Before I begin: Did Y'all know SMASH was a novel? Cause I didn't either! In 1980, Garson Kanin published a novel loosely based on his experiences during the 1964 Musical production of Funny Girl. His novel and the television program follow a similar series of events creating a musical about iconic women. For TV, Creator Theresa Rebeck replaces Vaudeville Star Nora Bayes with our Marilyn Monroe. Click the link for more about the NOVEL.
Second thing: If you were a fan of Season 1 and really wish Bombshell were a Musical - well, NBC has a huge present for you. Today, in-stores and on iTunes, NBCStudios released the complete cast recording of BOMBSHELL.
Last thing before we begin. If you havent seen the season premiere yet, you really should. Go ahead, watch it RIGHT HERE. I'll wait.
all caught up? great! Awesome! Let's do this:
SMASH 2.1 "On Broadway"
The one positive thing about waiting for what feels like FOR-EVER for the return of what is arguably one of TV’s best shows of last year is the fact that we, the viewers, get nearly 13 consecutive weeks of uninterrupted fun, flash, and filth.
We pick up precisely where any Broadway ‘Bombshell’ (forgive
the pun, sometimes it’s too easy) would leave off – In Boston. Karen (American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee)
apologizes to her audience for keeping them waiting in yet another number that
makes even Wicked seem like community theater.
Well Karilyn, you’d better be sorry to us, because everyone seems to
spend some amount of time apologizing to you.
Your “I’m in tech,” excuse worked so well on your fiancée,
Dev, that he exited upstage (from the whole series) after he ushered himself in
on the Blondeshell, Ivy Lynn (the actual Broadway beauty, Megan Hilty). While I was glad to learn she didn’t go all
Ivy, Interrupted with her pills and liquor, a part of me thinks it might’ve
made for a better plotline.
Summary, Karen hates Ivy, Ivy is jealous, AND neither girl
can keep a man. I recommend these girls
watch a few episodes of GIRLS and realize just how much they should just be
friends already.
Lights up on Karen going on a date with director to the
stars, Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) – yes, that’s right, a date. Apparently as much as she hates Ivy, she’s
not prone to being a designer imposter.
Derek’s next project is a revival of The Wiz ---
---wait, you’ve heard
of this show?? No way. A REAL musical is
happening on a show about MUSICALS!!!?! Well played, SMASH, well played ---
Anyways, the show is set to star Smash’s version of Audra
McDonald, Veronica Moore (Idol finalist, Dreamgirl, and Oscar winner, JenniferHudson), who will also be portraying the role of Karen’s fame mentor. “Protect the work,” she says. You want MY advice, Karen? DON'T DATE YOUR DIRECTOR!
Elsewhere in the limelight we find Tom and Julia (Tony Award
winner Christian Borle, and everyone’s favorite GINGER Hag Debra Messing)
reading and not-reading the reviews of their theater lovechild, (a headline in
the newspaper ever-so-delicately labels it a ‘BOMB-Shell’). We also sadly (but not really sadly) learn
that Julia’s on-stage fling with Michael Swift has gone dark just as quickly as
we see the curtain fall on her marriage to Frank. So long, Brian D’Arcy James. Maybe they’ll write a book for Shrek 2, the
musical.
So for now Will&Grace - rather, Tom and Julia are roomies, commiserating that neither one of THEM can keep a man.
Martini-Slinging Eileen Rand (Academy Award winner AnjelicaHouston) really needs a new assistant since someone keeps telling her DINOSAUR
of an ex-husband, Jerry, her whereabouts whenever the lady has a meeting. I mean, this guy must have taken notes from
J. Edgar Hoover on how to stalk people.
He wants to cash in on Bombshell so badly, it’s just kinda sad.
Rather than ramble through what happens next, I’ll just break it down into some key points:
- Jerry’s thumbs are so big, I’m amazed he can text, but he does, and tells his 555-**** friend to go ahead with ‘the plan. He intends to sabotage Eileen and her boyfriend, the apparent drug lord with TONS of money. If HE gets locked up, even EILEEN will lose her man. PS - can we create a NEW fake number system, or am i the only one who hates how obvious the unreal numbers are?
- Derek learns that more than a few former females are making allegations of Sexual Harassment after the less than lovely Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) claims it was the other kind of peanuts that drove her from the Boston run of Bombshell.
- Jerry’s plan comes into light when we learn the government is looking into the finances behind Bombshell and puts the show temporarily on hold.
- Ivy apologizes to Karen – again – but this time, not for undermining Karen’s career, not for sleeping with Dev, not for anything that REALLY matters, but for why she did it: Jealousy.
- Karen meets a few new boys, including new eye candy Jimmy Collins (Film and Broadway beau Jeremy Jordan) a stand-offish bartender/douche/composer. He comes on a little hard and fast, and poor Karen hasn’t a clue what to do with him.
Now, lets talk music:
“Cut, Print … Moving On” – Our welcome
back for Season. Katharine McPhee proves
just why she’s perfectly cast as Karen, and why audiences would LOVE her as
Marilyn. The number’s sweeping melody
and quick pace makes it easily one of the best Bombshell Numbers
“Mama Makes Three” – A peek into
Veronica Moore’s production of Beautiful,
J-HUD belts out this perfect Motown-esque number as if she walked off the set
of Dreamgirls and right onto our TV screens.
She sings, we listen.
“Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Ivy’s
moving forward, with or without Marilyn on her resume. Her wrenching cover of the Crowded House
classic makes us wonder, WHY WASN’T IT HER?
She’s just so damned talented – there’s no way she belongs in the
chorus.
“On Broadway” – Karen and Veronica
team up to distract the press to what’s really happening at Eileen’s soiree and
make a bluesy sleeper of a song still a little boring. I mean, these girls can sing – MAKE THEM
SING! We love them both, this number is
good, but it could have been GREAT.
“Broadway, Here I Come” – Karen ‘forgets’
her cell phone on the bar top at 1am.
Upon her return to fetch it, we hear Jimmy playing out his soul on the
ivory keys with what is my, and itunes, most favorite new song. Welcome to the show, Jeremy Jordan.
Next Up: Episode 2 “The Fallout” - Coming SOON.
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