Bombshell Production Still in the Works? (SMASH fans out there unite!)

[lady_luck]

Has anyone heard any buzz about the Bombshell production? I've seen buzz on Playbill and various other sources that it is in the works...but I'm guessing it will be far from ready for this coming season or the next? I keep waiting to hear more news about a reading or workshop, does anyone have an additional information on if/when it is going to happen? I just watched SMASH again for the fourth time and just keep thinking how desperately we need Bombshell on a Broadway stage! 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-cm-smash-bombshell-20170611-story.html

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/SMASHs-Marilyn-Monroe-Musical-BOMBSHELL-Inches-Closer-to-Broadway-20170612

[DramaTeach]

I wish.

[JennH]

Beyond the first announcement two years ago and those two you posted? No, and all sources say the same thing...that it's in the works. All I know is that if/when it does come to fruition, I will accept NO ONE but Megan as Marilyn. I will fight any one who says otherwise. Of course, it's VERY likely this role would have a designated alternate. That role if it weren't tweaked very much, is INSANE, even more so than Elphaba. It's a **** ton of songs, and 90% of them would include her, plus those songs are bitchy as hell to sing. No thought for pedagogy whatsoever. But Megan had damn well better be the primary Marilyn because it could very well be her Tony winner. She another one that's overdue. 

[lady_luck]

I completely agree! I cannot picture anyone else in the role, and if the production is done right I have no doubt it would carry away the Tonys that year. I would rather them take their time and lock down the best people and get it right than rush it. I just hope they capitalize on the fan base and get the ball rolling soon, it is driving me crazy!

[Valentina3]

I do hope they use the "devastating" book which Debra Messing wrote - i.e., I want a deep dark show with some obvious spectacle, and not just a flashy one which just touches the surface of her life. Megan Hilty absolutely HAS to play the role.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

I will accept no one other than Megan to play Marilyn. This role will probably be very, very taxing. She'll probably need an alternate, as mentioned above. I would love for this to go on Broadway next season, but I don't want to get my hopes up. 

[broadwayboy223]

If it comes out when she can still play Marilyn, I also need Megan Hilty to do it. I would love to get her back on Broadway in a big juicy role.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

All in good fun, BWW friends...I love you all.

[Miles2Go2]

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/191570/nbcs-robert-greenblatt-on-bombshell-stage-musical-you-may-not-have-seen-the-last-of-smash/ 

[DramaTeach]

The "I think..." in that article makes it clear that is is nowhere near realized.  I think the music from Bombshell was some of Shaiman and Wittman's best, and I'd love to see it come to fruition.  The show was nowhere near perfect, but it had so many individually interesting pieces.

[Miles2Go2]

DramaTeach said: "The "I think..." in that article makes it clear that is is nowhere near realized. I think the music from Bombshell was some of Shaiman and Wittman's best, and I'd love to see it come to fruition. The show was nowhere near perfect, but it had so many individually interesting pieces."

Agreed!

[Gizmo6]

I cannot believe this hasn't come to fruition yet. It would be easy to wrap a book around it with the songs being so strong.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Gizmo6 said: "I cannot believe this hasn't come to fruition yet. It would be easy to wrap a book around it with the songs being so strong."

The songs being so strong is actually kind of the problem. The writers have spoken on this in the past, it is not so much in the book that is the hurdle this show has to get over but in finding a balance that makes it all work on stage without totally wearing out the leading actress yet keeping the fans happy as well.

Being that the songs were not actually written for a musical, they were not written with the need for balance in mind. The songs are all written as MOMENTS in the TV show. Moments sung over time by different people. They are all very strong and powerful numbers. Heck there are 2 or 3 11 o'clock numbers in this score and when you actually lay them all out you can see the problem. How can you keep all the songs that people love so much without totally killing the leading actress? There is very little breathing room for whomever would play Maryln and it's one crazy belting song after another. It's a very hard score for one actress. And that's just the singing. Throw in all the big dance numbers for her as well, how much time she would be on the stage... it's not a well balanced show at all. It takes time to find a compromise in what songs can be cut or reworked, places other things may need to be added all to make this musical that was never actually meant to be a musical actually work. AND then it needs a book on top of that.

[Gizmo6]

Scarlet Leigh said: finding a balance that makes it all work on stage without totally wearing out the leading actress yet keeping the fans happy as well.

Great post, I never really saw it as an issue of balance. I agree it would take a phenomenal performer to lead the musical but I don't think it's impossible well I'd hope it's not. 

I'd hate them to cut songs to be honest.

[broadwayboy223]

I hope with they go with Bombshell on stage and not Smash. As for the songs...yes it would be exhausting for one actress but I think lowering keys could help quite a bit. 

[Miles2Go2]

^ This most recent article makes it sound like they’ll perhaps use the elements from Smash to somehow frame or give context to the musical. If that’s the case, matbe they’ll have two Marilyns like on Smash. That would perhaps allow two actresss to share and carry the big Marilyn numbers including the 11 o’clock numbers. Of course, that would make pacing the show and writing of the book even trickier.

[GeorgeandDot]

Just have Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee alternate the role.

[scripps]

I just participated in a marketing survey about Broadway bound shows. One of the questions asked me my level of excitement and familiarity with several titles, one of them being Bombshell. Make of that what you wish!

[Playbill_Trash]

scripps said: "I just participated in a marketing survey about Broadway bound shows. One of the questions asked me my level of excitement and familiarity with several titles, one of them being Bombshell. Make of that what you wish!"

Could you tell us the other titles that were on that list? 

Also, how does one get to participate in such a survey? Asking for a friend . . . 

 

[newintown]

And after Bombshell, perhaps the same producer will move on to other imaginary properties, like Songbird! (from Death Becomes Her), and Oh, Streetcar! and Stop the Planet of the Apes I Wanna Get Off (from The Simpsons).

[Kad]

newintown said: "And afterBombshell, perhaps the same producer will move on to other imaginary properties, likeSongbird!(fromDeath Becomes Her), andOh, Streetcar!andStop the Planet of the Apes I Wanna Get Off(fromThe Simpsons)."

All of those would be better choices than Bombshell. 

[Playbill_Trash]

So if Bombshell does make it to Broadway (and I understand that as of now that is a big if) what do people here think the tony eligibility will be for the score?

The music already exists in its own property as a tv show (like the scores for Disney movie musicals that have been adapted for the stage), and has been eligible and nominated for Emmy awards (like the music for Disney movies at the Oscars). 

Would there be an Alan Menken / Howard Ashman situation where original music must be composed for the stage in order for the whole score to be eligible? If so, maybe (hopefully) Marc Shaiman and Scott Whittman could write more songs for other characters to balance out the score. 

I ask because if this does come to fruition I hope the score for Bombshell gets the recognition it deserves in some capacity because it is so strong. 

 

[Kad]

Like *any* musical with a pre-existing score, its eligibility will be determined based on how much of the material in the stage production was written for the stage production and not any other iteration. But right now, you may as well be discussing what the show curtain will look like.

[darquegk]

Bombshell may have been a fictional property, but it exists as a score in a way roughly analogous to a concept album. The road from concept album to staged show can sometimes come together after long periods, like HADESTOWN, but sometimes it can derail for thirty years (like the long-gestating stage version of THE WALL which has been "in development" since the eighties).

[newintown]

But it has no book. And it's incredibly rare for a book musical to succeed when the book is written around the score. The songs of Bombshell are no ABBA songbook, they're beloved by only a relative handful of Smash fanatics.