Video: Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman Unpack the Evolution of 'Let Me Be Your Star'
"Let Me Be Your Star" is Smash's Act 1 opener and closer.
By: Joey Mervis May. 28, 2025
Click Here for More on Notes on a Score
What goes into making the music of our favorite Broadway shows? How do Broadway composers make our favorite characters sing and our favorite scenes come alive? BroadwayWorld is finding out with Notes on a Score.
Today we continue the series with Tony-winning Broadway icons and creators of Smash- Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Watch as they unpack the show's most iconic song, which appears in the Broadway show twice- "Let Me Be Your Star."
Fade in on a girl
With a hunger for fame
And a face and a name to remember.
The past fades away
Because as of this day,
Norma Jean's gone...
She's moving on.
The song is one of the best known from the original NBC series, but it has gone through quite an evolution since it appeared in the pilot. "[For Broadway] we have the glorious Robyn Hurder singing the original version as written for Marilyn, and the glorious Bella Coppola, who sings the "standard" version," explained Wittman.
"It's different that it's a solo now- and we had to keep that under our hats for so long, because we didn't want to spoil the moment that Brooks [Ashmanskas] turns to Bella and says, 'Chloe.. you know the show!'" added Shaiman. "We were very happy to finally get into previews."
