Smash The Musical: First Reading

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 4:06pm

via Marc Shaiman's FB page.  

So, this past Friday, we had a reading of “SMASH -The Musical”, a new Broadway show that takes place, well, to be au courant, in a SMASH “multiverse". Surrounded by a hysterical script by Bob Martin & Rick Elice, Scott Wittman & I got to hear our songs for BOMBSHELL (the Marilyn Monroe Musical we wrote for SMASH) come alive again, with a brilliant gathering of performers. Who knows if we’ll ever get a cast like the one we had on Friday, but let me tell you, if you wanna hear if your script is working, get Brooks Ashmanskas, Beth Leavel, Daniel Breaker, Krysta Rodriguez, Christian Thompson, Maddie Baillio, Bonnie Milligan and, yes, Megan Hilty to read it for you. Then add in Stephen Oremus’ sight-reading ensemble of my dreams. The drama, the laughter, the tears just like pearls…We laughed, we cried, we plotzed!

Scott & I wrote a new song as well (maybe more to come) and when you come back to the table after getting up to play said new song and co-producer Steven Spielberg (do you like how I just subtly dropped that name?) GRABS and SQUEEZES your hand to convey how the song made him feel, well, that is a rush I wish I could bottle.

Much thanks to our producers Steven Spielberg, Bob Greenblatt & Neil Meron for affording us a great week of work that culminated with something that does NOT always happen, and that is, when the reading was over, EVERYONE STAYED IN THE ROOM! No one scurried out the door to avoid talking about it! We have no concrete plans yet, this was just the first reading, but I think I can safely say that, unless the world ends soon, you really will get to see SMASH on Broadway sooner than later! Kinahora, poo poo poo, God willing!

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 4:46pm

Ok, I’ll admit it - this got me a little excited.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 5:48pm

It's happening...

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 6:04pm

Can anyone make a guess as to who was playing who?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 6:24pm

Assuming Ashmanskas was Tom (Borle), Leavel was Eileen (Huston), and maybe Rodriguez was Julia (Messing), with Breaker as the director or Julia's husband. My guess is the director role has changed quite a bit post-MeToo, and some of these characters are going to have to be scrapped, combined, or abridged for a 2.5-hour musical.

The most logical Karen/Ivy combo would be Milligan and Hilty...but maybe not! (Hilty could have just been doing stage directions for all we know.) But Rodriguez, Baillio, Milligan, and Hilty could all be Ivy/Karen.

It does concern me that they only wrote one new song. But this is all so early in the process. I'm excited to see where this goes.

Updated On: 5/22/22 at 06:24 PM

[OhHiii]

Posted: 5/23/22 at 12:34pm

Seems much more logical that Krysta was the Karen to Megan's Ivy. And I'd wager Beth (or Bonnie) and Brooks were Tom and Julia. All of this assumes the same characters exist in the stage version as in the series as Ermengarde mentioned. I'm most curious of how they handle the show within a show aspect, because the series' strongest moments were so clearly focused in the Bombshell musical numbers. The final 20 minutes of the Season 1 finale being what probably has so many of us so hungry for that musical.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/23/22 at 12:49pm

Brooks & Beth would certainly be fun as the authors, especially if they want to give them more of a Comden & Green feel. A lot of these roles were probably tailored to the cast they had for the TV series and can now be freed up by the new bookwriters.

I would guess that IF you want to go with an "older" Ivy (Hilty is 41), maybe you cast someone 15-20 years younger for Karen. But this is all speculation; Friday was merely a reading with seasoned pros to hear how it works.

Show-within-show is always tricky, and I assume some of what's in the Marilyn musical will mirror what's happening in the "real world" of the musical. As we know from shows like 42nd Street and The Producers, those can be both the best source of good musical numbers/entertainment and can weigh down the plot of the show itself.

(Of note, the show does not have a Director announced yet. Josh Bergasse was announced as choreographer, which is odd because usually the Director chooses the Choreographer.)

