There were only 32 episodes of the 2012-2013 NBC series, Smash, but from those episodes came a devoted following. The fans weren’t just excited that half of Broadway made appearances in the show, it was the music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the fictional musical Bombshell that captured their hearts.
The cast of Smash will reunite on Wednesday, May 20th for Bombshell in Concert. They will participate in conversations and interviews before, during and after the 2015 event at the Minskoff Theatre is screened for the first time.
The cast members participating in Bombshell in Concert are: Christian Borle (Tom Levitt), Jaime Cepero (Ellis Boyd), Will Chase (Michael Swift), Brian d’Arcy James (Frank Houston), Jack Davenport (Derek Wills), Ann Harada (Linda), Megan Hilty (Ivy Lynn), Raza Jaffrey (Dev Sundaram), Jeremy Jordan (Jimmy Collins), Katharine McPhee (Karen Cartwright), Andy Mientus (Kyle Bishop), Debra Messing (Julia Houston), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Sam Strickland), Krysta Rodriguez (Ana Vargas) and Wesley Taylor (Bobby).
When I interviewed Hilty in 2015, she was effusive in her praise of the songs in Smash.
“I would love to sing Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman songs for the rest of my life. That’s what I do in my shows. I’m so glad it will have a life after Smash. What that would be, I’d have to be a part of it.”
Introducing this concert is this year’s Oscar winner for Best Actress, Renée Zellweger. Julia Klausner of Difficult People will host a reunion during intermission with the cast members.
The 2015 concert was a fundraiser for The Actors Fund as is this one-night only event. You can catch Bombshell in Concert on People.com, PeopleTV and on People’s Facebook Page and Twitter Feed. The program stars at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT.
The Actors Fund, as you may already know, has set up a Covid-19 fund. So far they have distributed in excess of $10 million to over 8500 people. This already represents five times the amount they normally provide in a year.
Keep in mind that Broadway shows usually offer Actors Fund performances during their runs. With Broadway closed for the foreseeable future, events like Bombshell in Concert become that much more important.
It doesn’t cost anything to watch the event on Wednesday. Of course, donations are encouraged and more importantly, appreciated.
Update: This post originally indicated this was a live-streaming “new” concert. Rather, it is the 2015 Actors Fund Benefit concert with new interviews, introductions and conversations added to it. We regret the error.
Artwork courtesy of The Actors Fund.
