In a case of art imitating art, the musical at the center of the NBC series Smash will be making its way to the stage. Bombshell was written for the series with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and Shaiman and Wittman will remain involved in the stage production of Bombshell with Shaiman as composer and co-lyricist with Wittman. In addition, Smash‘s executive producers Neil Meron, Craig Zadan, and Steven Spielberg will all be involved in the staging of the Bombshell musical.
The idea to move forward on a Bombshell musical caught fire after songs from the ‘Marilyn Monroe musical that never actually existed’ were performed in concert to benefit the Actors Fund.
“We are so thrilled that Smash isn’t over and that Bombshell gets to live on,” said Craig Zadan. “The Emmy-nominated songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, including the iconic ‘Let Me Be Your Star,’ are every bit the caliber of their Tony- and Grammy-winning Broadway work. The Actors Fund benefit reinforced how alive this material is on stage and how much the audience wants to see the Marilyn Monroe musical in its entirety.”
“There is a still a lot of love for Smash and a rabid fan base out there, and we’re thrilled to be able to keep the dream alive as we work towards bringing Bombshell to theatre audiences,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of NBC Entertainment. “Smash was ambitious because every episode was a complicated musical for television and we also built the foundation of the musical-within-the-musical about Marilyn’s endlessly fascinating and tumultuous life. Over the course of two seasons, an entire Bombshell score was written to service Smash storylines, and now that show will have a chance to stand on its own.”
Casting will begin soon. At this point no member of the Smash cast is involved in the stage production of Bombshell. Bombshell will be choreographed Tony Award nominee Joshua Bergasse who received an Emmy nomination for his work on Smash.
“Whether watching the Smash cast at the benefit at the Minskoff Theatre or hearing teenagers across the world on YouTube, it’s been thrilling for us to hear our songs so embraced and performed so phenomenally,” said Shaiman and Wittman. “We can’t wait to see what happens next.”
