No writer or star is attached at this point, and the studio is looking to cast a big-name actor for the lead before hiring a writer to script the story around them, so expect Sony to aim for one of Hollywood’s buzzy A-listers to fill the role. Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. Then the show rudely detaches itself from reality in the fourth episode: At a party, Huston arranges an impromptu showcase of one number to impress a potential backer, played by a Jonas brother.
The show builds on the creation of this new smash and an attempt to create a show that will portray the true life of Marilyn Monroe. Majok will pen the adaptation and executive produce the teleplay, which revolves around the lives of two generations of immigrant women that collide in a basement apartment in Queens. Hilty was the other contender for the role of Marilyn Monroe on the TV show Smash. They have soul, charisma, beauty, as well as other qualities that are expected of a Broadway actor. Ivy Lynn (left) and Karen Cartwright (right) discussing how they think they performed in the audition for the lead in “Bombshell”. The network, in tandem with Lionsgate, put a new series in development, which will come from creator and executive producer Craig Wright. Reportedly, if Smash takes off, then the fictional musical being created within the series will become an actual musical on Broadway. Celebrity guest stars — a list that included Nick Jonas, Uma Thurman and Liza Minnelli — were plentiful, as were cameos by prominent theater figures (Lin-Manuel Miranda played nemesis to Borle’s character, Tom, in a Season 2 cameo).

Ahead of the second season premiere, a BuzzFeed article declared the show “TV’s biggest trainwreck,” with several anonymous sources claiming Rebeck had been so resistant to input from writers and fellow producers that the “Smash” set felt, in the words of one Season 1 staffer, like a “dictatorship.”, For her part, Rebeck later said in an essay she was fired without cause and that the fallout led to several years of struggling to find work. Smash, the cult-favorite TV series about the creation of Bombshell, a fictional musical about Marilyn Monroe's life, is heading to Broadway in a stage production titled: Smash, A New Musical. The cabler has reportedly put into development drama series “Queens,”, based on the play by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok. ( Log Out /  Parent series casting director Kim Coleman could follow to the spinoff, as well.

Expect theater giants and series casting team Telsey + Company to head the casting when the project is further into development—find out what you should know about auditioning for the casting director here! The memorable scene aired four years after NBC canceled “Smash,” and it captured the enduring enthusiasm fans have for the 2012 series and its Broadway show-within-a-show. I won’t presume to say; only a few people know less about programming a network than I, and NBC has already dismissed them. There’s no word yet who or what the new series will focus on, or if it will follow any of the characters in the megachurch drama that stars Merle Dandridge, Keith David, Lynn Whitfield, Kim Hawthorne, Lamman Rucker, and Deborah Joy Winans, but a five-season arc with a possible spinoff has always been in the cards from the get-go. “That’s all television is, my dear, nothing but auditions.”, Correction, Feb. 6, 2012: This article originally misidentified the actor who plays the director in Smash as Derek Wills. In that and other ways, the “Bombshell” streaming event (and Spielberg’s well-timed announcement) brought the show’s legacy full circle.

If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. In addition to producers and fans, there are other stakeholders who want to see “Smash” resurrected — redeemed even, as Monroe is in “Bombshell.”, “I think our ultimate dream is that the legacy has yet to be written, that maybe there is a chance that there is some avenue where the show gets to have a second life,” McPhee told Billboard ahead of Wednesday’s event. It has drama, humor, suspense, and all the other components needed to draw in multiple audiences. In the series premiere, “Bombshell” takes shape when two veteran playwrights (Debra Messing and Christian Borle) decide to make a musical about Marilyn Monroe. They seemed to think that I was some kind of factotum, or typewriter even,” she wrote. Currently in the second of two seasons thus far, all episodes that have been aired lead the viewer back to the pilot episode in season one. The classiness is evident in the roster of behind-the-scenes talent, which includes the writers of the musical Hairspray, the producers of Chicago, a co-producer of NYPD Blue, and some guy named Spielberg. But there can be no question that the marketing department erred in sending out the first four episodes for review (in, by network standards, an uncommonly glossy promotional booklet). With Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle. “To build the huge audience that NBC … seems to crave, they don’t need a better show,” Kevin Fallon wrote. In front of the scenes, the class is extreme. Following a streamed broadcast of 2015’s “Bombshell” concert, the producers behind the NBC television series “Smash” announced that a musical stage adaptation is in development for Broadway. ", “Was it gender based? “As the dust settled, it became clear that at the management level a lot of dastardly stories had been invented about my character,” she wrote in the essay, which was featured in the 2017 book “Double Bind: Women on Ambition.”, Rebeck also described power struggles that put her at odds with Greenblatt and Spielberg. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Reporter covering television and pop culture. BROADWAY SHOWS SUSPENDED THROUGH MAY 30th. Development of Smash: A New Musical is underway. NBC canceled the series after just two seasons. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.

