''Bombshell'' is an American musical with music by
Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman ( ; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman, actor Billy Crystal, and director Rob Reiner. Shaiman ha ...
and lyrics by
Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman ( ; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman, actor Billy Crystal, and director Rob Reiner. Shaiman ha ...
and
Scott Wittman based on the original fictitious musical from the first season of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television series ''
Smash''. The songs include soulful jazz anthems and upbeat pop songs. ''Bombshell'' is the life story of
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
. It tells the story of the aspiring starlet who transforms herself into a worldwide sex symbol, including her early life and her alleged affair with
American President
John F. Kennedy. Despite the same name, and subject matter, this musical from ''SMASH'' is unrelated to the
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
musical from 2001 which ran at the
Grove Street Playhouse.
In the television series, ''Bombshell'' is an attempt by ''Smash'' characters Julia Houston (
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the television series ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox (1995–1997) an ...
) and Tom Levitt (
Christian Borle) to write their next
Broadway sensation, with book and lyrics by Julia and music by Tom. ''Bombshell'' centers around Marilyn Monroe,
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
, and Kennedy.
A
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
featuring the music from the musical was released in 2013. The songs were featured in a one-night charity concert, and the show was being adapted for an actual stage musical.
Plot
Act 1
At the opening of the show, is Norma Jeane Mortenson, before she changed her name to
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
. Her first marriage has just ended due to her all consuming drive to be a movie star ("Let Me Be Your Star").
We flash back to the 10-year-old Norma Jeane, who is being dropped off at
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...
by her single mom,
Gladys, a mentally unstable film cutter who uses the courtyard filled with movie stars' foot and hand prints to babysit for her daughter ("At Your Feet"). Flash forward to the adult Norma Jeane, who is now an actress often confronted with the casting couch, and pays her bills by modeling. At one photo shoot, she spies a book of
Yeats' poetry on the shelf and surprises the photographer with her knowledge of the poet's work as she sings of her history with men. But even as she quotes Yeats, the song ends with her naked in the iconic calendar pose ("Never Give All the Heart").
Norma Jeane finds herself in the middle of a contract with
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, around 1946. This is when, with the help of 20th Century Fox executive
Ben Lyon, she lands a screen test, during which she selects the name Marilyn Monroe for herself, and this number sees the transformation from
Norma Jeane into Marilyn ("20th Century Fox Mambo").
On Marilyn's first date with baseball player
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
, the two go to a drive-in movie, and other lovers back them up as they sing this romantic duet ("History Is Made At Night"). After Joe and Marilyn's date, Marilyn goes straight to the ball field for some due diligence, and sings with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
("The National Pastime"). Joe & Marilyn arrive back in America from their honeymoon in Japan. Joe does his best to domesticate her with the promise of a simpler life ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith"). Marilyn is asked to perform for the troops in Korea. Joe sees firsthand how men react to her and how she loves it ("I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl").
Film producer
Darryl F. Zanuck begins complaining to his studio executives about Marilyn Monroe's lack of professionalism while holding a meeting in a sauna, where the other male executives are all wearing nothing but towels, true to Zanuck's actual studio executive meetings ("Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking"). We see a large number of aspiring actresses sneak into film producer
Darryl F. Zanuck's office and bribe him with sexual favors to be cast in his films. These young women are led by Norma Jeane, and Zanuck seems to enjoy their advances ("Smash!"). Marilyn shoots a scene from the 1954 film
The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...
in which the air from a subway grating must blow her skirt up. As the director orders for the scene to be reshot time and time again, a large crowd gathers to watch Marilyn. Joe DiMaggio is infuriated by the spectacle, which leads to his eventual divorce from Marilyn ("On Lexington & 52nd Street").
Marilyn is now in Hollywood on her next film, as the divorce from Joe becomes official, and the film wraps. Marilyn resolves to keep going with the only family she knows, the film crew. They smile at her attempt at camaraderie, but long fed up with her on-set behavior, they throw all her wrap presents away, which she discovers as the curtain falls on Act One ("Cut, Print... Moving On").
Act 2
Making one picture after another, Marilyn becomes dissatisfied with the roles she is being offered, "retires" from pictures and flies off to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where she is met by a phalanx of reporters and fans at
Idelwild Airport ("Public Relations"). In 1955, Marilyn studies with
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...
at
the Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City.
The studio is best known for its work refining ...
in New York City. Being limited by typecasting, she meets with
Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director.
Biography
Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City a ...
before interviewing with Lee and being accepted into the Actors Studio ("Dig Deep"). While huddled around a piano at a party in New York, Marilyn meets esteemed playwright
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
. She tells him of how her often-institutionalized mother bought a piano once on an infrequent visit home, which is Norma Jeane's only memory of a happy moment between her and her mother, and that after searching for years, she found the actual piano, bought it, and now takes it with her wherever she lives. ("Second Hand White Baby Grand"). Arthur is deeply touched, they fall in love and marry.
Marilyn, with newfound confidence in her acting skills, goes to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to film
The Prince and the Showgirl opposite
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
. Unfortunately, Olivier treats her like a "no talent" and she admits to the apprentice hired to look after her that she wonders if the auditioning and always having to prove herself will ever stop ("They Just Keep Moving the Line"). Marilyn begrudgingly heading back to Hollywood to film
Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...
, but is so unhappy about still having to play the dumb blonde that she begins spiraling down, keeping the crew waiting more than ever, as she drinks and takes pills ("Let's Be Bad"). Arthur Miller realizes he can't help with her behavior, or even stay with Marilyn anymore ("The Right Regrets").
