“The Phenomenon” premiered on May 4th, 2013. It was written by Jordon Nardino, who last wrote episode 9 of this season “The Parents,” and season two showrunner Joshua Safran, who last wrote the premiere of this season “On Broadway.” Star Trek fans rejoice, the episode was directed by B'Elanna Torres herself, Roxann Dawson, who last directed episode 13 of season 1, “Tech.” “The Phenomenon” experienced the second-highest jump in ratings in the entire series, second only to a jump early in season 1; this week’s viewership hit a total of 2.28 million viewers, up by .39 mil from the previous week. This week’s episode included five featured songs: two covers and three originals. The covers included Radiohead’s “High and Dry” performed by Jeremy Jordan, and Billy Joel’s “Vienna” serenaded by Christian Borle. We again heard an excerpt of Iconis’ “Broadway Here I Come” but the two full-length originals came from Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman: Bombshell’s “At Your Feet” and Hit List’s “The Love I Meant to Say.” Sam Strickland’s put in rehearsal to replace Jimmy is in three hours, but Karen and Derek are screwing around on the couch - that is until Jimmy breaks onto Karen’s fire escape, catches the two in her apartment and runs off. Tom gets a call from his former one-night stand Kyle’s phone, but instead of a booty call it's the police letting him know that Kyle was killed in a car accident. Eileen Rand is ready to talk about a Tony campaign, and Bombshell is the show to beat. Ivy Lynn may be nominated twice: as Best Actress in Bombshell and Best Supporting Actress in Liaisons. But all that Tony talk is put on hold when the Bombshell company learns about Kyle’s death, with even Ivy calling in sick to be with Derek down at Manhattan Theatre Workshop. In a series of flashbacks, Kyle’s friends remember their own favorite intimate moments with him: Julia in storyboarding Hit List, Tom in a boudoir serenade, Karen in an lobby chat during Bombshell’s opening, and Jimmy in brainstorming Hit List ideas along the East River. Finally with a justifiable reason to be sad, Jimmy uses a song from the show to memorialize “the love he meant to say” to his dear departed best friend. With Gabe and the company of Hit List understandably shocked, Derek cancels the evening performance. But the Hit List fans show up anyway to honor Kyle’s memory, and a seated reading at music stands for a standing room only house turns Hit List into a phenomenon destined to move uptown to Broadway (funded by Eileen’s ex-husband, Jerry.) And as a parting gift, Julia gets the lights of the Lily Hayes theatre marquee dimmed in Kyle’s honor.

This week, we’re sharing our conversation with Kevin Carolan. Perhaps best known for his performance in Newsies, Kevin’s many credits include Dirty Blonde, The Ritz, and the national tour of Chicago. At the time of the Coronavirus shutdown, Kevin was playing Claude & Others in the national tour of Come From Away. In this episode, Kevin chats all about his career - from summer stock to regional theatre, pre-Broadway tryouts, tours, Broadway & beyond. Enjoy!

