SMASH Previews- Page 6

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 11:06am

"I’ve been skeptical about this project since it was announced and only grew moreso as we’ve learned more about it, but I’m genuinely surprised at how uniformly negative response has been. I thought for sure there’d be enough there to win people over at least to thinking it was okay. "

Not surprised at all Kad. What did people love about the TV show, the music of "Bombshell" which also was well received by critics. What does this show do, it cuts up the songs that were well liked. Fans of the TV show liked the rivalry and were on "Team Ivy" or Team Karen" and the show makes these two characters unrecognizable to fans of the show. By all accounts, the ending is a mess so there is not much to love or even remotely like.

IMO this should have been fairly simple. Just do "Bombshell" as a standalone musical, there was plenty of good music and story outline to start. The Broadway show would have just needed to add some music and heft to the "Bombshell" story in the show. There was definitely plenty of time to get this done - ha ha. Just basically do Season One of SMASH with a bunch of cuts. Just concentrate on Ivy-Karen rivalry and getting the show to Broadway. Other storylines and characters from that season could be cut easily. No need for Karen's BF, Julia's family and the character of Ellis for example. Either one of these options would be better than the mess that people have reported so far.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 11:21am

I remain unconvinced that Bombshell would make a good actual musical, even with the existence of the plot outline created for the album. The score was not written to be a score for a coherent piece of musical theatre- it was written as a string of standalone impressive songs to be performed over the course of 2 seasons of television that gestures toward a coherent piece of musical theatre and most of those songs are doing double duty to advance the Smash character narratives. I think it would take a lot of work to make it work (and even performable- Marilyn is performing all but a few numbers out of nearly 2 dozen).

Updated On: 3/13/25 at 11:21 AM

[Ptero2]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 11:24am

FWIW, I have never seen Smash or heard the music and I had a fun time at this. Definitely agree that the book is messy and it's pretty baffling how they handle the Chloe and Karen characters, but otherwise I thought a lot of the jokes landed, the music was great, and the last 20 minutes or so of the first act were excellent.

Brooks Ashmanskas feels like the main character here and the whole thing kind of centers around him, the writers, and the main producer. Definitely not what I expected going in but it kind of worked for me? I dunno. Just my two cents. 

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 1:00pm

I'm not seeing this until April and while these negative reactions are concerning, I'm still excited. I adore the TV series but never wanted Bombshell on stage -- that is, in the form it was presented both in the show or on the album synopsis. I always got the sense it would equal the series itself: breathtaking musical numbers strung together by a thin plot/book. Great as a one-night only concert, but not a Broadway musical.

This production sounds like they're leaning towards a modern-day equivalent to 42nd Street, which I'm not entirely opposed to. Making the Ivy/Karen dynamic similar to the Dorothy Brock/Peggy Sawyer duo and having Bombshell be the structural equivalent to Pretty Lady. Which, in my humble opinion, could work! And the sense I'm getting is that there is a salvageable show in there that they can (hopefully) find in the coming weeks (i.e. streamline the multiple plots/characters, tighten the focus and flesh out the Ivy and Karen plot point which was the driving focus of the series).

But please, oh please, do the full musical numbers. Don't cut them up, as they were always the greatest strength to Smash/Bombshell and get "Never Give All the Heart" and "On Lexington..." back in there!

Updated On: 3/13/25 at 01:00 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 1:08pm

I know Jeremy is super busy but I'm still holding out for them to scrap all of this and just put Hit List on stage. Ha.

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 2:17pm

AKarp2013 said: And the sense I'm getting is that there is a salvageable show in there that they can (hopefully) find in the coming weeks (i.e. streamline the multiple plots/characters, tighten the focus and flesh out the Ivy and Karen plot point which was the driving focus of the series).

I really hate to say this, but there is absolutely no way what I saw last night is salvageable in a month's time. Sure, they can, and most likely will (I hope), trim the fat and tighten a few things up. However, Bob Martin's book is so incredibly chaotic, in-cohesive, and messy that the only way I can see them saving this mess is by COMPLETELY overhauling the book. If a show ever needed a show doctor, it's Smash. 

