SMASH will officially land on Broadway in spring 2025- Page 5

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 1/21/25 at 1:17pm

This key art absolutely sets the frenetic, comedic tone of the show, a backstage farce similar to something like NOISES OFF (as of the staged readings, of course). The TV series seemed to have leaned more towards melodrama.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 1/21/25 at 1:17pm

(double post)

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/21/25 at 1:57pm

I love the new art! Even if someone didn't know what it was, it feels big and something they should be curious about.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 5:54am

'Smash' Broadway: Exclusive First Look at TV Show Turned Musical

 

https://variety.com/2025/legit/news/smash-broadway-exclusive-first-look-1236278414/

[mrshowbiz90210]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 9:00am

Loved the TV series, this will be great and the kind of show Broadway needs now, sadly this will totally eclipse Boop! as most tourists will be attracted to the title. Boop! is like  Paradise Square - it will have some moments but zero demand          

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 11:13am

So, first you start a thread slamming Boop and now you're in another thread doing the same thing. Sorry you didn't get the role bro! 🫶🏻

[Theatrefan2]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 11:23am

mrshowbiz90210 said: "Loved the TV series, this will be great and the kind of show Broadway needs now, sadly this will totally eclipse Boop! as most tourists will be attractedto the title. Boop! is likeParadise Square - it will have some moments but zero demand "

Except Boop is the more well known IP out of the two. Especially for tourists. Boop may not be a modern IP, and I'm not saying it will still be a hit, but of the two more people will be aware of Boop. I'm early 40s and her cartoons were still around when I was younger, plus she would pop up in things like Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

[mrshowbiz90210]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 11:32am

good point  Theatrefan2 but I would argue that the BOOP IP is so narrow that all the ,marketing in the world will not carry it as the book is thin and the bubble gum score, currently, has no 10 o'clock numbers, no to mention a subject matter that has last been the subject of anything in 1933.             

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/22/25 at 11:45am

Everyone calm down, both shows will flop.

Updated On: 2/16/25 at 11:45 AM

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 4:10pm

this show has a truly awful ad campaign and is utterly confusing.

 

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 4:43pm

TotallyEffed said: "Everyone call down,bothshows will flop."

I think they will be a hit for a year or two like Legally Blonde then simmer down once everyone sees it. All the theater nerds will flock to it for a while and hype it up 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 5:00pm

WldKingdomHM said: "TotallyEffed said: "Everyone call down,bothshows will flop."

I think they will be a hit for a year or two like Legally Blonde then simmer down once everyone sees it. All the theater nerds will flock to it for a while and hype it up"

"Theatre nerds" aren't a sustainable audience for any show.

There is no guarantee that theatre folk will like SMASH just because they have an opinion about the TV show.

A run the length of SOME LIKE IT HOT or WATER FOR ELEPHANTS might be a best-case scenario for both BOOP and SMASH. Which is not a trajectory that anyone should want to follow. LEGALLY BLONDE isn't a great example (much more famous IP, it never did THAT well, lost money on Broadway, poor economic climate of 07-08, etc). 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 5:16pm

Is Stroman just directing and Bergasse choreography?

[singer234]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 5:21pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "WldKingdomHM said: "TotallyEffed said: "Everyone call down,bothshows will flop."

I think they will be a hit for a year or two like Legally Blonde then simmer down once everyone sees it. All the theater nerds will flock to it for a while and hype it up"

"Theatre nerds" aren't a sustainable audience for any show.

There is no guarantee that theatre folk will like SMASH just because they have an opinion about the TV show.

A run the length of SOME LIKE IT HOT or WATER FOR ELEPHANTS might be a best-case scenario for both BOOP and SMASH. Which is not a trajectory that anyone should want to follow.LEGALLY BLONDE isn't a great example (much more famous IP, it never did THAT well, lost money on Broadway, poor economic climate of 07-08, etc)."

I think it has a shot at a solid run if reviews and word of mouth are strong, but it doesn't seem like the type of show that's going to be running for years and years regardless of reception unless there's some sort of insane stunt casting phased plan that gets them to recoupment.

Not that anyone WANTS to rely on licensing for a show's success, but I do think this is going to be done EVERYWHERE after Broadway. Regionally, maybe a bit, but really in high schools, camps, colleges. For theatre kids, this is going to be a fun one to do for the music alone, as well as large cast and Broadway centric story. But then again, I haven't seen it! So who knows.

Updated On: 1/24/25 at 05:21 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 5:44pm

ACL2006 said: "Is Stroman just directing and Bergasse choreography?"

Yes.

Strange arrangement.

But I imagine the decision-making was something like "we want Bergasse to choreograph because he did the TV show, we need a woman director because the rest of the team is entirely male, there's a very small number of women who have experience directing big successful musical comedies, hey Stro want a nice paycheck to only direct and maybe do some ghost-choreo?"

Updated On: 1/24/25 at 05:44 PM

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 1/24/25 at 6:32pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "A run the length of SOME LIKE IT HOT or WATER FOR ELEPHANTS might be a best-case scenario for both BOOP and SMASH. Which is not a trajectory that anyone should want to follow."

