Ficitonal SMASH musical to get concert reading at 54 Below in NYC

SMASH star Jeremy Jordan to appear in concert performance of “Hit List”

SMASH fans may need to get to New York City on December 9th.

The fictional Broadway show “Hit List” from the now cancelled TV series SMASH will make a real life appearance at 54 Below in concert form WITH some of the series stars, including Jeremy Jordan and Krysta Rodriguez.

From the NY Times:

54 Below will present the world-premiere concert performances of “Hit List” on Dec. 9, press representatives for the project said on Tuesday, with a cast that features the former “Smash” stars Jeremy Jordan and Andy Mientus (who played the putative “Hit List” creators Jimmy Collins and Kyle Bishop), as well as Krysta Rodriguez (who played Ana Vargas, a “Hit List” cast member).

A news release for “Hit List” described it — finally! — as “a modern fable about identity and the price of fame” that “tells the tragic love story of a wannabe pop singer who transforms herself to become a star and the hidden songwriter she uses to get there – but at what cost?”

The score for “Hit List” is written by the flesh-and-blood composers Drew Gasparini, Joe Iconis, Andrew McMahon, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and Lucie Silvas. Its press representatives said that the live performances “will include some additional songs from these composers that were intended for ‘Hit List’ but never made it to air, and also special appearances by several of ‘Hit List’s composers and additional performers to be announced at a later date.”

Jeremy Jordan & Jonathan Groff – “Let Me Be Your Star”

A bit of Saturday silly fun from hunky Jeremy Jordan (SMASH) and Jonathan Groff (GLEE). I’ve liked the song “Let Me Be Your Star” since I first heard it in the pilot of SMASH.

In related news, Glee‘s Jonathan Groff has been cast in The Normal Heart, HBO‘s original movie adaptation of the Tony-winning Larry Kramer play, which is being written by Kramer and directed by Ryan Murphy.

He joins Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and Taylor Kitsch in the pic, which tells the story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s. Production is slated to begin later this year in New York for a 2014 debut.

SMASH show runner: “We’re aware the show is not successful”

Even with scenes featuring a shirtless Jeremy Jordan, there’s not good news coming from SMASH show runner Josh Safran: “We’re all aware the show is not successful,” according to TVLine.

He also reveals that the upcoming season finale, episode 17, “was constructed as a series finale.”

The series, recently moved to Saturday nights, is expected to be cancelled.

(via Gay.net)