'Smash' Broadway review — a chaotic backstage comedy

Read our review of Smash on Broadway, a musical adapted from the same-named NBC series and featuring the TV show's hit songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

From the moment an official Broadway announcement was made for Smash, a new musical loosely adapted from the NBC series about the drama-filled making of a fictional musical, it was publicized that the stage show would be different. It's understandable to want to stand alone from a TV show that aired over a decade ago and was beset with real-life behind-the-scenes drama of its own. But without a strong grounding in the source material, this Smash remains unmoored as it pursues a tangle of subplots, character arcs, and framing devices at once.

NBC's Smash is an ensemble piece that spotlights people in all kinds of Broadway industry jobs, but it A) has about 30 hours' worth of TV in which to explore them all and B) is still anchored in one rivalry between two characters — Broadway veteran Ivy Lynn and fresh-from-Iowa Karen Cartwright — for the role of Marilyn Monroe in a bio-musical called Bombshell.

Bob Martin and Rick Elice's book for Smash on Broadway paints all 10 main characters — from the dueling divas to the frazzled director to the married writers and more — are painted in equally broad brushstrokes. The addition of two characters not from the series — associate director/choreographer Chloe, who gets launched into the Marilyn battle, and otherworldly acting coach Susan — add little except more crowding (though that is no fault of actors Bella Coppola and Kristine Nielsen, who, like the rest of their cast, are always game).

In between many sitcom-style one-liners, Smash tackles actor tensions, creative infighting, slippery showmances, discrimination in theatre, the influence of social media on the industry, and Broadway basics for audience members unfamiliar with this wacky little world, all cursorily. It's attempting to be a "comedy with depth," as the characters also (perhaps ironically) describe the troubled Bombshell. But beyond that, is Smash a love letter intended for fans of its screen counterpart, even though the characterizations are all different? Is it one big in-joke for theatre avids, even though they get roasted in equal measure? Is it a scandalous peek behind the curtain meant to show Broadway newcomers this industry is just as juicy as Hollywood?

Smash, under Susan Stroman's direction, isn't sure. Most unfortunate of all to get the short shrift amid the goings-on are Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's songs, nearly all lifted from the series with some lyric tweaks. I've long said these showtunes are some of the best of the 21st century and I stand by that; they alone would captivate even a totally unfamiliar theatregoer. But so many are presented in snippets, hurriedly checking boxes for the TV fans yet undercutting the power of the songs they came to hear by not giving them room to breathe.

The few songs performed in full — the comic patter song "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking," the devastating ballad "They Just Keep Moving the Line," the indomitable, Emmy-nominated showstopper "Let Me Be Your Star" — are fantastic showcases for the actors who sing them and the show's strongest moments. They also made me want to immediately replay the Bombshell album on Spotify.

Smash summary

Smash dramatizes the process of bringing Bombshell, a fictional bio-musical about Marilyn Monroe, to Broadway, starting in the middle of rehearsals and ending at the show's opening night. But the cast and crew have their own "bombshells" exploding at every turn.

Star Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder, a captivating Marilyn), on the orders of acting coach Susan (Kristine Nielsen), thrusts herself into Marilyn method acting to a degree that would put Jeremy Strong to shame. Director/choreographer Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas, always entertaining) loses control of his own show while his associate, Chloe (Bella Coppola, strong), steals the spotlight to the dismay of understudy Karen (Caroline Bowman). Writers Tracy (Krysta Rodriguez) and Jerry (John Behlmann) have marital problems, and producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold) risks losing funding for the show amid the chaos, especially as her assistant Scott (Nicholas Matos) documents it all on social media.

What to expect at Smash

If you're new to the theatre industry, here's some trivia: "Previews" are the first performances for a paying audience before the official "opening night," when reviews drop. Joseph Papp was the founder of NYC's Shakespeare in the Park program and the Off-Broadway Public Theater, where he directed Kevin Kline in Hamlet in 1986. Legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse had a romance with dancer Ann Reinking, who went from being a chorus girl to his protégée and then a dance icon in her own right. If all these factoids seem random, they'll help you understand some of Smash's jokes if you attend.

What audiences are saying about Smash

As of writing, Smash has a 75% audience approval rating on the review aggregator Show-Score, compiled from 371 reviews from theatregoers with mixed responses to the writing, staging, and acting.

• "It's a very silly, funny and entertaining show with some great numbers, terrific voices and several great songs by the legendary duo of Shaiman & Wittman. But the book feels lazy, sending crowd- pleasing easy insider- and crass jokes to the audience. The musical exhausts its premise, plot and characterizations by the end of the first act and really doesn't have anything new to say in the second. The score has some nice moments but overall feels incohesive, scattershot and underwhelming." - Show-Score user GreatAvi
• "At times funny, wonderful cast with great singing and dancing. The plot was a bit all over the place. Nonetheless, it makes for a light and fun evening. It probably worked in my favor that I never saw a single episode of the series that the show was based on." - Show-Score user Theresa 2007
• "Given that New York Magazine once referred to the television show "Smash" as "the best hate- watch of all time," the need for going another direction in bringing it to Broadway seems obvious. [...] Their solution onstage at the Imperial Theater makes sense (even if the TV show never did): Go for farce. If the TV show was unintentionally funny, then why not go over-the- top and pack the show with theater in-jokes and laughs? This choice has the unintended effect of sidelining the diva characters (Robyn Hurder as Ivy and Caroline Bowman as Karen). Dominating the show instead is Brooks Ashmanskas as beleaguered director Nigel." - Show-Score user Mr. Strategery

Read more audience reviews of Smash on Show-Score.

Who should see Smash

• If you watched the Smash TV show, don't expect a carbon copy. But you'll appreciate Shaiman and Wittman's beloved earworms and Joshua Bergasse's Emmy Award-winning choreography, both of which are largely intact from the screen, plus assorted Easter eggs scattered throughout the production.
• Anyone who loves dance-forward musicals, really, will enjoy Bergasse's jaunty, slick routines. "The National Pastime," "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking," "Let's Be Bad," and every time Hurder dances are highlights.
• Die-hard theatre fans will have fun noting all the niche Broadway references, both verbal (like name-dropping Schmackary's cookie shop, a Theatre District favorite) and visual (like a restaurant set resembling the iconic caricature-lined restaurant Sardi's. Mentally playing the "who's that caricature of" game is fun to do when that set appears).
• See Smash to experience sparkling performances from Robyn Hurder, Caroline Bowman, and Bella Coppola. Though their big moments come and go all too quickly, there's no denying the actresses have star power and vocals to match.

Learn more about Smash on Broadway

Despite having an all-around talented cast and a strong foundation of song-and-dance material , Smash doesn't quite live up to its title.

Learn more and get Smash tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Smash is at the Imperial Theatre.

Photo credit: Smash on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)