Hilty was/is the better Marilyn but I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore McPhee's rendition of "Never Give All the Heart."
Updated On: 1/17/15 at 02:37 PM
Personally, I'm hoping that McPhee will sing (by herself) "20th Century Fox Mambo", "Cut Print... Moving On" and "Public Relations".
The duets between Hilty & McPhee I'm hoping for would be "Let Me Be Your Star" (I can't see this NOT happening), "I've Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl" and "Don't Forget Me". I'm fine with Hilty singing the rest of the Marilyn material, though I'm sure this isn't exactly the way it will all go down.
Updated On: 1/17/15 at 02:51 PM
If both of them are singing the role of Marilyn, then I suspect the book for the show will either ben simply split a la the FUNNY GIRL concert, with them alternating in the role, or will have Marilyn and Norma Jean as a dual role. Honestly, with the way the score sounds, that's not a bad idea- Hilty excelled at the showy Marilyn numbers, but I always thought McPhee did well with the more subdued and modern material given to her unfulfilled and repressed Norma Jean side.
The fact that a book exists and will be presented in concert definitely leads me to believe that this issue will be dealt with SOME way, and not simply hand-waved. If they were going to present it as a pure concert staging, they wouldn't bother with crafting a book for what MAY never get a major production.
I think it would be more fun if they sung the songs we didn't hear them sing on the show.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
"Does anyone think it'll be like the Actor's Fund FUNNY GIRL Concert with each song sung by someone different?"
That's what I'm thinking. Debra Messing is probably singing "The Right Regrets". They could probably get some of the "ensemble" of SMASH to sing "Smash". Borle will do "Don't Say Yes".
As for the division of Hilty and McPhee. I want them to keep the songs they were given on the show. In my opinion, Hilty is the only one to sing Moving The Line, National Pastime, and Let's Be Bad.
The songs they both were given can be split up like this:
-Never Give All the Heart (McPhee)
-Never Met a Wolf (Hilty)
-Let Me Be Your Star (Duet)
-Don't Forget Me (Duet)
I'm pretty sure they will bring in other actors other than the "Smash" actors. They still have "Mr and Mrs Smith", and "Our Little Secret"
I wonder how far they will go with this. Can we expect to see the costumes from the show return?
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
This is the song list according to the Bombshell Album:
1. Let Me Be Your Star (Extended Intro)*-Kat McPhee and Megan Hilty
2. At Your Feet- Bernadette Peters
3. Smash!- Kat McPhee and Megan Hilty
4. Never Give All The Heart- Kat McPhee (Megan Hilty as bonus track)
5. The 20th Century Fox Mambo- Kat McPhee
6. The National Pastime- Megan Hilty
7. History Is Made At Night- Megan Hilty & Will Chase
8. I Never Met A Wolf Who Didn't Love To Howl- Megan Hilty
9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith- Megan Hilty & Will Chase
10. Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking- Christian Borle
11. On Lexington & 52nd Street- Will Chase
12. Cut, Print... Moving On- Kat McPhee
13. Public Relations- Kat McPhee
14. Dig Deep- Megan Hilty
15. Second Hand White Baby Grand- Megan Hilty
16. They Just Keep Moving The Line- Megan Hilty
17. Let's Be Bad- Megan Hilty
18. The Right Regrets- Debra Messing
19. (Let's Start) Tomorrow Tonight- Leslie Odom Jr.
20. Our Little Secret**- Julian Ovenden and Kat McPhee
21. Hang The Moon-Bernadette Peters and Megan Hilty
22. Don't Forget Me- Kat McPhee
*The extended intro to this song sounds great, and I think they should include it in the concert!
**This is longer (and IMO better) than what was presented in the show--McPhee sounds great here!
Updated On: 1/17/15 at 09:58 PM
Leading Actor Joined: 5/16/12
If they really do want to produce Bombshell for the stage some time in the future, won't the want to cut some of the songs from the show, let's say around half of them? Then, replace those songs with new ones, otherwise they won't be eligible for best score.
For an actual show, they might want to reduce the number of songs Marilyn sings, works on TV, but singing all of these songs. Marilyn sings in 17 of the 22 songs on the Bombshell album. Seems a bit crazy for one actress to sing 8 times a week. Plus, speaking parts. Seems like Marilyn wouldn't ever leave the stage.
I hope this show is wonderful and makes big money for charity. The sad part is that it will be a reminder that this show had so much potential but ultimately failed.
Leading Actor Joined: 1/23/12
I can't help but think that this will be similar to the Phantom Anniversary show where the full story of Bombshell - as outlined in the Concept Recording liner notes - is staged, with individual actors in the principal roles. I could see them alternating or dueting Hilty and McPhee in the Marilyn role, but it wouldn't make sense story-wise for Messing to sing The Right Regrets, which has me wondering why both she and Huston are involved. We'll have to see if more info comes out ahead of the performance.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/07
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/smash-lives-again-in-one-night-bombshell-concert/
Official announcement! Glad most of the cast is already confirmed, hope Bernadette is next! Wish the ticket prices were a bit cheaper but it is a benefit so atleast money will go to The Actor's Fund.
Here's a link to the Kickstarter campaign which is off to a fast start.
In about an hour so far, 276 people (give $25+) have earned access to the pre-sale tickets the day before they go on sale to the public. At this rate it's going to become a tough ticket without that option.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/993462222/bombshell-from-the-nbc-series-smash-a-broadway-con
It's now totally funded at Kickstarter with 824 backers giving $149,263 and there are still 29 days to go. With this much money they could even afford to do another benefit in L.A. or maybe even film it to be shown on NBC. Best thing is that the Actor's Fund will get lots of money.
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