SECOND ACT

SMASH, THE SHORT-LIVED 2012 TV SERIES, DEVELOPED A DEDICATED CULT FOLLOWING. NOW, STEVEN SPIELBERG AND COMPANY HAVE RESURRECTED IT FOR BROADWAY. MICHAEL RIEDEL TELLS THE BACKSTORY OF THE ORIGINAL SHOW AND THE NEW PRODUCTION, REVEALING THE MAD RHAPSODIES OF MAKING A MUSICAL

- MICHAEL RIEDEL

DOUBLE PLATINUM In NBC's original Smash, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty compete to play Marilyn Monroe.

IN MAY 2022, theater writers Bob Martin and Rick Elice organized an informal reading of their stage adaptation of the television series Smash. More than a decade before, Smash had debuted on NBC in a prime slot: February 6, 2012, the night after Super Bowl XLVI. The show was a handsomely produced comedy-drama about the making of a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. It had original songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who wrote the musical Hairspray, and lavish production numbers staged by Joshua Bergasse, who would go on to win an Emmy for his work on Smash.

Initial reviews were terrific, and all of Broadway was thrilled that their crazy profession, always a bit of a backwater in the entertainment industry, had inspired a network TV show.

"It was insanely ambitious and profoundly original," Jack Davenport, one of the show's stars, recalled. "And for people who love musical theater, it blew their socks off."

PLAY ON! From TV's Smash: McPhee and Jack Davenport; Anjelica Huston, Daniel Sunjata, Jennifer Hudson, Debra Messing, and other cast members.

Opposite: McPhee and Phillip Spaeth reach for the rafters; Nick Jonas harmonizes with Hilty.

Debra Messing, and other cast members.

But as Smash wore on, behind-thescenes squabbles, jarring shifts in tone, and a thicket of subplots took their toll.

The show petered out, sadly, after just two seasons.