“The Producers” premiered on April 27, 2013. It was written by Becky Mode, whose last episode of Smash was season 2 episode 7, Musical Chairs, and was directed by Tricia Brock, whose last episode was season 2 episode 9, The Parents. The viewership dropped again by 20,000 viewers, to a total of 1.89 million. We had a lot of music this episode, mainly from Hit List! Our one song from Bombshell was an excerpt of Shaiman and Whitman’s “20th Century Fox Mambo” performed by Megan Hilty (and Kathie Lee Gifford?), and our one cover was Jeff Buckley’s “The Last Goodbye,” sung by Andy Mientus. The remainder of our songs come from Hit List: we hear excerpts from Pasek and Paul’s “Rewrite this Story,” and Joe Iconis’ “Broadway Here I Come.” Two new songs were another by Joe Iconis called “The Goodbye Song,” and “Don’t Let Me Know,” written by Lucie Silvas and Jamie Alexander Hartman. Without much competition for new musicals on Broadway this season, Bombshell is poised to make a splash at the Tony Awards in June. But with slow ticket sales, Eileen is going to have to pray for a miracle to keep Bombshell open til June. So she is whoring out Ivy for press events right and left, anything from the Today show to an appearance at the Brighton Beach Senior Center. Adding insult to injury, producers Daryl Roth and Kevin McCollum are duking it out with ten other producers ready to write a check to move Hit List to Broadway this season. But there may not be a show to move if Jimmy shows up late and high for photo calls. Derek attempts to solve the Jimmy problem by hiring former Bombshell ensemblist Sam Strickland to understudy him. Things are looking up for Julia, with the announcement her new non-musical version of Gatsby going to Manhattan Theatre Workshop next season. Now that Tom isn’t in line to direct the City of Angels revival, he wants Julia to create the show with him. The conflict comes to a head at one of Ivy’s many press events: Julia feels Tom told her under no uncertain terms he only wants to direct, while Tom believes Julia is only interested in being a writing partner when she gets her way. With tonight seeming to become the most important night in Hit List’s life, Derek gives Jimmy an ultimatum: shape up or ship out. But Jimmy doesn’t take the threat seriously, showing up late onstage, making up choreography and causing an onstage accident that leaves Karen with a bleeding gash. The performance is the last straw for Derek, firing Jimmy on the spot. But the journey for Hit List may be dead in the water anyway, as every potential investor is scared off because the show isn’t financially viable enough to make it on Broadway.

In October 2017, The Ensemblist launched its fourth full season: Broadway at Every Stage. In this series, co-creators Mo Brady and Nikka Graff Lanzarone sat down with six seasoned Broadway actors to dive into their decades-long careers. They discussed getting started in the theatre, the ups and downs of show business, and the longevity of their careers. Over the next six weeks, we’ll be sharing some of the best moments from this series. First up is Adinah Alexander. Adinah made her Broadway debut in Parade in 1998, two decades after moving to New York City. She’s since performed in the original casts of Urban Cowboy, Wicked, The Wedding Singer, and most recently, Kinky Boots. From piano bars to Off-Broadway’s The No Frills Revue, from mega-flops to mega-hits, Adinah told us all about her extraordinary career. Here’s our conversation…

“Opening Night” premiered on April 20, 2013. It was written by Bathsheba Doran & Noelle Valdivia, and directed by Michael Morris, all three being prolific Smash veterans; Doran’s and Morris’s last episode was season 2’s The Song, and Valdivia’s was season 2’s The Bells & Whistles. The viewership rose from last week’s downer, growing by .11 million viewers to a total of 1.91 million!! Hooray! We only had two featured songs this week. We had a cover of Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life, sung by Marilyns past and present, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, and we got the chance to revisit Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman’s tour-de-force finale, Don’t Forget Me, this time performed by the Bombshell victor herself, Megan Hilty. The curtain comes down on Bombshell’s final preview and things are looking up for Ivy! That is until she dives into reading Broadway message boards, where she’s being touted as a “career chorus girl.” But backstage before the overture, Ivy’s mother and co-star tells her that her experience has made her into the star she is today. She brings the house down with a glorious performance ending with ‘Don’t Forget Me,” which leaves Karen visibly shook. Even before opening, Julia is already pitching Tom ideas for their next show: a musical version of The Great Gatsby. But Tom may have found his own new project without her, directing a Broadway revival of City of Angels. When she confronts him about the rumor at the opening night party, he admits that all he wants to do right now is direct, not write another musical. Downtown, Hit List has sold out the rest of its off-Broadway run. Eileen has invited the company to come uptown and see Bombshell’s opening, which makes Karen feel like she’s watching her ex-finance walk down the aisle. Jimmy implores her to go and that she’s got him in her corner. But it’s Jimmy that implodes at the opening night party, getting into a fist fight with his drug-dealing brother in the middle of the event. The reviews are in and Variety calls Bombshell “The finest musical of the season.” But it’s the New York Times review that has everyone on edge and Ivy hiding in the restroom. The current Marilyn confides that she can’t get the former Marilyn out of her head, but the mutual admiration society is there in full force as Karen admits that she was watching Ivy play Marilyn. Ivy promises Karen that she’ll make it to Broadway herself soon enough, but off-handedly jokes for it “not to be this season.” That promise may be going down the drain as Derek hatches a rumor that Hit List is heading to Broadway. It doesn’t stop the two leading ladies from dueting at the party on an impromptu version of “That’s Life.” But that’s not the most surprising pairing of the night, as Tom and Kyle end up leaving together while Ivy gives Derek blue balls. Surprises abound, as Eileen doubles down on their so-so New York Times review, declaring “Screw the Times! We’ll sweep the Tonys!”

