SmashReadies Broadway Premiere: See Karen and Ivy Sing 'Don't Forget Me' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

It’s been 12 years since NBC’sSmashaired its final episode, but the cult-favorite hit series isbeing reborn as a Broadway musical— and PEOPLE has the exclusive first look at a performance of “Don’t Forget Me,” one of the score’s most popular hits.

Smash

Still, as viewers will see in the recording studio video of “Don’t Forget Me,” the song does prove to cause some friction between Karen and Ivy.

Seems that Karen — Ivy’s understudy — is singing the song amid her absence atBombshell’s sitzprobe (a rehearsal in which singers perform with the orchestra for the first time together). But halfway through the number, Ivy shows up and she’s unsurprisingly not too happy to see Karen at the mic.

Just how this will play out inSmashremains to be seen. Performances of the new musicalofficially begin at the Imperial Theatre in New York City on Tuesday, March 11, ahead of an opening on Thursday, April 10.

Surrounding Bowman and Hurder are a stellar cast of Broadway greats. Two-time Tony nominee Brooks Ashmanskas playsBombshell’s director/choreographer Nigel, while stage veterans Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening, The Addams Family, Into the Woods) and John Behlmann (Shucked, Tootsie, Significant Other) areBombshell’s songwriting and book-writing team Tracy and Jerry, respectively. Two-time Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen mixes things up as acting coach Susan.

Rounding out the principal cast is Jacqueline B. Arnold as play producer Anita; Nicholas Matos as her assistant, Scott; Bella Coppola as assistant choreographer Chloe; and Casey Garvin asBombshellactor Charlie.

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From Left: Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty on ‘Smash’.Mark Seliger/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Smashpremiered on NBC in February 2012 and ran for two seasons. It’s currently streaming on Peacock.

Back in March, EGOT winnerJennifer Hudsonannouncedshe was joining the producing team of the Broadway musical, alongside lead producers Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron andSteven Spielberg.

It was a full-circle moment for Hudson, who appeared as a guest star on season 2. “That show meant so much to me, and apparently it meant a whole lot to others as well,” Hudson, 43, said on her self-titled talk show, explaining that her her role as fictional actress Veronica Moore on the series was the first time she got to experience a taste of what it would be like to be on Broadway.

Tickets toSmashare now on sale.

source: people.com