On Wednesday (March 11th), The Actors Fund took to crowdfunding giant, Kickstarter to bring back the magic of the recently canceled series, Smash, with a one-night concert called BOMBSHELL.
According to its description, BOMBSHELL is the Marilyn Monroe musical created in NBC’s Golden Globe-nominated television series, Smash. The original songs were written by the Tony and Grammy award-winning duo, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (HAIRSPRAY).
This event will feature the talents of Christian Borle, Will Chase, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Debra Messing. The show will showcase some of Broadway’s hit favorites and Emmy nominated songs “Let Me Be Your Star” and “Hang the Moon.”
BOMBSHELL will take place on June 8th at the Minskoff Theater, in New York City. The event is produced in association with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and will be co-directed by Wittman and Josh Bergasse. The music numbers will be choreographed by Bergasse as well.
Explaining the risks to funding the project, The Actors Fund team noted:
“Our cast and creative team are donating their time and talent to this event. As with any performance, there is always the possibility of unforeseen circumstances changing the lineup. While we do not anticipate any conflicts, we will disclose any adjustments to the currently announced cast and crew.”
Since its launch, BOMBSHELL’s Kickstarter has successfully raised well over its initial goal of $50,000 and is sitting at nearly $200,000 thanks to over 1,200 backers.
Sharing his thoughts about the already successful project, Zadan stated:
“It’s so great because it means all this extra money will be going to The Actors Fund. In the last couple of month, we’ve notice that there’s been an uptick in the interest in Smash. Now that it’s gone, it has become sort of a cult show. So, we had a feeling that that might happen in time. And it now has happened. I think you can never really count anything.
“When The Actors Fund came to us and asked if we would do this for them, we were so excited at the opportunity because we always honestly believe that this is absolutely Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s best score since Hairspray. And we thought, ‘How thrilling would it be to get that entire cast back together again with a full orchestra and to do all these songs – one after the next? Then, to also get Joshua Bergasse back – who choreographed all those numbers on the show – to re-choreograph them on stage. We just thought it would be an amazing night of theatre.”
BOMBSHELL’s Kickstarter is set to close on April 10th.
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