The behind-the-musical TV series Smash may have been canceled by NBC in 2013, but its music lives on. At this year's Oscars, Jennifer Hudson sang the show's ballad "I Can't Let Go" after the In Memoriam. And now, Smash will be revived for a one-night-only concert of songs and stars from the musical-within-the-show Bombshell, funded by the most successful theater Kickstarter of all time. No kidding. So if Smash can come back from the dead, does that mean TV-themed concerts are a thing now? Because there are few I'd like to see.
Smash's "Broadway Concert Presentation" of the show's Marilyn Monroe musical will be held on June 8 at the Minskoff Theater in New York City and feature former stars of the TV show: Will Chase, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle, and Debra Messing. It has raised more than $300,000 on the fundraising website and it still has 11 days to go. Hot damn. This truly shows that fans can make anything happen — and bring any show back to life, even if for just one night. So that got me thinking if Smash can get its own concert, what about other TV shows? There's so much creativity on the air right now that it would be a shame for it not to be taken to the stage. Bob's Burgers is having a lot of success with its Bob's Burgers Live national tours, which feature the voice talent behind the cartoon performing stand-up sets and music from the show. Nashville's singers regularly go on tour and perform as well.
Here are three other TV shows that should get the live stage treatment, pronto.
Empire
How is there not an Empire tour planned yet? The smash hit Fox series' soundtrack is the No. 1 album in the country and the Season 1 finale was the highest rated first season finale in 10 years, airing in March (not even May Sweeps, y'all). This midseason phenomenon has taken over our TVs and headphones, so why not stages across the country? All the stars are talented real-life musicians, so it wouldn't be too hard.
As of last month, Fox was "certainly thinking" about a concert tour for the show. Let's hope this becomes a reality.
Johnny Karate from Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation just wrapped up its final season on NBC, but before it ended, it blessed us with one of the most delightful half-hours of the year: A full-length episode of Andy Dwyer's Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show. The half-hour was filled with cameos, laughs, ridiculous Pawnee local commercials, and so much heart. Sure, it's meant to be a show for kids, but it truly captured the spirit of Parks and Recreation — and Pawnee itself — so it must live on.
Imagine a stage version. Chris Pratt would totally slay as Andy (like he did in the episode) and the Pawnee gang can have some pretty awesome cameos, like I know they would. And imagine how excited Andy would be if there were new celebrity musical guests each night? I'd buy tickets to this show.
Marnie and Desi on Girls
Look, I know they're a total trainwreck, but it might be fun to watch if Alison Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach perform in character — a show-from-the-show-within-a-show. As you know Marnie and Desi would, they'd have some mild stage self-destruction, anxieties, and money mismanagement, but I think the stage version should skip their kinky butt stuff, please.
It can be a total piece of performance art, just like Marnie's ex Booth Jonathan. At the end of the show, Desi will be nowhere to be found and Marnie can triumphantly perform and play guitar alone. Maybe she'll even fly off the stage — after all, Williams did play Peter Pan last year.