This month, we are resharing our favorite episodes from our 2017 season on Ensemblist Essentials. Think of them as the essential essentials. That spring, our co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I spoke to some of Broadway’s most venerable performers about the most monumental moments in the creation of a Broadway musical. In this episode, we spoke to an incredible six performers about what makes an opening night on Broadway so garsh darn special. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear from Jenifer Foote, Tyler Hanes, Bre Jackson, Anastacia McCleskey, Linda Mugleston and Eric Ulloa. Enjoy...

Scanning the pages of Broadway ensemblists on social media, its hard not to take stock of the number of performers who are moving out of New York City. While some of these moves are temporary and others seem more permanent, what I'm struck by is the fact out performing artists have a reason or means to stay in one of the most expensive cities in the country. One of those artists is Lindsay Northen. A 12-year veteran of Broadway's Wicked, she and her husband, actor Jared Bradshaw, recently moved out of their New York City apartment and headed south. Here to tell us how and why is Lindsay Northen.

“The Dress Rehearsal” premiered on April 13th, 2013. It was written by Julia Brownell, who last penned episode 6 of this season, and was directed by Mimi Leder, who last directed episode 7 from LAST season. The viewership of Smash hit its all-time run-of-show low this week, bottoming out at 1.80 million, which was down from the previous week by 80,000 viewers. Silver lining: it only goes up from here!! We had all original songs but nothing new this week. We were able to revisit excerpts from Bombshell’s Let Me Be Your Star, Our Little Secret, and Dig Deep, all written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, and a new acapella prologue version of Broadway Here I Come for Hit List, written by Joe Iconis. Even though he isn’t an actor, director/liberrist Tom Levitt is having actors’ nightmares before Bombshell’s invited dress. The run-through is riddled with mistakes - a surprise nude scene for Ivy, the house did not come in for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” and poor Brian pulls a muscle - which means that Sam might be going on for him. Eileen recommends cancelling Bombshell’s first preview but Tom thinks it’s an invitation to the press to sharpen their knives. So Eileen gives him a challenge: fix all the problems by 3pm today or she’s going to cancel the performance. Jimmy has been pulling all-nighters writing nine new songs for Hit List, a task which he is sure has been laid on him by Derek as retribution for Karen and Jimmy dating. Derek is finally reinspired to make changes to Hit List - adding reprises and a new framing device that tells the story in flashback. Jimmy is having a fit about the changes, but it’s hard to know whether that’s because of his ego, his all-nighters, or his coke habit. Kyle and Ana are hype about the rapid-changes Derek is making to Hit List, but Karen is convinced they are simply retribution for dating Jimmy. Tom isn’t able to fix all of the problems of the invited dress in six hours, but lies to Eileen so she doesn’t cancel the first preview. But when Tom isn’t able to get the intermission down to 15 minutes, Julia pinch-hits with a new staging idea for the top of Act II that allows it to be staged in the audience instead of the stage. Even though Ivy’s nudity in the dress rehearsal was a mistake, it’s given the show a spike in both buzz and ticket sales. Eileen and Tom ask Ivy to keep the nudity, a decision she doesn’t make until she onstage for the first preview. When she finally decides to keep the nudity, it ends up making a show-stopping moment that is perfect for the scene. But all is not good with Bombshell. After not being put on to cover an ailing ensemblist, Sam quits the show saying that his career is “going in the wrong direction.” And New York Times publishes an article saying the spirit of Marilyn Monroe is alive and well onstage, but in Hit List. The Grey Lady calls Hit List “edgy and occasionally brilliant, bound to take the theatre season by storm” and leading the way for Hit List to move uptown toward the Main Stem.