Hottake — producers and investors would probably be over the moon for a lengthy year-ish long run if it means either show doesn’t close in 3 months time. It’s about throwing fun and usually mediocre theatre at a wall and seeing what can surprise the industry and sustain public interest.

These offices and producers know the odds. They know the uphill battle that their shows are fighting against one another. Why are we pretending that 99% of these people wouldn’t both professionally and emotionally write their project off as a success if it were to make back half its investment in New York, go on tour and get fun energetic reception in Broadway seasons around the country, and then fall into some unremarkable licensing catalogue where it’s picked up by xyz number of high schools and summer stock programs in the years to come.

Both shows will lose tons of money, but if that was the only barometer of industry success in question then neither one of them would exist.

Not trying to antagonize but I wish these conversations were a lot less doom and gloom than they can tend to read on this form. I think both shows look fun and it’s okay if they aren’t perfect. Someone else will come along and produce something better one day.

Updated On: 1/24/25 at 06:32 PM

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 1/25/25 at 3:05pm

DOA?

probably

[MezzA101]

Posted: 1/25/25 at 8:12pm

'Smash' on Broadway: Go Behind-the-Scenes as Rehearsals Begin (Exclusive)

 

https://people.com/smash-on-broadway-go-behind-the-scenes-as-rehearsals-begin-exclusive-8779603

[bway1430]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 2:37am

DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "DOA?

probably"

What new show isn't DOA according to most of the folks on this board?

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 12:28pm

DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "DOA?

probably"

Right, just like Maybe Happy Ending......

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 1:38pm

The creative team that SMASH has is outstanding. It's cast has a ton of Broadway vets as well as a respectable following from the TV series. BOOP really doesn't have any of that.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 3:50pm

ACL2006 said: "The creative team that SMASH has is outstanding. It's cast has a ton of Broadway vets as well as a respectable following from the TV series. BOOP really doesn't have any of that."

I'd say the creative team is pretty equal, and both properties have equal risk attached. It's splitting hairs, really. They're both risky.

SMASH:

• Susan Stroman hasn't directed a financially-successful musical since 2001 (THE PRODUCERS)
• Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Rick Elice, and Bob Martin have had some hits and also, more recently, big flops.
• On the producing side, it has Neil Meron & Bob Greenblatt, who are smart guys who've had more success with star-driven musical revivals than original musicals.
• The TV show is liked by a small niche of people who won't pay $100+ to see this. Don't overestimate its value. The reports out of the workshops were also troublesome and maybe the people who loved the TV show will be alienated.
• None of the cast will mean a damn thing at the box office.

BOOP:

• Jerry Mitchell has directed one colossal hit (KINKY BOOTS) and the rest of his shows eventually recouped with touring and international productions, even if they weren't all critically lauded
• David Foster, Susan Birkenhead, and Bob Martin have had hits and flops. Foster's been around a long time but is new to Broadway. 
• On the producing side, it has Bill Haber, who hasn't lead-produced a successful musical since SPAMALOT.
• Betty Boop is largely irrelevant IP and the idea for this show has been kicking around for years.
• None of the cast will mean a damn thing at the box office.

 
SMASH might fare better in licensing (not a road to recoupment if it tanks on Bway) and BOOP might fare a little better in touring and international productions (also not the safest cushion).

BOOP has a better director but he might not be able to improve the material enough, though there could be a greater element of surprise here for critics; SMASH has better producers but they might be too close to the property to be objective.

Both teams are primarily 60+ white men. Each team has a lone woman involved (a director and a lyricist), and both women are over 70. This isn't a complaint, just an observation.

I wouldn't invest a dollar in either.

Updated On: 1/26/25 at 03:50 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 4:18pm

I can’t speak to the quality of either Smash or Boop, but both are leaning hard on IP of dubious value, which makes me wary. Betty Boop is certainly still a widely recognizable character, but in the same way that a brand mascot like Tony the Tiger is a widely recognizable character. Smash is based on a two-season show that people mostly hate watched and that came and went a decade ago and left nearly no mark on popular culture outside of an incredibly niche cult following and a handful of nice songs.   
 

They both have to answer the question of “why this, why now?” which is not at all an easy question to answer in a satisfying way.  Both have very good casts, at the very least. The best they can hope for is that Jasmine Rogers delivers a true star turn in Boop and that the theatre vets in Smash can spin whatever they’ve got into gold. 

Updated On: 1/26/25 at 04:18 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 7:19pm

What new show isn't DOA according to most of the folks on this board?"

I think people can see potential in many shows, some not so much. All shows now need a clever and strong social media presence. This show is trying for that because of how well it worked for The Great Gatsby, Maybe Happy Ending, and The Outsiders. Other shows decide to start up their campaigns a few weeks in advance which doesn't work anymore. 

 

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 1/26/25 at 7:42pm

"Smash is based on a two-season show that people mostly hate watched and that came and went a decade ago and left nearly no mark on popular culture outside of an incredibly niche cult following and a handful of nice songs"

The niche cult following liked the songs from "Bombshell" and Megan Hilty. Megan Hilty is not in the show and Broadway show story is much different than TV show story. Liking a handful of "Bombshell" songs is not going to be enough to sell tickets for over $100 and have a decent run.