All the songs in 'Smash' on Broadway

The stage adaptation of the NBC TV series features different characters and plot lines, but the fan-favorite songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman remain.

After over a decade, Bombshell has arrived on Broadway! No, wait — Smash, a stage adaptation of the NBC TV series about the making of a fictional musical called Bombshell, has arrived on Broadway. The new show follows the cast and creative team of Bombshell, a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Many of the characters are different from those on screen, but much of the beloved music makes a comeback.

Read on to learn more about Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s songs for musical and learn which of your favorites come to life on stage at the Imperial Theatre.

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This article contains some spoilers for Smash on Broadway.

“Let Me Be Your Star”

Fans of the NBC series will instantly recognize the opening number, which became a theme throughout the show. If something sounds a little off at first, don’t worry — it’s intentional. Bombshell star Ivy (Robyn Hurder) and the ensemble are rehearsing a new opening number, which writers Tracy (Krysta Rodriguez, in a different role than her TV Smash character) and Jerry (John Behlmann) have rewritten multiple times.

Director/choreographer Nigel (2025 Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas) and his team imagine “Let Me Be Your Star” as a full-blown opening number, complete with costumes and set pieces, before Ivy and the cast transition back into the rehearsal studio.

“The National Pastime” and “Public Relations”

Karen (Caroline Bowman), Ivy’s longtime friend and multi-time understudy, rehearses the baseball locker room number “The National Pastime” while, in a separate studio, Nigel takes Ivy through a new dance combination for “Public Relations.”

While the two were rivals on the TV series, the onstage Ivy and Karen have bonded over their years in the theatre industry. “The National Pastime” is especially fun for Karen to rehearse because her husband, Charlie (Casey Garvin), plays Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe’s second husband.

“Second Hand White Baby Grand”

In another studio, Tracy surprises Jerry, her co-composer and husband, with a brand new song for Bombshell. Although Nigel and producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold) don’t want to make a weepy Marilyn musical, Tracy is determined to give Ivy a song that explores the blonde bombshell’s upbringing.

“Second Hand White Baby Grand” sees Marilyn reminiscing over a piano her mother purchased for her in childhood, and though Ivy and Tracy are both eager to add the number to Bombshell, Jerry is angry Tracy wrote the song behind his back.

“Cut, Print… Moving On”

Chloe (Bella Coppola), a former Broadway performer, has made a career change to become Nigel’s intrepid directing and choreography associate. Tasked with teaching Ivy new dance steps, Chloe proves she still has the moves and vocal chops that once led her to the stage.

“Don’t Say Yes Until I Finish Talking”

In rehearsals, Jerry stages his revenge upon Tracy the best way he knows how: writing a song behind her back this time. Jerry imagines a number for the men of the Bombshell ensemble, led by a smarmy Darryl Zanuck, the co-founder of 20th Century Fox.

In the snappy number (named after Andrew Zarris’s biography of the Hollywood executive), Jerry plays the not-yet-cast Zanuck, venting his frustrations about Marilyn and vowing to destroy her career if the “dumb blonde” doesn’t “fall in line.” Though the song is about Zanuck and Monroe, it also tells the story of the fraying personal and professional relationship of Jerry and Tracy.

“The 20th Century Fox Mambo”

Both Ivy and Karen rehearse this number as Marilyn, who undergoes a makeover for her 20th Century Fox movie deal. The mambo is yet another recognizable tune from the TV show, premiering in the second episode of the series and recurring multiple times.

“Don’t Forget Me”

It’s a showdown at the sitzprobe, the cast's first sing-through with the full orchestra. Ivy has plunged fully into Method acting, confusing the cast, so Nigel schedules her to do publicity and have Karen play Marilyn at the sitzprobe.

However, in the middle of the ballad, Ivy uncovers the scheme and surprises the unsuspecting ingenue. The song once again becomes a fully-realized production number, but the tension among the cast members sours Ivy’s star-making moment.

“(I Wanna Be a) Smash”

The women of the Bombshell ensemble rehearse a number that sees chorus girls and Hollywood hopefuls offering up their headshots to become the next Marilyn Monroe-type sensation. This song is similar to “Smash!” from the TV show.

