‘Smash’ Review: TV-to-Stage Metamusical Is a Fizzy, Fun Comedy With a Few Surprises for Fans

On the surface, “Smash” is a new backstage musical about the making of the fictional Broadway musical “Bombshell: The Marilyn Monroe Story,” but for diehard fans of the cult-classic TV show “Smash,” this is the culmination of a years-in-the-making journey, finally arriving on Broadway. Over the course of the series’ two seasons (2012-2013), we see the development of two musicals, but most of the drama centers around “Bombshell” and who will play Marilyn: veteran chorus girl Ivy Lynn (played by onscreen by Broadway veteran Megan Hilty) or breakout newcomer Karen Cartwright (Katherine McPhee). 

Ever since the show was cancelled many have been clamoring for more, especially because the songs created for it are of such high quality. The main songwriting team behind “Bombshell,” Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Hairspray”), have been developing a Broadway production since as early as 2015, and over the years, the project shifted, transforming from a full musical mounting of “Bombshell” to its current form, a metamusical that, like the TV show, traces the development of “Bombshell.” While the premise and many of the characters remain, book writers Bob Martin and Rick Elice and director Susan Stroman have made many changes, both substantial and small, such that this “Smash” has an almost uncanny feeling to it: familiar, yet somehow different. 

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No longer a toiling chorus girl, Ivy (Robyn Hurder) has been transformed into a Broadway legend (and aged up a bit). Karen (Caroline Bowman) is now a cupcake-baking, non-competitive understudy. Director Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas) and producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold) spar with married writers Tracey (Krysta Rodriguez, in a different role than the one she played in the TV show) and Jerry (John Behlmann) over the tone of “Bombshell ,” with Tracey in particular hoping to add some depth to what was initially pitched to investors as a light comedy. Things more radically diverge with the inclusion of method acting coach Susan Proctor (Kristine Nielson, doing a hilarious Uta Hagen impression), who turns Ivy into a terrifying, pill-popping diva, and associate director Chloe (Bella Coppola), who, in an unlikely series of events, becomes a potential contender to replace Ivy as Marilyn. This opens up a discussion about who is allowed to be a leading lady, since Chloe, with her curvy body, “doesn’t look the part.” 

Gone is Team Ivy versus Team Karen, and with it, the battle between a seasoned Broadway ensemble member and a newbie from Iowa. Instead, the major drama comes in the form of Ivy’s corruption by her acting coach, as Ivy gradually goes method and becomes as difficult to work with as Marilyn was (one of this musical’s many meta moments). In lieu of discussions of who is best for the role artistically, the question becomes who will sell more tickets (Ivy has 3 million followers but TikTok influencers rally around Chloe) and create a less toxic workplace. These debates are realistic and strikingly contemporary, though they don’t crackle in the same way as the Karen/Ivy tension did on screen. 

This is in part due not only to changes in writing and conception, but also in performances. Hurder is a top-notch dancer, Coppola is a vocal powerhouse, and Bowman has an impressive belt – but none come close to the magnetism and Marilyn mastery of Hilty and McPhee, whose performances haunt the production. 

The heart of “Smash” was always its outstanding original songs. Shaiman and Wittman’s score is, hands down, among of the best musical theater creations in recent memory. In some ways, then, this Broadway production exists as a wonderful excuse to hear, and see staged, those exceptional songs, including “Let Me Be Your Star,” “Don’t Forget Me,” and “They Just Keep Moving the Line.” We might even think about this “Smash” as a jukebox musical, with a new book conceived around existing songs. Like many jukeboxes, the focus really is on the music, and some scenes exist entirely as opportunities to perform various “Bombshell” numbers. 

It’s clear that the writers decided to lean into the metatheatricality of the endeavor, embracing the fact that this is, after all, a musical and not a television show. They play with musical theater conventions, include references to Broadway productions, actors, and locales (from Orso to Sardi’s), and most significantly, shift the tone. They fully deliver on the drama and laughter (less so on “the tears just like pearls,” but that’s ok); this “Smash” is wholeheartedly a comedy, something that Nielson and Ashmanskas understand best. Ashmanskas uses his classic campy comedy in a way that fully accepts this “Smash,” entirely letting go of the previous iteration. 

For a piece about a high-budget musical, Beowulf Boritt’s sets feel a bit sparse and Ken Billington’s lighting is underwhelming. Most of “Smash” takes place in rehearsal studios and backstage, but Boritt’s sets are bland and do nothing to add excitement to these locales. The costumes (by Alejo Vietti) in “Bombshell” are all you’d expect, lots of glitz and gowns, though the rehearsal and offstage outfits are either a bore or, sometimes, hilariously on the nose (Rodriguez, in a nod to Debra Messing’s costumes in the TV show, has a never-ending parade of scarves). Alas, the best costumes appear in the curtain call. 

In a key deviation from the original, in which “Bombshell” won Tony awards, here “Bombshell” is a flop. This gets at a core problem of adapting this material, and may explain why the creative team switched from developing “Bombshell” to creating “Smash”: as a musical, “Bombshell” was intentionally unformed; we only see the songs, and they are a ceaseless stream of Marilyn solos and big production numbers, which would create many logistical staging problems — not to mention the fact that most of the book was never sketched out. This “Smash” skirts these issues by declaring “Bombshell” an artistic failure, taking the easy way out; it’s a bit defeatist, and some might have rather seen “Bombshell” staged on its own and be given a chance to judge it ourselves.  

The main advantage would have been letting the score, the show’s true highlight, shine more. It’s sometimes hard to fully enjoy and appreciate all the stunning songs in this production, especially since many are clipped, staged as rehearsals, or removed from their “Bombshell” context. 

Due to all the tweaks, alterations, and differences in performance, some originalists may prefer to just watch the TV show online. But there are some in this world who will always love the magic of live theater and will delight in the sounds of the full orchestra, preferring to hear each belted note and to see each glittering gown and high kick in person. After all this wait, it is undeniably thrilling and deeply enjoyable to experience these beloved songs on stage, and to get some more time with this dramatic band of thespians. So for those fans dying for more “Smash” content, this musical will absolutely scratch that (more than seven-year) itch; for those uninitiated, this production offers a high-energy, fun musical comedy with a phenomenal score. Either way, it is, in fact, what you’ve been needing.