Smile (musical) - Production

Production

The original production opened on Broadway on November 24, 1986 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and closed on January 3, 1987 after 48 performances. It was directed by Ashman with musical staging by Mary Kyte. It received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical as well as Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael O'Gorman) and Outstanding Costume Design (William Ivy Long).

Smile chronicles the backstage troubles of the fictional 1985 California Young American Miss beauty pageant held in Santa Rosa, California. The main characters include Robin Gibson and Doria Hudson, two contestants who befriend and help each other throughout the week; Brenda DiCarlo Freelander, an ex-Young American Miss second-runner-up coordinating the pageant; and Brenda's husband Big Bob, an RV Salesman trying to help her through the week.

Smile is considered a "lost" musical because no official cast recording was ever made. However, there does exist a demo CD which is a primary source for groups performing the show. Some of the songs from the show, "Disneyland," "Smile," and "In Our Hands," received their first recordings on Bruce Kimmel's Unsung Musicals album, released by Varese Sarabande. "Disneyland" was sung by Jodi Benson, who originated it in the show. On a subsequent volume Maria's Song was also recorded. In November 2008, the record label PS Classics rectified this loss, releasing the album Howard Sings Ashman. The second disc is comprised completely of songs from Smile, sung by Ashman and Hamlisch, with Hamlisch at the piano. They also put a transcript of a taped conversation between Ashman, Hamlisch and Bob Fosse discussing the development of the musical on their website.