No matter if watching the filmed performance of Hamilton on Disney+ is your first time viewing or your tenth, one thing is clear when watching: this is a very good show. Numbers like “Schuyler Sisters” and “The Election of 1800” not only tell story and develop character, they are also thrilling to watch. On stage and on screen, Hamilton is chockablock with good musical theatre moments. And as will be a surprise to no one, those thrilling moments of stagecraft are due in part to the show’s ensemble. With only 11 members, Hamilton’s ensemble is as featured as any in recent memory. Imagine the future high school productions of Hamilton, where dozens of young people will play American civilians, British soldiers and cabinet members. Here, we see all of that expertly handled by less than a dozen performers. One of the 11 who took on this monumental feat for this filmed performance is Hope Easterbrook. Joining the Broadway company in March 2016, she played the Women 2 track. Hope joined me this week over the phone to talk about her roles in the show as well as her experience filming the show for posterity. Here’s our conversation...

This month, we are resharing our favorite episodes from our 2017 season on Ensemblist Essentials. Think of them as the essential essentials. That spring, our co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I spoke to some of Broadway’s most venerable performers about the most monumental moments in the creation of a Broadway musical. In this episode, we spoke to three Broadway performers about “pre-production,” the process that choreographers use to develop their musical staging for a show. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear from Paige Faure, Dionne Figgins and Adam Perry. Enjoy…

“The Surprise Party” premiered on April 6, 2013. It was written by Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky, whose work was last week in the second episode of the second season, “The Fallout,” and it was directed by S. J. Clarkson. The viewership dipped again this week, this time by 1.1 million, bringing the total viewers to 1.88 million. We had three featured songs this week: two originals and one cover...and this time, no reprises!! The originals included a Pasek & Paul original called “Original,” boppily sung originally by Bombshell’s original Marilyn Katharine McPhee, and a Shaiman & Whitman piano-bar tune called “A Love Letter From The Times,” sung by the legend herself Liza Minnelli! (Oh, and Christian Borle too.) Our one cover was an underscore version of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” sung by the birthday girl Ivy herself, Megan Hilty. Bombshell is in tech rehearsal, and it’s very clear that Ivy has not forgiven Tom for casting her mother to play Gladys in the show. She seems to have poisoned the entire company against him. He can’t take back what he did, but he can remind her how much her loves her with a birthday surprise for the ages: dinner with Liza Minnelli. But Ivy already has her own surprise party planned, so now she has to balance two parties: one with Tom, and one that he can’t know about. At Hit List rehearsal, the company showcases a new song called “Original” for New York Times editor Richard Francis. He likes the number, a cautionary tale of a woman reinventing herself to become a star, but Francis is more fixated on what could be backstage drama: a director and ingenue ditching Broadway for off-Broadway arm in arm. Julia is doctoring the script of Hit List and finds the biggest problem is The Diva, who she identifies as not really a character, but a trigger for Amanda who has no real agency of her own. In coaching Kyle on his script, she learns that he hasn’t really… ever… learned how to write a musical. But in a day of storyboarding with Julia and Scott Nichols, Kyle cracks the code at how to add some drama into Hit List. Even though Liza Minnelli singing an original composition that Tom wrote during tech turns Ivy back into a Tom fan, she still doesn’t invite him to her birthday party. But when she leaves her keys at dinner, Tom walks in on a full company birthday party that he wasn’t invited to. Mama Ivy has to teach Tom that while they’re working, they can’t prioritize their friendship over their work. Karen and Jimmy have been conoodling in the costume racks, but he still wants to keep their relationship on the DL - per Derek’s request. But Karen doesn’t know about their agreement, and when she tells Derek, it puts a riff back between him and Jimmy that affects their work in rehearsal. Karen has to remind Derek that he doesn’t own her, which gives Jimmy and Karen agency to start dating in public.

