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The much-anticipated ‘Smash’ musical will open on Broadway this spring
Theater geeks unite: Smash, the stage adaptation of the cult-favorite eponymous NBC TV show about a number of young Broadway actors working on a fictional musical about Marilyn Monroe, will open at the Imperial Theater at 249 West 45th Street by Eighth Avenue on April 10, 2025. Preview performances will begin on March 11, 2025.
Legendary director Steven Spielberg, who actually originated the idea for the TV show and served as an executive producer on it, will be the lead producer on the Broadway musical, his very first project of this kind.
“Smash is near and dear to my heart, and it was always my hope that a musical inspired by the show would eventually come to the stage,” Spielberg said in a statement when the show was first announced. “We now have an incredible creative team, and I’m looking forward to completing the Smash journey which began with my producing partners over ten years ago.”
The production will be directed by five-time Tony award-winning director Susan Stroman (The Producers), featuring a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who actually wrote over two dozen songs for the NBC series.
According to previous reports, a lot of those tunes, including the beloved “Let Me Be Your Star,” will be used in the theater production as well, alongside new material.
Plot-wise, the musical will chronicle the “hilarious behind-the-scenes rollercoaster ride about the making of a Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell, with all the iconic songs, kick-ass choreography, and backstage pandemonium that make Broadway the beloved institution it is today,” reads a press release.
Fans of the TV show should note that the book writers have come up with an entirely different story for Broadway, featuring a vast majority of new characters. One personality making a comeback, though, is Ivy Lynn. Played by the wonderful Megan Hilty on TV, the role will be taken on by Tony-nominated Robyn Hurder on the stage.
The small screen iteration of Smash, critically acclaimed albeit enjoying a very niche audience mostly comprised of New Yorkers and theater aficionados, ran on NBC for two seasons but has been part and parcel of the city’s cultural conversations for the past decade.
Back in 2015, for example, the cast—which was led by Debra Messing, Katharine McPhee, Hilty and Anjelica Houston, among other live theater big weights—performed a benefit concert at the Minskoff Theatre and tickets for it sold out in a mere 15 minutes. We suspect the Broadway production will draw just as much attention once it premieres—so you might want to snag tickets for it once the general sale opens on October 25 at 10am right here.
NYC’s Whitney Museum is making admission free for anybody 25 and younger
New York City is packed with incredible museums, but unlike our neighbors to the south in Washington, D.C., who are spoiled with free admission, we’ve usually got to pay to get in. With many NYC museum tickets ranging between $20-$30, that can add up quickly and can become a barrier for entry.
With an eye on inclusivity and accessibility, the famed Whitney Museum of American Art is adding even more free admission options to its already robust gratis programming. As of mid-December, museum admission will be free to all visitors aged 25 years and under. That means young visitors from New York City and around the world will get access to every exhibition on view at the museum at no cost.
RECOMMENDED: All the free museums days in NYC you should know about
The new Free 25 and Under program builds on the Whitney’s popular Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays initiatives, launched in January 2024, which offer free admission for all visitors between 5 and 10pm on Fridays and all day on the second Sunday of every month. The new youth admission program is made possible with support by Whitney Board of Trustees members Julie Mehretu and Susan Hess.
“You can’t have any conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion without providing access, and the culture can’t change and it can’t continue to grow without new and diverse voices having access to what is being created at the moment,” Mehretu said in a statement. “I did not have access to contemporary art museums as a young adult, and when I moved to New York, I was waiting tables—it was hard to access contemporary art and culture, as it’s hard for so many students, graduates and young people.
You can’t have any conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion without providing access.
The 2024 launch of the museum’s free programming is already showing impressive stats. So far this year, Free Friday Nights and Free Second Sundays have transformed the Whitney’s audience, per museum officials. During these hours, the Whitney has seen double the average attendance that it sees during paid hours—with visitors being younger and more diverse on average.
For example, on Friday nights, the average visitor age dropped 10 years, and the majority of visitors (over 60%) are BIPOC. More than half of the attendees during those hours identified themselves as first-time visitors, and more than 80% of visitors 25 and under during these hours cite free admission as extremely important in their decision to attend.
The 25 and under demographic is the most diverse generation in the nation and is coping with financial difficulties.
“These figures are unsurprising since nationally, the 25 and under demographic is the most diverse generation in the nation and is coping with financial difficulties caused by a continued high cost of living, student loans, and other factors,” the museum said.
All told, the Whitney’s two complimentary programs have welcomed nearly 200,000 visitors this year. When all of the museum’s other free offerings are taken into account, about 300,000 people have visited the Whitney for free in 2024. Just a heads up if you’re planning to visit during free hours, be sure to reserve a ticket in advance as museum capacity is always limited.
“The launch of our first two free admissions programs have had such an incredible impact on our audience that we wanted to go even further in making the Whitney one of the most accessible large museums in America,” Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, said in a press release. “You can feel the amazing energy in the galleries on free days, and I couldn’t be more excited to see that grow.”
Mehretu, a renowned painter, also hopes to see accessible programming continue to grow.
“If you really want to push and evolve the discourse, many more people need to have access to be able to participate, and this program is a step in the right direction—and we need more,” Mehretu said.
The Whitney Museum Will Soon Be Free To All Visitors 25 And Under
Just in time for peak exhibit-hopping season, the Whitney Museum will offer free admission for those 25 and under beginning in mid December. What’s better than a cold winter afternoon exploring some of the best art in the world — for free?!