I've been talking with some friends about this day today, and while I can honestly say I was never bored last night, I also wouldn't say that I had FUN.

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 2:52pm

Picture of additional creative team spotted in the back of the theater last night:

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 3:05pm

Playbill_Trash said: "Picture of additional creative team spotted in the back of the theater last night:

Zero photo is attached.  

 

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 3:45pm

"I know Jeremy is super busy but I'm still holding out for them to scrap all of this and just put Hit List on stage. Ha."

I would love to see "Hit List" on stage. Jeremy Jordan and Katharine McPhee are too old IMO for their parts anymore.

[BWayBound115]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 5:04pm

While I did not think the book was as hodge podge as most others on here, I do agree with almost everything else. Not ONE song to move the plot along?? It was such a shame to see most of the songs cut up and done as "rehearsal" versions. I wished we could've had a few more big production numbers. I was also surprised at how small the ensemble was? If you eliminate Karen, there were only 3 female ensemble members. Sometimes the stage looked incredibly bare. Don't get me started on the finale. What an underwhelming finish to the show.

I was really rooting for this show as a long-time fan of the series. I was even on board for a new plot and characters. One positive is that you could really tell the cast was passionate about their work on stage. All in all, it kind of reminded me of a less successful version of Curtains. 

[merle57]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 5:15pm

The show lacks cohesion, truncated musical numbers, scattered parts,  bitchy comments to provide pretended sophistication. It is another "rob the corpse" scavenger musical which has no actual reason for being. They should have used the plot from the original novel Smash rather than the television series. It will run for a while on the title and the glitzy sets and costumes, but it lacks the substance to be a comment on musical theatre like All About Eve/Applause,  or a nostalgic 42nd Street valentine. It has about as much life as Me and Juliet. 

[Jjohansan]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 6:16pm

Call me crazy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The most fun I've had in a theatre in quite some time! I can't help but wonder if all the negative responses are coming from those who aren't able/willing to accept that this is NOT the tv show. I think it works beautifully as a standalone musical comedy and you really can't beat the score. Will definitely be returning after it opens.

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 6:43pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Playbill_Trash said: "Picture of additional creative team spotted in the back of the theater last night:

Zero photo is attached.

"

[Playbill_Trash]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 6:59pm

Playbill_Trash said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Playbill_Trash said: "Picture of additional creative team spotted in the back of the theater last night:

Zero photo is attached.

Aw screw it, it was just a pic of the dramaturg character from season 2.

[jbroadway4]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 9:55pm

They should pull an Edwin Drood and let the audience decide who gets to play Marilyn, at the end of each show.

[starlightlocamotion]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 9:59pm

now thattttt is a smashing idea. 🤩🤩🤩

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 11:40pm

I saw the open rehearsal they did last year and thank GOD they changed that ending! What they originally had was just so completely out of tone with the rest of the show. Unfortunately, what they changed it to now is just dull and doesn’t really make any narrative sense.

After seeing Boop! last night and now Smash tonight, Bob Martin should never write another book again. At least the songs and production of Boop! were more than enough to overcome a bizarre and poorly written book, here the songs are so truncated and split apart that it feels more like a play about a musical, than an actual musical. And when the book scenes are so bad, and take up so much of an almost 3-hour show, woof. We get barely any full songs!

Other than being from the TV show, what really is the point of the Karen character? There’s no reason her and Chloe couldn’t be one character.

Other than the ending, the rest is pretty much exactly was it was at the open rehearsal so they are not going to change anything else major about it by now.

[Listener]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 1:07am

The score was not written to be a score for a coherent piece of musical theatre- it was written as a string of standalone impressive songs to be performed over the course of 2 seasons of television that gestures toward a coherent piece of musical theatre and most of those songs are doing double duty to advance the Smash character narratives. I think it would take a lot of work to make it work (and even performable- Marilyn is performing all but a few numbers out of nearly 2 dozen).

This has been my thought since the project was first announced. Very well stated!

I'm sorry to hear this production is in so much trouble. You'd think they wouldn't have pushed ahead with things until they got it all just right, especially given the implosion of the TV series years ago.

