Smash Songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman Make Surprise Appearance in Broadway Musical’s Closing Performance

It was an afternoon of laughter, tears and surprises at the Imperial Theatre in New York City on Sunday, June 22, as Smash wrapped up its Broadway run.

The Tony-nominated stage musical adaptation of the NBC series — about the making of a fictional Marilyn Monroe bio-musical called Bombshell — closed over the weekend after 32 previews and 84 regular performances. And while the occasion was clearly sad for all involved, the energy inside the theater was nothing but love.

Multiple standing ovations popped up throughout the evening, especially for stars Robyn Hurder and Caroline Bowman, who played Ivy Lynn and Karen Cartwright (the characters made famous on screen by Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee).

The crowd was also treated to a cameo by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Smash‘s award-winning songwriting team. Both appeared during a scene late in Act 1 in which Bombshell‘s director Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas) pays a pianist at a bar to stop his “incessant underscoring.”

Stepping up from the piano, with Wittman by his side, Shaiman turned to Ashmanskas and delivered an unscripted joke. “We saw your Catch Me If You Can. It was no Hairspray,” Shaiman said, referencing the previous Broadway musicals he and Wittman composed.

He then grabbed the money out of the tip jar and shouted, “Take the money, and run!” before exiting offstage.

As they left, Ashmanskas — who was allegedly unaware the composer and lyricists would be there — threw in one final joke, quoting one of Hairspray‘s biggest hits. “They’re timeless to me,” he said.

Shaiman and Wittman later appeared on stage after the final bows, alongside other members of Smash‘s creative team including Emmy-winning choreographer Joshua Bergasse, book writers Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher) and Bob Martin (a Tony winner for writing The Drowsy Chaperone) as well as producers Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron.

One by one, all took the mic to offer closing remarks, Greenblatt leading off the tributes by thanking the “extraordinary people” who helped bring Smash to the stage including co-producer Steven Spielberg, director Susan Stroman, musical supervisor Stephen Oremus, the “incredible” musicians who made up the orchestra and what Greenblatt called “one of the greatest casts ever assembled for a Broadway show.”

They also shared gratitude to the audience for their support, Martin explained that the final performance was “very hard for us to watch,” and “very challenging for actors to say words for the last time and sing notes for the last time.”

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All ended with teary words from Shaiman and Wittman. “In 1946, Ethel Merman stood on this stage and declared, ‘There’s no people like show people / they smile when they are low.’ So whenever I’m low, I’ll think of each and every one of you,” Wittman said, pointing to his heart. “Because a show never closes, it’s here for me.”

Fittingly, Shaiman sang his tribute, with the following lyrics: “Though I know we don’t share a name, I still love you just the same / So we don’t share a front door key, it doesn’t mean that I don’t care / I know you’re always there for me / So take my hand, show me how. / Because I’m only learning now what makes a family.”

Smash featured the original songs Shaiman and Wittman wrote for the TV show, like “The 20th Century Fox Mambo,” “They Just Keep Moving the Line” and the Emmy-nominated “Let Me Be Your Star.” The duo also crafted one new song that closes out the musical.

Surrounding Hurder, Bowman and Ashmanskas in the musical’s cast were stage veterans Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening, The Addams Family, Into the Woods), John Behlmann (Shucked, Tootsie, Significant Other), two-time Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen, Jacqueline B. Arnold, Nicholas Matos, Bella Coppola and Casey Garvin.

The company included Wendi Bergamini, Sarah Bowden, Jacob Burns, Deanna Cudjoe, Chelle Denton, Daniel Gaymon, Merritt David Janes, Ndaya Dream Hoskins, David Paul Kidder, Ian Liberto, Libby Lloyd, McGee Maddox, Connor McRory, Jessie Peltier, J Savage, Jake Trammel and Katie Webber.