SMASH will officially land on Broadway in spring 2025 — Page 3

My bad! Thanks for clearing it up! :)

I think the Achilles heel is Stroman. If you want big, flashy, production numbers, she's hands down one of the best. But as a director, she's terrible. In the words of Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately? She hasn't had a hit in over 20 years, and she inherited The Producers when her husband died. She has little sense of subtlety or how to tell a story. Anyone who saw New York, New York would know that. I wouldn't invest in this show with other people's money. I'm not rooting for it to flop, but on paper, this doesn't make sense.

Jumpin_J said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "ShowBro said: "Why the producers think this has equal to or more brand recognition than SLIH is a mystery to me. SLIH was a financial flop and this, without anystar power in the cast, is going to do what at the box office with its limited built in audience??"

Beats me. Feels like TOOTSIE 2.0.

It's going to have to appeal primarily to people who didn't watch the TV show, without alienating those who actually liked the TV show. Not an easy thing to do.

They might have been better off using the NEWSIES model of starting out of town with the intention of going straight to licensing. But everyone wants their show on Broadway and Robert Greenblatt (the lead producer along with Neil Meron)has been developing SMASH since before he was at NBC."

I think the Achilles heel is Stroman. If you want big, flashy, production numbers, she's hands down one of the best. But as a director, she's terrible. In the words of Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately? She hasn't had a hit in over 20 years, and she inherited The Producers when her husband died. She has little sense of subtlety or how to tell a story. Anyone who saw New York, New York would know that. I wouldn't invest in this show with other people's money. I'm not rooting for it to flop, but on paper, this doesn't make sense."

I agree and wonder why producers chose her? She hasn't had a hit in years and she does the same old stuff nothing new or fresh. Look what she did last time around and that sucked - New York, New York!

Nicholas Matos, a current Fordham University student, will be making his Broadway debut here as Scott (the intern character).

Call_me_jorge said: "Seems like the shuberts don’t expect this to be broadway’s next long running hit."


Who would? This is the next Tammy Faye.

For someone who's currently rewatching the series, I'm very excited for this (although oof that 2nd season...)

I'm just surprised how much marketing is leaning into the TV show of it all as opposed to starting fresh and advertising it as a musical about putting on a musical... or Marilyn!!! I feel like that has a wider reach and for those of us who are familiar with the show, it's bonus enjoyment. The musical should stand on it's own and it certainly has potential with those fantastic Shaiman and Wittman songs.

I agree that leaning so hard into the assumption that the general public has any lasting affection for- or memory of- Smash is probably not going to be a wise decision. And to make the pitch more complicated, it's also not the Smash that people would know, the one that was so bad it was entertaining to a cult following. They really seem to be want to have their cake and eat it, too.

It seems like it would be much easier to market it as a new showbiz comedy with "adapted from the TV series" as a subtitle and start fresh. But then that would beg the question of why not just start from scratch on something wholly original.

It's a great cast of wonderful Broadway folks. I'm sure it'll be fun. But it really does seem like there's an assumption that the title alone will get folks in there.

NOWaWarning said: "I think this could have a chance if the word of mouth and the reviews are good.”



It won’t have either, I fear.

"It seems like it would be much easier to market it as a new showbiz comedy with "adapted from the TV series" as a subtitle and start fresh."

Exactly. If you were a fan of the TV show, you are going to be disappointed. The only things you will probably recognize is some music and character names.

Sutton Ross said: "but hoping to flop is not a good thing to say.

Literally no one said that."

Well, is sounds like it to me. I don''r know.

" That's not what is going on here. The vast majority of people who come here are knowledgeable about the industry and are usually right about the appetite the general public has for certain ideas. All of us knew Tammy Faye was DOA. It wasn't even a question. I appreciate them bringing this show to Broadway but it's like 10 years too late and nobody cares anymore.

The TV show was cancelled after two years because of poor ratings, in other words it was not successful. It is 2024 and does anybody feel that a show about Marilyn Monroe Broadway show resonates with audience today. Yes, the "Bombshell" concert was a success but that was almost 10 years ago. Actually, "Hit List" with some work probably would have been better choice to try and make Broadway musical.