It's sad to say but the days really are gone when capable creative teams use previews to perform necessary surgeries on their work and elevate them. Far too much of what we're given on Broadway these days is mediocre and in serious need of revision. And alas, the revisions never happen.

[j robinson]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 8:21am

Fair points. IMHO, I think these 3 changes would very much up-level the show (and possibly could be done in a month or two):

• Ivy and Karen must sing “Let Me Be Your Star” as a duet. This was a HUGE miss because everyone came to see this and left disappointed. 
• Merge Chloe’s character into Karen’s and focus on these 2 as leads.
• Remove the fluff from the book, such as the matzo soup / bk scene.

 

 

Listener said: "The score was not written to be a score for a coherent piece of musical theatre- it was written as a string of standalone impressive songs to be performed over the course of 2 seasons of television that gestures toward a coherent piece of musical theatre and most of those songs are doing double duty to advance the Smash character narratives. I think it would take a lot of work to make it work (and even performable- Marilyn is performing all but a few numbers out of nearly 2 dozen).

This has been my thought since the project was first announced. Very well stated!

I'm sorry to hear this production is in so much trouble. You'd think they wouldn't have pushed ahead with things until they got it all just right, especially given the implosion of the TV series years ago.

It's sad to say but the days really are gone when capable creative teams use previews to perform necessary surgeries on their work and elevate them. Far too much of what we're given on Broadway these days is mediocre and in serious need of revision. And alas, the revisions never happen."

 

[Kad]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 8:51am

The Karen & Ivy duet is easily the most iconic and successful moment from the series- it was what sold the show to the audience (and likely NBC). It’s wild they would not replicate it. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 9:33am

Make it make sense, Kad lol

[Kad]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 9:48am

You know I can’t!

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 10:07am

Is "Don't Forget Me" really the act 1 closer and done to comedic effect as in the clip the production posted?  Why throw that number away?  As absurd as the series was, the final episode ultimatley worked becauase it showed the creatives finally coming up with a stunning song at the last minute that brought the entire production (and series) together.  "Don't Forget Me" is the finale - the book end piece to "Let Me Be Your Star" and is the much earned reward for all the struggles that come before it.

[bruzson]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 10:28am

Saw this last night. This is Bandwagon without Fred Astaire, Vicente Minnelli and the rest of the crew. Wonderful songs at the service of …?  Not a terrible evening but pretty meh with an idiotic plot about an 11 time Tony winning director who suddenly can’t stand up to anyone or make a decision. Really? Boop was such a joyous experience and this is just a letdown

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 10:29am

QueenAlice said: "Is "Don't Forget Me" really the act 1 closer and done to comedic effect as in the clip the production posted? Why throwthat number away? As absurd as the series was, the final episode ultimatley worked becauase it showed the creatives finally coming up with a stunning song at the last minute that brought the entire production (and series) together. "Don't Forget Me" is the finale - the book end piece to "Let Me Be Your Star" and is the much earned reward for all the struggles that come before it."

No, "Let Be Your Star" (in the show-within-a-show's ultimate version) is the Act 1 closer. "Don't Forget Me" is done at the sitzprobe just before that, and performed as in the clip (Ivy's such a nightmare they schedule something else at the same time as the sitzprobe with the intention of having Karen do it; Ivy shows up halfway through and reclaims her song). The problem is, the triumphant version of "Don't Forget Me" doesn't work with the ending of Smash the musical 

 

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which requires Bombshell to flop. So, after spending the whole show saying they're not going to do the sad, dead-Marilyn-tangled-in-her-bedsheets..."Bombshell" now ends with the sad dead-Marilyn-tangled-in-her-bedsheets ending (the intimation is that the crazy acting coach pushed it in this direction), which causes it to flop, and leads them to decide to create a new show about the making of a musical...the one the audience just watched. If the show doesn't flop, and in the absence of the "Ivy dies" ending, then they'd need yet another  new ending, so they can't use "Don't Forget Me" where it should be and have it be as good as it should. Which speaks to how flawed the structure of the show is that so many of the songs cannot be performed at their best because of the requirements of the book.

 

Updated On: 3/14/25 at 10:29 AM