After his showstopping “Girls” scene, Rannells told Jimmy Fallon that he decided his “Girls” character should sing “Let Me Be Your Star” because he had connections with much of the “Smash” cast. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. ( Log Out /  The character’s name is Derek Wills, the actor’s name is Jack Davenport. All rights reserved. ET). Will Smash hit?

The answer? Majok will pen the adaptation and executive produce the teleplay, which revolves around the lives of two generations of immigrant women that collide in a basement apartment in Queens. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The network, in tandem with Lionsgate, put a new series in development, , which will come from creator and executive producer Craig Wright. One is composed of the civilians who may yet be pummeled into watching this soapy musical about a Broadway musical—soap as dispensed by the bathroom attendant at Sardi’s. Reportedly, if Smash takes off, then the fictional musical being created within the series will become an actual musical on Broadway. The next few scenes flash back and forth between Karen and Ivy fighting to prove who deserves to grace the Broadway stage. There was plenty to love about “Smash,” particularly for theater geeks unopposed to random bursts of song. A series that has flourished because of the first episodes’ success has impacted many genres, not only in television but on Broadway as well. Most would think that the callbacks were just because of their raw musical talent, but there is so much more to both of these women. NBC has been running ads during NFL games, reminders in its chyron, teasers in taxis, spots in Playbill; at this point, even people who do not own televisions may feel that the network bought airtime in their REM sleep. "I'll be there with my 16-bars, I'm ready to audition," Smash TV star McPhee told Broadway.com in reaction to the news. It’s not been confirmed who the central character will be, and Sony is keeping quiet, but sources say there is a strong possibility the film will be based on Madame Web. Photograph by Will Hart © NBC Universal, Inc. You cannot have avoided hearing about Smash (NBC, Mondays at 10 p.m.

"I'll be there with my 16-bars, I'm ready to audition," Smash TV star McPhee told Broadway.com in reaction to the news. While McPhee and Hilty battle it out to see who the leading lady will be, lyricist and playwrights Julia Houston and Tom Levitt, played by Debra Messing, formerly of “Will and Grace” and Christian Borle a former Broadway actor, come up with the idea to create a few songs in reference to Marilyn Monroe.

Although Tom and Julia feel that their lives are over on the Broadway scene, a New York journalist sees an online video and writes in his column that whatever will come of this song will be the next “smash” on Broadway, hence the birth of the series’ title.

I’d like to think that the show will turn itself around, and I wonder how much time the audience will give it to do so. Worse, Huston instigates a set piece that it is impossible to take seriously, or any other way. Bob Martin and Rick Elice will co-write the musical's book. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. \"Smash\" is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire - to be a \"Smash.\" Apply to nearly 10,000 casting calls and auditions on Backstage. These speculations might be only rumors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow the trail all the way to the audition room. I'm thinking about the whole cast's reaction to this: they're going to be so excited.

This news follows the May 20 online event showcasing the 2015 Bombshell: In Concert benefit for The Actors Fund. “Smash”Let them be your (Broadway) stars! Ahead of its fifth and final season, the hit OWN series “Greenleaf” will continue its life as a spinoff. I would gladly pay $75 for an orchestra seat to see the show-within-a-show. Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty in "Smash.". (Return to the corrected sentence). “Queens”HBO will expand its repertoire with a new stage-to-screen adaptation. “Smash” had Spielberg’s backing — DreamWorks produced alongside Universal Television — and NBC promoted the show heavily, airing several ads during Super Bowl XLVI.

Warning: Spoilers. "I'll be there with my 16-bars, I'm ready to audition," Smash TV star McPhee told Broadway.com in reaction to the news. find out what you should know about auditioning for the casting director here! The characters Julia and Tom (played on television by Debra Messing and Christian Borle, respectively), as well as Ivy and Karen (played on the series by Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee, respectively) will still be central to the storyline. Many of the musical numbers in Smash deny skeptics and cynics an opportunity to snicker at their unreality. “Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it seems fitting that a new musical inspired by what we did on the show would eventually come to the stage.". “Insecure” executive producer, showrunner, writer, and director Prentice Penny will also executive produce, leading the way for ample opportunity for cast and creative team members from “Insecure” to join the new HBO project. The lyrics enrapture, the Fosse-ish choreography transports, and it’s all good. By my count, she’s wasted at least 12 ounces of whiskey in humiliating the guy. But as the Atlantic pointed out ahead of the show’s sophomore season, theater geeks unopposed to random bursts of song are a niche group.

If the musical ended up being good enough, it would move to the stage.

Despite not having heard the number before, the Jonas jumps in for the last verse, holding his guitar in an Elvis-y stance and his head at a showboat posture. As writers attempting a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe, Messing and Christian Borle bantered beautifully, and if Messing has better chemistry with Borle than with her on-screen husband, well, that felt about right.