In honor of the #Hamilfilm release, we are resharing two of our favorite Hamilton episodes from summer 2019. Way back in 2014, co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I sat down with Lin-Manuel Miranda. This was before Hamilton, before Moana, before Mary Poppins Returns, before DuckTales when he was merely a Tony Award winning composer with three Broadway shows under his belt. When we talked with him he shared why he chooses to deploy an ensemble, the process of writing In The Heights (now in production as a motion picture) and his first steps in writing the opening for Hamilton.

The Pulitzer’s lineage shows a healthy appreciation for turning a mirror on society. And just like Of Thee I Sing and How To Succeed, Hamilton uses humor to portray many of the serious issues facing our nation’s creation and governance - both in the 1700s and today. Rarely has an ensemble been so visible as they are in Hamilton. The term “Ensemble of Principals” has been used to describe the cast and for good reason: every track in the 11 member ensemble is highly unique and memorable.

In honor of the #Hamilfilm release, we are resharing two of our favorite Hamilton episodes from summer 2019. Stephanie Klemons is the Associate Choreographer and Global Dance Supervisor of Hamilton. She was part of the process as it grew from a small idea to an international phenomenon with six companies world wide. In addition to being a member of the original cast, she now works to cast the multiple productions of Hamilton. She’s also a choreographer in her own right, working right now on Rock of Ages at Pittsburgh CLO. She does all of this on top of being a wife and mother.

“The Parents” premiered on April 2nd, 2013, so Happy belated April Fools? It was written by Jordon Nardino, and directed by Tricia Brock, both new to the Smash family. The viewership fell again this week, this time by 70,000 viewers, for a total of 2.98 million. We had only three featured songs this week, but they were all originals! From Hit List, we had Katharine McPhee’s rendition of “Broadway Here I Come,” and another Andrew McMahon original entitled, “Reach For Me” sung (and swung) by Krysta Rodriguez. From Bombshell, Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman delivered the mother-and-daughter duet called “Hang the Moon” performed by Megan Hilty and Bernadette Peters. The role of Marilyn’s mother, Gladys, has finally been cast and rather than going with Patti LuPone, Eileen and Tom have gone with someone a little closer to home: Ivy’s mother: The Broadway star Leigh Conroy is stepping out of retirement to play the role only she could play! Ivy can only feign excitement about the casting, as her relationship with Leigh is filled with competition. Karen’s Dad is also in town on business, but it means that he can stop by Hit List rehearsal and attend the theatre’s gala that evening. Since the gala is Hit List’s introduction to the board members and theatre patrons, Scott Nichols wants to add the Diva’s number to the gala performance. In rehearsal, Ivy and Leigh are dealing with the tension by being nice to each other. Too nice, in fact, that they aren’t playing any of the stakes in the book scenes. That is, until they begin to tell disparaging stories about each other in front of the entire company. But in performing a heartfelt ballad called “Hang the Moon,” both pairs of Gladys and Marilyn, as well as Leigh and Ivy seem to feel empathy for one another. The song makes Mailyn, Ivy and Julia all cry. At the Manhattan Theatre Workshop’s gala, Karen’s rendition of “Broadway, Here I Come” goes well, but it’s Ana’s gravity-defying performance of “Reach For Me” on silks that brings the house down. And when the Arts Editor of the New York Times commends Ana’s performance, Scott Nichols wants to make the character bigger. And who does he ask to help work as dramaturg to make it happen but Bombshell writer Julia! And while Karen’s dad isn’t initially behind her leaving Bombshell, after her gala performance he can see why she would both make the jump to Hit List and be interested in Jimmy. But Jimmy is having his own problems, including stealing from the gala’s coat check to pay off a drug dealer.