The NYC cultural hub has always been one of the more generous NYC museums with free admission days, as those 18 and under have received complimentary access roughly over the past decade. Additionally, all ages have been able to take advantage of free Friday nights and free second Sundays of each month. Now, this initiative takes things a step further and gives more patrons access to amazing creativity.
“You can’t have any conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion without providing access, and the culture can’t change and it can’t continue to grow without new and diverse voices having access to what is being created at the moment,” said artist and museum trustee, Julie Mehretu. “I’m super excited and am grateful for the Whitney’s commitment to this program.”
The Museum claims it has seen double the average attendance that it sees during paid hours — with visitors being younger and more diverse on average. Now the 25-and-under plan will undoubtedly expand those stats.
“The launch of our first two free admissions programs have had such an incredible impact on our audience that we wanted to go even further in making the Whitney one of the most accessible large museums in America,” said Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director. “You can feel the amazing energy in the galleries on free days, and I couldn’t be more excited to see that grow.”
What’s more, this news comes on the heels of the opening of “Edges of Ailey,” what’s considered “the first large-scale museum exhibition to celebrate the life, dances, influences, and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer, Alvin Ailey.” Then, on November 1st, “Shifting Landscapes” will open. Its focus is on “evolving political, ecological, and social issues motivate artists’ representations of the world around them.”
Support from Susan and John Hess and Julie Mehretu have made initiatives like this possible. Although the freebie will still be offered, the Museum does require reservations. Stay tuned for more on this exciting program.
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NYC Named The Best City To Celebrate Halloween
Halloween is right around the corner, and whether you most look forward to the candy, the costumes, the horror movie marathons, or all the fright-inducing events, your Halloween will only be as spooky as the city you spend it in, and we New Yorkers are in luck.
WalletHub recently set out on a hunt to determine the best cities to celebrate Halloween. The site compared the 100 largest U.S. cities based on three key dimensions: Trick-or-Treater-Friendliness, Halloween Fun, and Halloween Weather, looking at everything from costume stores per capita to the number of haunted houses per capita to the share of potential trick-or-treat stops.
Each metric was then graded on a 100-point scale to determine which city has the most favorable conditions for a Halloween celebration, and with a total score of 71.83 New York City was named the best city to celebrate Halloween.
New York City tied for first when looking at its number of costume stores per capita as well as its number of candy and chocolate stores per capita. The ranking writes:
New York City is the best place to be on Halloween…Its residents search Google for “Halloween parties” and related terms more than people in any other city. On top of that, New York has the highest population density in the country, and it’s the third-most walkable city. That means it’s easy to go trick-or-treating and get a lot of candy. When it comes to other Halloween activities, New York also has the second-most movie theaters per capita and the 17th-most haunted houses, along with many amusement parks.
And it’s not only the fact that NYC is so walkable that makes it easy to go trick-or-treating–the fact that 100 NYC streets go car-free for the city’s annual Trick-Or-Streets provide ample car-free pedestrian space for NYC residents. And while you’re walking around the city be sure to check out all of NYC’s best neighborhoods for Halloween decorations.
Find the full study of the best cities to celebrate Halloween here.
The post NYC Named The Best City To Celebrate Halloween appeared first on Secret NYC.
A Debut Mac & Cheese Festival Is Happening 30 Minutes Outside Of NYC Next Month
Hungry? The first-ever Jersey City Mac & Cheese Festival is sure to be the ultimate comfort food fix.
On the heels of a successful debut soup dumpling festival in NYC, and right before the final leg of Japan Fes, comes a neighboring culinary celebration that’s worth bookmarking — especially if you’re craving something savory.
All about the Jersey City Mac & Cheese Festival
On Saturday, November 2nd, this first-time fest will welcome hungry visitors with plenty of dishes to enjoy: classic mac & cheese, buffalo chicken mac & cheese, and truffle mac & cheese. The more adventurous might gravitate toward the pork belly mac & cheese or mac & cheese with waygu meatballs, spicy vodka sauce, and fried truffle onions.
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Although the event is considered a food festival, it will operate like a crawl, and visitors will make their way to and from the 13 participating eateries in the nabe. (Don’t worry: Jersey City is one of the most walkable cities in the U.S., so everything will be accessible.)
Participating restaurants
Curious what’s on the menu? Here’s what you’ll find the day of the event:
- The Ashford: Guinness Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Better Days: Spicy Vodka Sauce, Waygu Meatballs and Fried Truffle onions
- Boots & Bones: Original Mac & Cheese topped with Truffle, pancetta and horseradish breadcrumbs
- Canopy: Birria Mac n Cheese
- Hamilton Pork: Pork Belly Mac & Cheese
- Healy’s: Spicy Jack Mac & Cheese
- Hudson Hall: Classic Original Mac & Cheese with breadcrumb topper
- Hudson Hound: Three Cheese with Bacon Lardons
- Jam Cakery Events: Classic Baked Vegan Mac n’ Cheese
- O’Haras: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Classic Mac & Cheese
- South House: House blend with Doritos dusting and topped with smoked brisket
- Tony Boloney’s: Mac & Cheese Pizza
Visit the Lokel Group’s page to learn more about their events and how to get tickets for this debut fest. If you can’t make it, don’t worry: there are plenty of mac & cheese spots in NYC that are worth a visit.
Jersey City
Saturday, November 2nd from 1-5pm
$35
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