Marilyn is on her own back in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
. She attends a fundraiser for
JFK
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...
in
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
, where
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
entertains, rallying the super glamorous guests ("(Let's Start) Tomorrow Tonight"). Sparks fly between Marilyn and JFK, and they begin to sneak off together whenever he can manage to get away. But it is a degrading and doomed relationship ("Our Little Secret"). Marilyn fantasizes about visiting her retired mother at the sanitarium, where - in the dream - Gladys says all the things to Marilyn that she always wanted to hear ("Hang the Moon"). Marilyn is in bed. She calls up a man to keep her company, but he denies her. At the end of the number, it is implied that she dies ("Second Hand White Baby Grand (Reprise)").
Years after their divorce, Marilyn's ex-husband
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
mourns at her funeral. He brings a rose to set on her grave and sadly reminisces about how the two fell apart ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Reprise)"). Marilyn posthumously reflects on her life and begs the audience not to let her trials and tribulations be forgotten. More than anything, she wants her legacy to live on, even in the little things of everyday life ("Don't Forget Me").
Productions
Benefit concert
Shaiman and Wittman said a charitable organization may put on a concert featuring songs from ''Bombshell'': "A concert could feature the cast and additional performers from Broadway. That would be a wonderful way for the show to live on".
In December 2014, it was announced that ''Bombshell'' would see life on Broadway as a special, one-night-only benefit event in 2015. ''Smash'' executive producers
Neil Meron and
Craig Zadan produced the show and some of the original ''Smash'' cast, including
Megan Hilty as Monroe, also reprised their roles. The single Monday June 8 performance in the
Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organizatio ...
on Broadway was sold-out.
Original Broadway production
During production of the show, executive producer Craig Zadan said: "We stand on the set, watch the ''Bombshell'' numbers and say, "Wouldn’t this be great on Broadway? And so far that’s where we’ve left it. Our priority now is producing a great TV show".
In June 2015 following the sold-out performance at the Minskoff Theatre, it was announced that ''Bombshell'' would head to the
Broadway stage. The executive producers of ''Smash'' and the ''Bombshell'' concert,
Neil Meron and
Craig Zadan, planned to executive produce the Broadway production. However, as of 2017, it was still in development, and
Craig Zadan died in 2018. In 2020, it was revealed SMASH would be turned into a musical, rather than ''Bombshell'', and on May 20, 2022 Marc Shaiman,
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
, and Megan Hilty among others, completed the first read through of the new show.
Musical numbers
TV Show/Album
; Act I
* "Let Me Be Your Star" –
Norma Jeane Mortenson
* "At Your Feet" – Gladys, Young Norma Jeane, Tourists and Hollywood Citizens
* "Never Give All the Heart" – Norma Jeane
* "The 20th Century Fox Mambo" – Marilyn Monroe and
Twentieth Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
Studio Staff
* "The National Pastime" – Marilyn and New York Yankees
* "History is Made at Night" – Marilyn,
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
and Lovers
* "I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl" – Marilyn and Troops
* "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" – Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio
* "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking" –
Darryl F. Zanuck and Studio Executives
* "Smash!" – Aspiring Actresses
* "On Lexington & 52nd Street" – Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn, Reporter, and New York Citizens
* "Cut, Print...Moving On" – Marilyn and Studio Staff
; Act II
* "Dig Deep" – Marilyn,
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...
and Students
* "Public Relations" – Marilyn and Press
* "Second Hand White Baby Grand" – Marilyn
* "They Just Keep Moving the Line" – Marilyn
* "Let's Be Bad" – Marilyn and the cast of ''
Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...
''
* "The Right Regrets" –
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
* "(Let's Start) Tomorrow Tonight" - Nat King Cole
* "Our Little Secret" –
John F. Kennedy and Marilyn
* "Hang the Moon" – Gladys and Marilyn
* "Second Hand White Baby Grand (Reprise)" - Marilyn Monroe
* "Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Reprise)" - Joe DiMaggio
* "Don't Forget Me" – Marilyn
Benefit Concert
; Act I
* "Let Me Be Your Star" –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
and
Megan Hilty
* "At Your Feet"‡ –
Donna McKechnie & Ripley Sobo
* "The 20th Century Fox Mambo" –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
* "Never Give All the Heart" –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
* "The National Pastime" –
Megan Hilty
* "History is Made at Night" –
Megan Hilty and
Will Chase
* "I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl" –
Ann Harada
Ann Harada is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Christmas Eve in '' Avenue Q''.
Early life
Harada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the Punahou School and was active in theatre in high school. ...
* "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" –
Megan Hilty and
Will Chase
* "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking" –
Christian Borle
* "On Lexington & 52nd Street" –
Will Chase
* "They Just Keep Moving the Line" –
Megan Hilty
; Act II
* "Cut, Print...Moving On" –
Jeremy Jordan
* "Public Relations" –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
* "Second Hand White Baby Grand" –
Megan Hilty
* "(Let's Start) Tomorrow Tonight" –
Leslie Odom Jr.
* "The Right Regrets" –
Brian D'Arcy James
Brian d'Arcy James (born June 29, 1968) is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in '' Shrek the Musical'', Nick Bottom in '' Something Rotten!'', King George III in '' Hamilton'', and T ...
* "Let's Be Bad" –
Megan Hilty
* "Hang the Moon" –
Donna McKechnie and
Megan Hilty
* "Don't Forget Me" –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
and
Megan Hilty
* "Big Finish" (Encore) –
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.''
Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...
and
Megan Hilty
‡ Number cut from the People.com broadcast of the production
Casts and characters
External links
*
References
{{Marilyn Monroe
Fictional musicals
Smash (TV series)
Works about Marilyn Monroe
Cultural depictions of Marilyn Monroe
Broadway musicals
Cultural depictions of Joe DiMaggio