next to normal was the second rock musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after RENT, but it is also a close cousin of kitchen sink-style plays that have won the award as well, such as 2007’s winner Rabbit Hole and 2008’s winner: August: Osage County. With music by Tom Kitt, and both book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, next to normal is many things: a family drama, a rock opera, an exploration of mental illness. But is it an ensemble musical? The cast of next to normal has only six actors: The four members of the Goodman family: Diana, Dan, Gabe and Natalie. Then there’s Natalie’s boyfriend Henry and one actor who plays both Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine. And that’s it. So the show technically has no ensemble. So what does a show like next to normal mean for the history of the ensemblist? We certainly don’t have separate singing and dancing ensembles any more, but has the use of ensembles run its course all together?

Like many communities in our country, much of the recent discussions among theatre professionals has been around the subjects of race and equality. Much of the change needed to achieve a greater sense of equality in the theatre industry needs to come “from the top down.” However, how can actors and others who are not the decision-makers in our industry make active decisions that advocate? Today, Olivia Hernandez shares with us a story about facing racism in the theatre industry head-on, and how she forged her own path to acknowledging and advocating for other artists of color. Here, in her own words, is Olivia Hernandez.

The role of Marilyn’s mother, Gladys, has finally been cast and rather than going with Patti LuPone, Eileen and Tom have gone with someone a little closer to home: Ivy’s mother: The Broadway star Leigh Conroy is stepping out of retirement to play the role only she could play! Ivy can only feign excitement about the casting, as her relationship with Leigh is filled with competition. Karen’s Dad is also in town on business, but it means that he can stop by Hit List rehearsal and attend the theatre’s gala that evening. Since the gala is Hit List’s introduction to the board members and theatre patrons, Scott Nichols wants to add the Diva’s number to the gala performance. In rehearsal, Ivy and Leigh are dealing with the tension by being nice to each other. Too nice, in fact, that they aren’t playing any of the stakes in the book scenes. That is, until they begin to tell disparaging stories about each other in front of the entire company. But in performing a heartfelt ballad called “Hang the Moon,” both pairs of Gladys and Marilyn, as well as Leigh and Ivy seem to feel empathy for one another. The song makes Mailyn, Ivy and Julia all cry. At the Manhattan Theatre Workshop’s gala, Karen’s rendition of “Broadway, Her I Come” goes well, but it’s Ana’s gravity-defying performance of “Reach For Me” on silks that brings the house down. And when the Arts Editor of the New York Times commends Ana’s performance, Scott Nichols wants to make the character bigger. And who does he ask to help work as dramaturg to make it happen but Bombshell writer Julia! And while Karen’s dad isn’t initially behind her leaving Bombshell, after her gala performance he can see why she would both make the jump to Hit List and be interested in Jimmy. But Jimmy is having his own problems, including stealing from the gala’s coat check to pay off a drug dealer.

Welcome back to the re-release of The History of the Ensemble, our second full season of The Ensemblist. Back in 2016, co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I took a deep dive through the history of the ensemble, exploring how the ensemblist experience has changed and been changed by some of theatre’s most influential musicals. This week, we’re heading back to 1984 to take a look at one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest artistic feats.

Hosted by the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Broadway for Black Lives Matter Again is a three-part forum for the Broadway community to heal, listen, and hold itself accountable to its history of white supremacy. Day 3, Day of Accountability, was a space to begin examining accountability with the Broadway industry - rooted in its history of individual and systemic racism. This was a time to collectively manifest an anti-racist theatrical landscape, while exploring the steps towards realizing that dream. Here is BAC co-founder Christian Dante White.

