‘Smash’ Musical to Open on Broadway in 2025

“Smash,” a stage adaptation of the fan-favorite NBC series, is officially opening on Broadway in 2025.

The long-in-the-works musical will begin performances on March 11, 2025 at the Imperial Theatre ahead of opening night on April 10. Based on the TV series starring Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Christian Borle, the Broadway version will follow the behind-the-scenes process of mounting “Bombshell,” a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. But producers say the adaptation will “depart liberally from the series.” A TV spot for the production jokes, “If you loved the TV series, it’s exactly what you want. And if you didn’t, we changed everything.”

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“Smash” will star Robyn Hurder (a Tony nominee from “Moulin Rouge”) as Ivy, the character originated by Hilty on screen. She will be joined by the sprawling company of Brooks Ashmanskas (“The Prom”) as Nigel, Krysta Rodriguez (“Spring Awakening,” “Smash” TV series) as Tracy, John Behlmann (“Shucked”) as Jerry, Kristine Nielsen (“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”) as Susan, Caroline Bowman (“Frozen” tour) as Karen, Jacqueline B. Arnold (“Moulin Rouge”) as Anita, Bella Coppola (“Six”) as Chloe and Casey Garvin (“Some Like It Hot”) as Charlie.

Theater veteran Susan Stroman (“Left on Tenth,” “The Producers”) is directing the production, with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Some Like It Hot,” Hairspray,” “Mary Poppins Returns”), who wrote “Let Me Be Your Star” and dozens of other songs for the television show. Many of those tunes will be used in the musical, along with brand new material.

Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron, who produced the original series, will serve as lead producers on the musical. Jennifer Hudson, an EGOT winner who appeared as a guest star on season 2 of the TV show, recently joined the producing team.

“Neil, Steven, and I are elated to announce that Smash is definitely coming to Broadway this season, a dozen years after the series ended on NBC,” Greenblatt said in a statement. “We always knew Shaiman & Wittman’s fantastic score belonged on Broadway, and our show is a clever, funny adaptation of the series — with a few surprises — that we hope will delight die-hard fans as well as anyone who didn’t see the series.”

Meron added, “This dream team has created the quintessential new musical about the rollercoaster ride of creating a new musical. (Very meta!) And it not only sends Broadway up, but sends Broadway a big love letter at the same time.”