Two upcoming Broadway shows, Smash and Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, have announced specific details on dates, theaters and cast members. Smash, the musical based on the NBC-TV series, will begin previews at the Imperial Theater on March 11, 2025 prior to an April 10 opening. Robyn Hurder (A Beautiful Noise, Moulin Rogue) and Caroline Bowman will head the company as Ivy and Karen, two actresses vying for the lead in a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Bowman will leave the company of Sunset Boulevard where she is standby for Norma Desmond. The cast will also feature Brooks Ashmanskas (The Prom) as Nigel, Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening) as Tracy, John Behlmann (Shucked) as Jerry, Kristine Nielsen (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as Susan, Jacqueline B. Arnold (Moulin Rouge!) as Anita, Bella Coppola (Six) as Chloe, and Casey Garvin (Some Like It Hot) as Charlie. Rodriguez is the only cast member to have also appeared in the NBC series as a recurring character, although in a different role. Nielsen did have a guest shot in one episode. 
Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee in
Smash, the NBC-TV series.
Six-time Tony winner Susan Stroman directs with a book by Bob Martin (Drowsy Chaperone) and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) and a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray) which will comprise of tunes from the series as well as new ones.
Producer Robert Greenblatt said, “Neil, Steven, and I are elated to announce that Smash is definitely coming to Broadway this season, a dozen years after the series ended on NBC! We always knew Shaiman & Wittman’s fantastic score belonged on Broadway, and our show is a clever, funny adaptation of the series — with a few surprises — that we hope will delight die-hard fans as well as anyone who didn’t see the series.”
Neil Meron said, “Working with our incomparable director, Susan Stroman, our first-class bookwriters, Rick Elice and Bob Martin, and our original series choreographer, Josh Bergasse, has been a joy. This dream team has created the quintessential new musical about the rollercoaster ride of creating a new musical. (Very meta!) And it not only sends Broadway up, but sends Broadway a big love letter at the same time.”
Manhattan Theater Club announced that its production of the revue Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, presented in association with Cameron Mackintosh and Daryl Roth will begin previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater on March 25, 2025 with an opening set for April 8.
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| Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, Bonnie Langford and the London company of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. |