Hosted by the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Broadway for Black Lives Matter Again is a three-part forum for the Broadway community to heal, listen, and hold itself accountable to its history of white supremacy. Day 2, Day of Listening, was a space to center the experiences of black industry professionals, while challenging white allies to bear witness and reflect on what it means to dismantle implicit bias as it related to institutional and internalized racism. Here to tell us more is Broadway Advocacy Coalition co-founder Chrisitan Dante White.

“Musical Chairs” premiered on March 19th, 2013. It was written by Becky Mode, and was directed by Broadway’s very own, Casey Nicholaw! The viewership was down again from the previous week, by about a quarter-million viewers, amounting to a total of 2.66 million. We saw two full original songs and two excerpts this week, which means, no pop covers! Our in-home team of Shaiman and Whitman wrote Liaisons’ Ce N’Est Pas Ma Faute (It’s Not My Fault) sung by Sean Hayes, and Bombshell’s The National Pastime, sung and tapped by Katherine McPhee and the Bombshell ensemble. From Hit List we heard a reprise of Heart Shaped Wreckage from last week, and a new opening song called Rewrite This Story, written by Pasek & Paul. Now that Derek is signed onto direct Hit List, Scott Nichols of Manhattan Theatre Workshop offers the theatre’s 80-seat underground space. He is afraid it doesn’t have much of an overwriting theme to appease his mainstage subscribers, but he will reconsider if stubborn Jimmy and agreeable Kyle are able to reinvent Hit List by Friday. Taking over the direction of Bombshell is harder than Tom anticipated - it’s like Tom and Karen are speaking different languages. In the absence of any legal agreements about using Derek’s concepts in Bombshell, Tom is forced to reinvent the show. And in the absence of Derek’s choreography, Tom’s staging on numbers like “The National Pastime” turn Bombshell into a sugar-induced headache. What the show also needs is to get rid of Jerry Rand as a producer. The silver bullet comes in the form of a contract Eileen signed with the Marilyn Monroe estate for the use of her journals - which heavily influenced Julia’s book. In a hostile takeover, the women of Bombshell force Jerry to sign over the show to Eileen. At Liaisons, Ivy has cemented her talent as “The Terry Whisperer,” but she and Terry both hate this “meh” version of the show and make a pact that it might as well go down in a blaze of glory. With an over-the-top version of a Terry Falls-helmed number called “It’s Not My Fault,” Liaisons announces that it will close at the end of the week, making Ivy a free agent. The musical chairs between Bombshell and Hit List come to a head at the opening night of Liasions, where everybody wants what they can’t have: Jerry and Karen want Derek to return Bombshell, while Derek wishes that he had a book writer like Julia and a star like Karen. It’s unclear what Jimmy wants, other than to not write a new opening number for his show. Karen starts the musical chairs in motion, acknowledging to Tom that she’s not his Marilyn - Ivy is. Derek also admits to Kyle and Jimmy that he believes in Hit List so much he will even direct the show in a 80-seat blackbox. But it turns out he doesn’t have to - when Jimmy writes Hit List a banger of a new opening called “Rewrite This Story.”

It’s difficult to even fathom what the next three months will feel like. As Broadway waits for the green light to start performances, the performers in those shows are waiting as well. However, that waiting comes with knowledge that even when Broadway opens they may not have a show to come back to. On March 12, there were 457 ensemblists working in Broadway musicals. But as Beetlejuice and then Frozen posted closing notices, 50 of those actors found out they would be out of work even when performances resumed. That’s in addition to the postponement of Caroline, or Change, Flying Over Sunset, MJ… and whatever is announced in the coming weeks and months. And when Broadway performances finally resume, what will the experience be like? Will audiences be temperature checked on their way into the theatre? Will they be required to wear masks that stifle their laughter? Will the actors be willing to partner each other in lifts or embrace on stage? I reached out to friends in the Broadway community about what they think the reopening of Broadway will look and feel like. Throughout the episode you’ll hear from six performers who were performing in new musicals when Broadway shutdown: Zach Adkins, Kyle Brown, Britney Coleman, Kaleigh Cronin, DeAnne Stewart and Ricky Ubeda. Here’s what they had to say…

