On a recent morning at a rehearsal room on 42nd Street, the actress Robyn Hurder stood atop a pedestal, red lips parted, arms outstretched, blond curls vibrating as she sang the final notes of “Let Me Be Your Star.” Then she collapsed, breathless.
“This number’s hard,” she said, her face glistening with sweat. “Who did this?”
Well, plenty of people. “Let Me Be Your Star” was written over a dozen years ago for the pilot episode of NBC’s “Smash,” a backstage-set nighttime soap about the hectic creation of a Broadway musical, “Bombshell.” There were plans to bring “Bombshell,” a biomusical about Marilyn Monroe, to the real Broadway, but those plans never came to fruition. Neither did “Smash,” which was canceled after two seasons.
But “Let Me Be Your Star,” a classic “I want” song that its composer and co-lyricist, Marc Shaiman, has described as a “neck-bursting showstopper,” endures. Originally sung at the close of the pilot by Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee, the song, which was nominated for Grammy and Emmy Awards, has been covered by Andrew Rannells on “Girls,” by Jonathan Groff and Jeremy Jordan at MCC Theater’s Miscast benefit, by Ben Platt and Nicole Scherzinger in concert and by masses of fans (and the occasional Muppet, on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Ostensibly a song about Monroe’s life, it resonates for any actor — and really, anyone — who longs to shine.
Now it’s been reimagined as the opening number of “Smash,” a new Broadway musical that riffs on the TV show. Hurder plays Ivy Lynn, a Broadway actress tasked with playing Marilyn in “Bombshell.” This opening version of “Let Me Be Your Star” is staged by the director Susan Stroman and the choreographer Joshua Bergasse (also a veteran of the TV “Smash”) as a Great White Way fever dream featuring elaborate harmonies, athletic dance and a brassy, big-band sound. The song recurs, in a very different style, at the end of the first act, though the producers are keeping those details secret. And it may return a third time.
“It’s possible!” Stroman said.
At that morning rehearsal, Stroman had Hurder and the ensemble run the number again. There were flips, lifts, mambo moves, thrilling vocal frills.
“Oh, wow,” Hurder fluttered when the number finished. “What a ride.” She caught her breath. “Thank you. Blessings.”
In the weeks before preview performances began (on March 11 at the Imperial Theater), singers, members of the creative team and the show’s producers discussed how “Let Me Be Your Star” found its way to the Broadway firmament. These are edited excerpts from these conversations.
SCOTT WITTMAN (the lyricist) I had chosen the Marilyn theme for the TV show.
MARC SHAIMAN (the composer and lyricist) She had such an interesting life, and her life and career are still so relevant for a woman in show business.
WITTMAN When we originally wrote “Let Me Be Your Star,” it was much more Marilyn-centric. It flowed out in a magical way, might have been two days of word association and then probably a day and a half of music. You have me caterwauling on that demo, but I hardly remember writing the song. We gave it to Bob [Greenblatt, then the entertainment president of NBC] and he had notes.
ROBERT GREENBLATT Neil [Meron] and Craig [Zadan] and Steven [Spielberg, all producers of the TV show], we all talked about it and we thought, “Is it exciting enough?” It just didn’t have that thrill. I remember thinking it needed to be like “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” It didn’t have the drive of that. Marc and Scott were like, “OK, let us take another stab at it.” Then they came back with this version, which was everything we wanted it to be.
KATHARINE McPHEE (singer and star of the TV series) I remember listening to it and just being blown away. For me, coming off of “American Idol” and spending years post-“Idol” auditioning for things, it was just so symbolic. That first line, “Fade in on a girl with a hunger for fame,” me and Megan both could relate to that. We felt really special to be the chosen ones.
SHAIMAN Megan and Kat, the first time they sang it together, there was magic in the air.
GREENBLATT When we had it all mixed and finished and cut together, I knew this is a song for the ages.
WITTMAN After it appeared on the TV show, there were hundreds of girls in their bedrooms doing homemade versions. They all did it with the yearning. Some of them sailed up there to those notes, some of them didn’t quite make it. But it was everywhere.
SHAIMAN We’ve seen many a drag queen do it in a bar. It’s perfect for drag queens.
ANDREW RANNELLS (stage and TV actor) I loved “Smash” so much. And I really love that song. It was my idea to sing it on “Girls.” The emotion of it perfectly lines up with the vocal placement of it, so you can really just let it rip when you get to those high notes.
WITTMAN People would sing it at auditions for our shows. They don’t know we wrote it.
SUSAN STROMAN (the director) The first time I heard this song was on the television show. I thought it was wonderful. We all can relate to it, especially actors. When I got attached to the project, it was not the opener. But now we open the show with it.
NEIL MERON (the producer) We begin it with a new arrangement of the song. We needed to plant our flag and say that this is different than the series.
ROBYN HURDER I’ve been wanting to play Marilyn Monroe in some Broadway art form forever. For the audition, they had us sing “Let’s Be Bad” and “Let Me Be Your Star,” which is very, very difficult to sing, especially when you’re nervous. My legs were trembling. I was a basket case.
GREENBLATT Robyn sang that song for us and blew the ceiling out of this room. After she walked out the door, we all were completely in agreement that she had to sing it in the show.
STROMAN What’s spectacular about the song, it lends itself to different tempos, different dance arrangements. The melody lends itself to being played in many ways.
HURDER I was elated when I found out that we were doing an up-tempo version. This is what I’ve been training for my entire life. I’m literally saying, “I’m what you’ve been needing.” It’s like life imitating art imitating life. You know what I mean?
JOSHUA BERGASSE (the choreographer) It’s a Broadway opening on steroids. I get to use really all my muscles. It’s really so fun, almost over the top, so I’m just pushing, pushing, pushing, trying to make things as big and flashy and athletic and exciting as possible.
STEPHEN OREMUS (the music supervisor) It’s a very specific sound, a bit like the Hollywood musicals from the ’50s and ’60s. It feels like Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall in 1961, like Nelson Riddle, a very distinct old-school vibe.
SHAIMAN It’s just bizarre. You don’t think of yourself as the person who wrote it anymore. It’s just there.
GREENBLATT I never get sick of it. It works every time.
HURDER We recorded the number for the cast album in the beginning of January and they just sent me the final mix last week. I’m walking on 42nd Street and I’m listening to this track and I just burst into gnarly tears. Because I just I went back to 10-year-old Robyn listening to all these Broadway soundtracks. And it really, really hit me. I’m like, “You did it, Robyn.” The part where I sing, “That’s me onscreen,” it’s just Broadway dreams come true.
The post Hear How a ‘Smash’ Song Got a Broadway Makeover appeared first on New York Times.
