Donna McKechnie Confirmed To Play Marilyn's Mother In SMASH Reunion BOMBSHELL Actors Fund Concert

BOMBSHELL has found its mother figure!

NBC's musical dramedy series SMASH ended after two seasons earlier this decade, but the Broadway-centric series will feature in a new reunion concert set to highlight material from the musical-within-the-series BOMBSHELL, inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe, later this year at a star-studded concert announced several weeks ago when the Kickstarter campaign racked up a grand total of $318,120.

A first look at the cast in rehearsal for the event with working beginning this week is now available to view along with an announcement earlier today confirming several additional performers for the one-night-only event, including Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Donna McKechnie as Marilyn's mother.

Producer Neil Meron confirmed the news on Twitter today, commenting, "How about legendary #DonnaMcKechnie joining the #Bombshell family as #MarilynMonroe's #Mom #Smash @meganhilty".

Follow Neil Meron on Twitter here.

The official description of the BOMBSHELL Kickstarter is as follows: "Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will present a concert of the musical created within the NBC TV series "Smash," created by Theresa Rebeck, Bombshell, with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, directed by Joshua Bergasse and Scott Wittman with choreography by Joshua Bergasse and music direction by Marc Shaiman. The one-night only landmark event benefitting The Actors Fund takes place on Monday evening, June 8, 2015 at The Minskoff Theatre (1515 Broadway). Bombshell was the Marilyn Monroe musical created in NBC's Golden Globe-nominated television hit series "Smash," created by Theresa Rebeck. Bombshell features the Emmy-nominated songs "Let Me Be Your Star," and "Hang the Moon." The one-night-only landmark event featuring Bombshell's original songs will feature previously announced Christian Borle, Will Chase, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Debra Messing, and will be joined by Jaime Cepero, Brian d'Arcy James, Ann Harada, Jeremy Jordan, Donna McKechnie, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Wesley Taylor (all subject to availability). The ensemble will feature Yesenia Ayala, Ioana Alfonso, Emily Bindiger, Colin Bradbury, Benjamin Chavez, Dennis Collins, Neal Coomer, Alexa De Barr, Josh Franklin, Karla Garcia, Mary Gatchell, Alex Gibson, Tyrone Jackson, Reed Kelly, Jenny LaRoche, Marty Lawson, Carolyn Leonhart, Karen Lloyd, Michael McArthur, Paul McGill, Chase Madigan, Kevin Osborne, Nicole Prothro, Lillie Ricciardi, Eugene Ruffolo, Michael Ruocco, Sarah Tolar, Jessica Walker, Katie Webber, Tatiana Wechsler, and Sam Zack (all subject to availability). The creative team for the concert presentation of Bombshell includes Scott Pask (scenic elements); Carol Sherry (costume advisor); Donald Holder (lighting); Nevin Steinberg (sound supervisor); Emiliano Pares (props); Peter Nigrini (projection designs); Nathan Johnson (make up); Doug Bersterman (conductor & orchestrations); Jeff Atmajian, Larry Blank, Brad Dechter, Aaron Heick, Marc Shaiman & Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations); Scott M. Riesett (music supervisor); Russ Barmus, Mark Graham -- Joann Kane Music Service (music preparation); and James Sampliner (associate music director). The Production Stage Manager is Peter Lawrence.

Visit the official BOMBSHELL Kickstarter page here.

Also, check out my InDepth InterView series with the creative team of the BOMBSHELL concert event, including The Actors Fund president Joe Benincasa, available here, producer Tim Pinckney, available here, songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, available here, and co-director/choreographer Joshua Bergasse, available here.

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