the new Broadway musical inspired by the 2012 NBC television series of the same name, has announced its final performance.
The production, capitalized at $20 million, will shutter June 22 after 32 previews and 84 regular performances at the Imperial Theater in New York City.
Despite receiving two Tony Award nominations — for Joshua Bergasse’s choreography and Brooks Ashmanskas as Best Featured Actor — it walked away from Sunday night’s ceremony empty-handed. Not only that, but Smash did not have a performance slot during the nationally televised Tonys broadcast, meaning audiences didn’t have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the show and potentially purchase a ticket.
Prior to the Tonys, the production had struggled to find an audience. For the week ending June 8, Smash performed its eight-show week to just 66% capacity, leaving large swaths of seats empty.
Reviews were mixed; The New York Times’ Jesse Green gave it a Critic’s Pick and applauded it as “the great musical comedy no one saw coming,” while Meg Masseron of Theatermania called it “the hottest mess on Broadway.”
Smash borrowed from the television series in that the music and choreography were largely the same. Tony, Emmy and two-time Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote over 24 songs for the television show, many of which are used in the stage adaptation, in addition to new material. Choreographer Bergasse used many of the dance moves he crafted for the TV series, which earned him an Emmy, in the Broadway production.
However, the characters and storylines differed dramatically from their TV counterparts. The NBC series was created by Theresa Rebeck, who left after season one and was not involved in the Broadway mounting. For Broadway, the script was written by Bob Martin and Rick Elice.
The musical follows the two main characters from the TV series, Ivy Lynn (played on Broadway by Robyn Hurder) and Karen Cartwright (Caroline Bowman), but with different circumstances and supporting characters. The plot follows a creative team putting up a Broadway show about Marilyn Monroe and the chaos that ensues when the actor portraying the bombshell (Hurder’s Ivy Lynn) relies on an acting coach who makes Lynn insufferable during the process.
While the Broadway production, directed by five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman, relied on name recognition from the TV series, Smash the musical left fans divided.
“Doomed the start. Should have been Bombshell, not SMASH,” one person wrote on X, referring to the TV series’ show-within-a-show that was beloved by fans.
“Too much change from the original and no use of the tv stars, at least to start,” another said.