“Let Me Be Your Star”

It’s time for the final dress rehearsal, with an invited audience, but Ivy’s in Albany singing at a political fundraiser. With Karen unavailable due to a plot twist (à la Uma Thurman’s character in the TV show), the Bombshell team considers canceling the performance and alienating the influencers whom Scott (Nicholas Matos), Anita’s young and wealthy assistant, invited without permission.

In a last-chance effort to save the show, Chloe takes the stage as Marilyn, adorned with no costume but a full heart, a big belt, and a head full of Bombshell's choreography. This version of “Let Me Be Your Star” is the one fans will recognize, and it shows off Coppola’s vocal prowess in a show-stopping twist to close out Act 1.

“Let’s Be Bad”

After the entr’acte (an instrumental interlude), it’s time for another showstopper. Ivy takes the stage as Marilyn once again, now filming Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot.

Wittman and Shaiman originally wrote “Let’s Be Bad” for the Smash TV series as a number they imagined Marilyn might sing in the 1920s-set film. In 2022, a musical adaptation of Some Like It Hot opened on Broadway, featuring songs by Shaiman and Wittman, including a new version of “Let’s Be Bad” with some verses from the original Smash number and some new lyrics. In Smash on Broadway, the TV version of “Let’s Be Bad” returns.

“Dig Deep”

“Dig Deep” appears briefly at the end of “Let’s Be Bad” as the ensemble responds to Ivy’s performance. This song is featured in the Smash TV episode “The Movie Star” and details Marilyn’s training at The Actors Studio.

“(Let’s Start) Tomorrow Tonight”

Jerry heads to the bar for a party after Bombshell’s first performance, upsetting Tracy, who has confronted him over his excessive drinking. Jerry feels jazzed at the possibility of replacing the meddlesome Ivy with Chloe after her invited dress performance, and he takes to the piano to serenade her.

This song was originally featured in the second season of Smash, sung by Leslie Odom Jr. as an actor named Sam playing Nat King Cole.

“They Just Keep Moving the Line”

Offended at not being considered for Marilyn despite being Ivy's understudy, Karen half-drunkenly processes her feelings through this power ballad. Though she is briefly interrupted by Jerry, Karen’s karaoke offers her a chance to bring musical theatre to life by expressing herself through song.

In the TV show, “They Just Keep Moving the Line” is first performed by Ivy at a concert, but on stage, Jerry mentions that it is featured in the second act of Bombshell.

“(I Wanna Be a) Smash (reprise)”

Ivy still wants to “be a smash,” but she’s no longer sure if her interpretation of Marilyn’s Method acting is the right way to get there. In this reprise, Bombshell’s chorus girls haunt Ivy as she wonders how to move forward.

“I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn’t Love to Howl”

In another jazzy Marilyn number, Ivy balances a backstage quick-change with the dawning realization she has alienated the cast and crew of Bombshell with her behavior. In the show-within-a-show, Marilyn sings this song while visiting American troops during the Korean War to perform with USO.

“Cut, Print…Moving On” (reprise)

Ivy tries to reintegrate into the Bombshell cast, apologizing and acting more like herself and less like her acting coach’s (Kristine Nielsen) version of Marilyn. Chloe is eager to remind Ivy, not Marilyn, of the number’s dance steps.

“Second Hand White Baby Grand (reprise)”

Before the performers take the stage, Karen visits Ivy’s dressing room to deliver her traditional opening night gift. Ivy finally drops her Method act and addresses her understudy as herself, apologizing for her diva behavior. This reprise marks the first time that the characters of Smash sing outside of a rehearsal or performance.

“Bombshell Finale”

It’s the Bombshell of everyone’s dreams — or nightmares. After vowing that their feel-good musical comedy would never end with Marilyn Monroe's terrible death, the Bombshell team delivers a downbeat ending. What will the critics (and the influencers) say?

“Smash!”

It’s the opening night of Bombshell, and the reviews aren’t as rosy as the team had hoped. They’re ready to throw in the towel — not just on Bombshell, but on all of Broadway. Scott, the formerly apathetic assistant, convinces them to keep going and to redirect their energy to their next project.

In a meta twist, Scott pitches the plot of Smash: a musical about the making of a musical. Reenergized, Tracy and Jerry write Smash, which Chloe directs on Broadway. This time, the reception is up to you.

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