“BOMBSHELL IN CONCERT”
REUNITES THE CAST OF NBC’S
“SMASH”
FOR A SPECIAL ONE-NIGHT-ONLY EVENT STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY
ON PEOPLE.COM, PEOPLETV
AND PEOPLE SOCIAL PLATFORMS
IN SUPPORT OF THE ACTORS FUND
FEATURING
DEBRA MESSING, KATHARINE MCPHEE,
MEGAN HILTY, LESLIE ODOM JR.
AND MORE
INTRODUCED BY RENÉE ZELLWEGER
AND
HOSTED BY JULIE KLAUSNER
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 at 8:00 PM ET
New York, NY (May 12, 2020) – The Actors Fund, the national human services organization that provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals, in association with PEOPLE, the No. 1 source of celebrity and entertainment news worldwide, is proud to announce a special one-night-only streaming event: “Bombshell in Concert,” featuring a reunion of original cast members from the now legendary NBC series “Smash.” This special event will stream Wednesday, May 20 at 8:00 PM ET exclusively on PEOPLE.com, PeopleTV, and PEOPLE social platforms (Facebook and Twitter).
The evening will be introduced by two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger and, during intermission, Julie Klausner of “Difficult People” will host a live, virtual reunion with the show’s original cast members including: Christian Borle, Jaime Cepero, Will Chase, Brian d’Arcy James, Jack Davenport, Ann Harada, Megan Hilty, Jeremy Jordan, Katharine McPhee, Andy Mientus, Debra Messing, Leslie Odom Jr., Krysta Rodriguez and Wesley Taylor.
It has been five years since the iconic sold-out one-night-only live performance of “Bombshell in Concert” electrified Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre — and seven years after the award-winning NBC hit “Smash” concluded its series — and now the company returns for an event to be streamed directly to the fans. Cast members will also discuss
the show that brought original musical numbers to network television every week, which lovingly celebrated life on Broadway.
Bombshell, the show-within-the-show about the life of Marilyn Monroe, features a score by Tony and Grammy Award-winning songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who also served as executive producers of “Smash.” The live one-night-only concert, held at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City on June 8, 2015 and featuring songs from the NBC series Smash, included fully staged numbers and a full orchestra and chorus, and remains one of the most successful fundraisers ever for The Actors Fund.
Bob Greenblatt, one of the producers of the event, said, “I speak for Neil Meron and our wonderful creative team of Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and Joshua Bergasse when I say that we are thrilled to help raise more money for The Actors Fund and all their good work during this difficult time. ‘Smash’ and ‘Bombshell In Concert’ were thrilling experiences for us, and we are overjoyed that fans everywhere will get to finally see these amazing performances. We’re grateful to everyone at The Actors Fund and PEOPLE for their love of the performing arts.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to Bob Greenblatt and Neil Meron and to everyone in this generous cast and creative team,” said Tony Award® winner and Actors Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell. ‘Bombshell in Concert’ will be a wonderful evening to share this benefit night with fans far and wide, and will raise much-needed funds to help The Actors Fund continue to help everyone in need in our entertainment community across the country.”
That now historic evening was produced by two of the series executive producers, the Emmy Award-winning Craig Zadan and Neil Meron; and was co-directed and written by Scott Wittman, and co-directed and choreographed by “Smash’s” Emmy Award-winning choreographer, Joshua Bergasse. Music Supervision was by Scott M. Riesett under the direction of Marc Shaiman.
Neil Meron and Bob Greenblatt serve as the producers of this streamed event. And Matt Hoffman and Scott Silberstein, co-founders of HMS Media, are handling all post production duties. With original concert video footage filmed by Reel Time Video Production and originally edited by Jonathan Frank.
The streaming of “Bombshell in Concert” continues the musical’s honored association with The Actors Fund, the national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and serves as a safety net to everyone in the performing arts and entertainment industry. In past seven weeks, The Fund has distributed $10.1 million in emergency financial assistance to 8,558 people in need due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, or more than five times the funds normally provided in a year.
As the emergency with Coronavirus continues to evolve, The Actors Fund has temporarily transitioned to online and phone-based services, which remain available for everyone in the performing arts and entertainment community. These services include: Artists Health Insurance Resource Center, The Career Center, Housing Resources, Addiction & Recovery, HIV/AIDS and Senior Services, Counseling and Emergency Financial Assistance, as well as The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
“Smash” is based on an original idea by Steven Spielberg, who was also executive producer of the series. “Smash” was created by Theresa Rebeck.
THE ACTORS FUND
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services. Visit www.actorsfund.org.
PEOPLE
Meredith Corporation’s PEOPLE revolutionized personality journalism when it launched as a weekly in 1974 with a mission to celebrate extraordinary people doing ordinary things and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Ubiquitous and still at the center of pop culture more than 45 years later, the PEOPLE brand is accessible across all media and platforms (print, digital, video, OTT, mobile, social) bringing more than 100 million consumers a unique mix of breaking entertainment news, exclusive photos, video, unparalleled access to the red carpet, celebrities, and in-depth reporting on the most compelling newsmakers of our time. An essential component of PEOPLE’s editorial vision remains human interest stories, which touch and often mirror the lives of our passionate audience. ComScore ranks the PEOPLE/Entertainment Weekly Digital Network No. 1 in the entertainment news category. PeopleTV, the advertiser-supported OTT streaming service from PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly that launched in 2016, features original series and specials focusing on celebrity, red carpet, pop culture, lifestyle and human-interest stories. PEOPLE is an award-winning 24/7 news organization headquartered in NYC with reporters worldwide. For more information visit PEOPLE.com and follow @people on Twitter and Instagram, @peoplemag on Facebook, and the PEOPLE channel on YouTube and on Snapchat’s Discover.
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