Steven Spielberg Turning 'Smash' Musical Series Into A Broadway Show

Way back in 2012, Steven Spielberg brought the musical series Smash to NBC. The series followed the production of a hopeful Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe and all the drama that comes from putting a show together. On top of that, there's also the melodrama from the lives of everyone working on it, from the actors and actresses vying for parts, to the producers behind the scenes, and the writers who created it . Now the show is about to get a little meta, because Spielberg is turning the series into a Broadway musical.

If you never saw Smash, here's the extended trailer that teased the show's arrival before it premiered early in 2012:

So the musical series Smash, which is about the making of a Broadway production, will be turned into an actual Broadway show. Which means we'll see an adaptation of a series about the making of a Broadway musical, which features songs from the fictional Broadway musical they're working on, taken to stage as a Broadway musical. And now you're cross-eyed.

The TV show had a cast that included Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Christian Borle and Anjelica Huston, not to mention future Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. in a supporting role. And the characters they played will be the focus of the Broadway version of Smash, along with the plot of preparing to make the Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell. However, the stage version of Smash will change up some of their storylines, which makes sense since they don't have time to run through the two full seasons of the original series for a Broadway musical.

As a musical, Smash not only featured songs from Bombshell (which was created specifically for the series), but also original songs that our characters sing as their stories unfold. Believe it or not, there was once discussion about turning Bombshell into a full-on Broadway musical by itself because the songs created for the fictional musical were so good. There hasn't been any development on that front in awhile, but there was a benefit concert on Broadway featuring songs from Bombshell that happened as a one-night-only event in early 2015. That concert was actually just streamed last night in order to raise money for The Actors Fund, and it also included a Smash cast reunion, which you can watch right here.

As for bringing Smash to Broadway, Spielberg offered up this statement to The Hollywood Reporter:

"Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it seems fitting that a new musical inspired by what we did on the show would eventually come to the stage. I'm beyond thrilled to be working with this incredible creative team and my producing partners, who began the Smash journey with me over ten years ago."

The book for Smash on Broadway will be written by Tony winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom), and Tony nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, The Addams Family), and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray), who wrote a bunch of original songs for the NBC series, will take care of the score. Joshua Bergasses, who was the choreographer on the series, will have the same job on the stage production. Spielberg will be producing with Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt, who also executive produced the show while the latter was the chairman of NBC at the time.

Though Smash was short-lived with two seasons at NBC, it has a loyal following of fans, especially among the musical crowd. With Spielberg overseeing this Broadway production, it's bound to be something worth checking out for longtime supporters, and probably even those who never watched the series. Plus, it'll be nice to see another Spielberg-produced musical after we see him direct one for the big screen with the remake of West Side Story arriving on December 18, 2020.