Last week I raved over Awake, NBC's latest drama offering that is probably the best show to premiere this season. However, a few weeks earlier, NBC also debuted Smash, their attempt to cash in on the musical TV trend set by Glee. I was reluctant to watch, but the fact that it was created by Theresa Rebeck (the playwright who wrote Seminar), and stars Jack Davenport (who I've loved since Coupling) convinced me to give it a try. Now four episodes in, I've officially added the show to my DVR list.
Smash is a grown-up version of Glee. Yes, there's plenty of singing and dancing, but it's rarely arbitrary. The show is about the production of a Brodway musical about Marilyn Monroe, starting from the show's inception in the brains of co-writers Julia and Tom (Debra Messing and Christian Borle) to the quest to find a cast, financing, a director (enter Jack Davenport) and the myriad other details that must be attended to when attempting to put something up on Broadway. The show's biggest conflict arises when the production team are posed with the dilemma of who to cast as Marilyn. Their choices are Karen Cartwright, a complete newcomer who has been struggling to get her big break, or Ivy Lynn, an actress who has been resigned to smaller parts but is ready for a lead role. Karen is played by American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee, who has a tough time establishing that she could ever be considered competition for Ivy, who is played by genuine Broadway star Megan Hilty. Hilty has the looks, voice, and personality of Marilyn, and if by the end of the pilot, you find yourself actually confused as to who deserves to get the part, you are just as insane as the characters producing the musical, who bother to struggle with the idea of just giving the part to Ivy already.
The interesting thing about Smash is that a lot of the musical numbers are original songs written for this Marilyn show. Unlike Glee where each episode throws six popular music numbers at you for no sensible reason, Smash gives you snatches of the score for the musical as it's being composed and then occasionally breaks out a full-fledged production number that can be quite dazzling. There are some popular numbers as well, just keep the audience's interest, but it is quite engaging to watch this musical being created before your very eyes. In fact, I heard that the ultimate plan for the show involves maybe three seasons as we follow the various stages before the musical is completed, and then, if the songs and story are sufficiently good, the musical won't just be for TV - it will be a legitimate Broadway show. That sounds like a fine idea to me, especially since the songs we've heard so far are pretty decent.
Unfortunately, Smash is afflicted with the NBC curse and its ratings have been dropping rather precipitously from week to week. They might be able to pull off one season, and maybe they'll just wrap up everything within that time and still have a musical to put on. So far, it's a fluffy delight, a far better alternative to Glee and its ilk, with some fine acting talent and some truly great Broadway chops courtesy of Megan Hilty. The dialogue can be pretty stilted at times (playwrights never seem to understand how people actually talk in real life) but you can forgive that when the story moves along at a good pace. If you've ever been interested in musical theater, Smash is a great introduction to that world, and although it amps up the melodrama, it still can be pretty informative about the number of people and the amount of work that goes into putting on a musical.
This show is a reasonable way to spend your Monday night. I can't say I get as excited about watching it as I do about a lot of other shows, but at least I haven't cast it by the wayside either (as I am seriously going to do with Glee once this season is done, or maybe sooner). If nothing else, it's got some hot British men, a hot blond lady, and some fun songs. That should keep anyone entertained for an hour every week.
Smash is a grown-up version of Glee. Yes, there's plenty of singing and dancing, but it's rarely arbitrary. The show is about the production of a Brodway musical about Marilyn Monroe, starting from the show's inception in the brains of co-writers Julia and Tom (Debra Messing and Christian Borle) to the quest to find a cast, financing, a director (enter Jack Davenport) and the myriad other details that must be attended to when attempting to put something up on Broadway. The show's biggest conflict arises when the production team are posed with the dilemma of who to cast as Marilyn. Their choices are Karen Cartwright, a complete newcomer who has been struggling to get her big break, or Ivy Lynn, an actress who has been resigned to smaller parts but is ready for a lead role. Karen is played by American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee, who has a tough time establishing that she could ever be considered competition for Ivy, who is played by genuine Broadway star Megan Hilty. Hilty has the looks, voice, and personality of Marilyn, and if by the end of the pilot, you find yourself actually confused as to who deserves to get the part, you are just as insane as the characters producing the musical, who bother to struggle with the idea of just giving the part to Ivy already.
The interesting thing about Smash is that a lot of the musical numbers are original songs written for this Marilyn show. Unlike Glee where each episode throws six popular music numbers at you for no sensible reason, Smash gives you snatches of the score for the musical as it's being composed and then occasionally breaks out a full-fledged production number that can be quite dazzling. There are some popular numbers as well, just keep the audience's interest, but it is quite engaging to watch this musical being created before your very eyes. In fact, I heard that the ultimate plan for the show involves maybe three seasons as we follow the various stages before the musical is completed, and then, if the songs and story are sufficiently good, the musical won't just be for TV - it will be a legitimate Broadway show. That sounds like a fine idea to me, especially since the songs we've heard so far are pretty decent.
Unfortunately, Smash is afflicted with the NBC curse and its ratings have been dropping rather precipitously from week to week. They might be able to pull off one season, and maybe they'll just wrap up everything within that time and still have a musical to put on. So far, it's a fluffy delight, a far better alternative to Glee and its ilk, with some fine acting talent and some truly great Broadway chops courtesy of Megan Hilty. The dialogue can be pretty stilted at times (playwrights never seem to understand how people actually talk in real life) but you can forgive that when the story moves along at a good pace. If you've ever been interested in musical theater, Smash is a great introduction to that world, and although it amps up the melodrama, it still can be pretty informative about the number of people and the amount of work that goes into putting on a musical.
This show is a reasonable way to spend your Monday night. I can't say I get as excited about watching it as I do about a lot of other shows, but at least I haven't cast it by the wayside either (as I am seriously going to do with Glee once this season is done, or maybe sooner). If nothing else, it's got some hot British men, a hot blond lady, and some fun songs. That should keep anyone entertained for an hour every week.
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| The two actresses vying for the role of Marilyn: isn't it obvious who it should be? |
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