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/23/22 at 1:46pm

Not that this backstage show will be the one to do it, but is there an equivalent to Noises Off, but for musicals?

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 1:35pm

An industry only reading happening this week -- great cast!

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/smash-musical-broadway-industry-readings-1235730255/

 

 

Updated On: 9/21/23 at 01:35 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 1:44pm

Interesting that the two leading ladies are in their 40s-50s for this reading, a departure from the series. If it's indeed about two actresses grappling with aging out of ingenue roles, that's an interesting evolution that could up the stakes. (or, of course, this could just be them casting two able performers for a reading and they intend to go younger for a full production)

This gives some insight into how other characters have evolved, too:

 

Hurder plays Ivy, an actress cast in the lead role of a new musical about Marilyn Monroe, and Butler appears as Karen, Ivy’s understudy.

While it retains the series’ most recognizable elements, the musical adaptation of “Smash” departs in other ways with a storyline and cast of characters that are inspired by the series but not direct translations. “It’s definitely a new script,” said director Susan Stroman of the musical’s book by Bob Martin and Rick Elice “It has a dramatic twist at the end of it. But you will see familiar characters.”

Alex Brightman and Krysta Rodriguez portray a married composer-lyricist duo who are writing the score for “Bombshell”; Vanessa Williams plays the show’s producer; and Brooks Ashmanskas takes on the part of the director with Tony winner Bonnie Milligan appearing as his associate director. Kristine Nielsen (as an acting coach) and Justin Cooley (as an intern) round out the reading’s cast.

Updated On: 9/21/23 at 01:44 PM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 1:53pm

Kerry Butler seems like an interesting choice? I wonder if this will go the way of her Little Mermaid and Legally Blonde workshops, or the Xanadu workshop for her.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 2:56pm

This duo makes zero sense...

Updated On: 9/21/23 at 02:56 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 3:04pm

I would've loved to hear about who made the ensemble cast for this reading.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 5:28pm

Loving Robyn Hurder! Not so much Kerry Butler.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/21/23 at 8:35pm

I love everyone in this cast and look forward to the future of this adaptation! 
 

I still don’t know why it wasn’t picked up by HBO or something for a reunion season. It has a cult following and would draw in more of an audience. 

[pethian]

Posted: 9/22/23 at 8:17pm

I'm told they did a presentation today at Open Jar. Did anybody hear anything about it?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/22/23 at 8:19pm

pethian said: "I'm told they did a presentation today at Open Jar. Did anybody hear anything about it?"

RaisedOnMusicals was there and has nothing but praise.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/22/23 at 8:52pm

Was Robyn Hurder there today? She's been out of A Beautiful Noise due to COVID but is expected back in tomorrow.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 9/22/23 at 9:27pm

Yeah, go down to my post in a thread I started. I would have put in this thread but I screwed up. 

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 9/22/23 at 9:29pm

Susan Stroman’s directing. That info’s been out for quite a while. She was at the reading today. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/23/23 at 2:44am

Making the composer-lyricist duo a couple (thereby cutting out all the boring drama of Julia's personal life) feels like a good choice. Who plays Ellis?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/23/23 at 7:31am

^ Sounds from the blurb like Ellis would be played by Justin Cooley. Wasn’t he the evil intern?

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/23/23 at 12:02pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "^ Sounds from the blurb like Ellis would be played by Justin Cooley. Wasn’t he the evil intern?"

There is no Ellis (thankfully) in the show.  Cooley plays a new character not on the TV series.

 

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 9/24/23 at 10:19am

"“It’s definitely a new script,” said director Susan Stroman of the musical’s book by Bob Martin and Rick Elice “It has a dramatic twist at the end of it. But you will see familiar characters.”

Thank goodness. There were storylines and certain characters that needed to be cut from the TV series. I don't think anybody would miss Karen's idiot boyfriend or storyline regarding Julia's family life.

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 2/15/24 at 12:48pm

Is anyone at the read through tonight? Very keen to hear reports!