“The Fringe” premiered on March 12, 2013. It was written by Julia Brownell, and directed by Dan Lerner, two more newcomers to the Smash family. The viewership was up this week! Up 220,000 from the previous episode, “The Fringe” was seen by 2.9 million viewers. We saw three songs and a reprise this week: one of which was a cover of “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies, sung by the Hit List cast. The other two and a half were original songs from all three of our musicals! Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman delivered us a reprise of “Never Give All the Heart” from Bombshell, and a Glitter-and-Be-Gay inspired number from Liaisons called “A Letter From Cecile.” Lastly, from Hit List we got a new song called “Heart Shaped Wreckage,” written by Julian Emery, Jon Green, James Lawrence Irvin, and Lucie Silvas. Hit List has booked a spot in the Winter Fringe after all! It’s only two presentations in shoebox, but Jimmy is convinced Hit List is good enough to outshine the venue. Which is good because the show gets picked up by Time Out and “a bunch of theatre people RSVP’d!” Back at Bombshell, Eileen has decided to produce the dynamic, technicolor fantasy that Tom and Jerry prefer, much to the schgrin of Julia and Derek. Karen is all lined up to star in Hit List, but Jerry can’t be “introducing Karen Cartwright” if she’s already been introduced at the Winter Fringe, which leaves Jimmy, Kyle and the rest of the Fringe crew understandingly ticked off about Karen’s backing out. At a coffee klatch in Madison Square Park, Ivy tells Derek that Terry Falls continues to derail Liaisons into a farce. But he replies that standing out as good in a bad show is a time-honored theatre tradition and to follow her instinct. She spices up the production’s press preview by adding her own brand of humor, but her good work threatens Terry Falls. Only in an 11th hour company meeting does Terry have the balls to invite the company to Bombshell’s new producer Jerry Rand continues to meddle with Julia’s script, suggesting they cut the intellectual downer of a song “Never Give All The Heart.” He and Eileen give Tom a challenge: change it into an uplifting song that makes them feel something in the next 24 hours. The composer puts a new spin on the song, making it a cautionary tale, empowered instead of wistful. But Tom’s direction puts Derek over the edge, quitting the show and storming out of rehearsal. And Eileen loves the work enough to crown Tom Bombshell’s new director. Derek’s departure from Hit List frees up Karen to perform in the second night of Hit List at the fringe, as well as making him available to watch her in it. Derek is taken by the show and the performances of both Karen and Jimmy. Scott Nichols, artistic director at Manhattan Theatre Workshop says the show is actually the kind of project he is looking for.

This was meant to be a celebratory week for the New York theatre community. We were meant to be seeing our dreams come true. We were meant to be exhausted from the weeks of two-show days and press events. We were meant to be cheering each other on while we gamed award ceremonies. We were meant to be celebrating the power of coming together. But instead, we are home. This pause has been touted as “only intermission” for the theatre industry. And yet, we have no real sense of when we will be able to return to our seats and start Act II. We were first asked to hold for four weeks, then twelve weeks and now 25 weeks. Half a year of sheltering in place without a clear sense of when we will be able to feel the energy of coming together to tell and hear stories. On the list of what makes a healthy and thriving society, no one would place musical theatre at the top. In a world where PPEs, testing and vaccines are scarce, there are more important things for our society to tackle than the health of the theatre industry. And yet, the arts are what make life worth living. As we’ve sheltered in place and quarantined at home, it is music, dance and storytelling that has kept our spirits up. But what about the spirits of those who tell the stories? As storytellers are asked to find new and unknown ways to share their time and talents, how are they coping in these uncharted waters? Of course, the path that our performing arts community is on stroon with disappointments. But there must also be glimmers of hope along the path - those worth celebrating in their own way. I reached out to friends in the Broadway community who were meant to be performing in new musicals this season about how they’ve coping with disappointment and finding moments of hope. Here’s what they had to say...