Screen: Universal Television
Smash Finally Wins Pin The Leading Lady On The Musical
The latest run of episodes in the Smash rewatch finds Karen and Ivy each headlining the right musical (and lots of ex-Rent stars telling off lots of Bombshell boobs).
Our Players
The Talk
This is a crazy run of episodes in terms of plot propulsion, and I'm sure we'll jump around, but let's start with Episode 8: I'm so glad all these original Rent cast members have shown up to tell off Bombshellers. Agnes: keep educating Eileen about what does and does not constitute a story a publicist can tell. Scott: DO NOT LET JULIA OFF THE HOOK FOR FUCKING YOU OVER. ("They offered me Mike Nichols"? I cannot believe he would want anything to do with her slapdash work, MAY HE REST IN PEACE.)
Jesse L. Martin and Daphne Rubin-Vega are both great, and welcome, presences. Like Megan Hilty and Christian Borle (and of course Bernadette Peters), they add some Broadway cred without actually being hokey cameos. Though it's sad that neither of them will actually sing on the show at any point. (But Debra Messing will? Sure, why not?) It's also nice seeing Scott keep not just Julia but also Derek in check. Though it's not clear to me how Hit List's downtown aesthetic can't handle some video screens but a giant aerial ballet is fine, even if it is one of my favorite numbers of the entire series.
It's especially important that Scott is around to add some much-needed acid to the proceedings because we're also in the run of episodes in which Karen and Jimmy quit dancing around each other (er, not literally -- they still have to do that, for work) and start some kind of romantic-ish relationship, and if you thought Karen's baby voice was irritating before, wait until you see it trying to wheedle her Bad Boy into going public with their shmoopiness! It would be the worst if that were all there was to it, but what's even worster is how Karen and Jimmy get all militant about it once Derek finds out and decide every decision he's making about the show -- primarily the ones that sideline their characters in favour of more for The Diva to do -- are about their personal shit, and don't drop the misconception even when Derek yells at them for bringing him into all their "high school" nonsense. I haven't always loved all his decisions but his part in this "love" triangle makes me Team Derek 4 Lyfe.
They're both the fucking worst! Jimmy's repeated tantrums are completely unprofessional...though even Derek seems to find them more amusing than anything.
Jimmy has some legitimately rough stuff going on with his drug use and his brother (who seems maybe not all that threatening? I mean, Kyle stands up to him) but he can't seem to communicate in his personal OR professional life. But it's impossible to totally hate him or Karen because they're legitimately talented -- now that Karen's in a role that's actually appropriate for her, this is much more clear. Jimmy is possibly even more whiny than Karen, though, and that's when he's not disgustingly negging her.
Though I do like the couple of moments when they make it clear that Karen at least in part has fallen victim to a dreaded talent crush, which is a pretty reasonable thing to have on either Jimmy Collins or Jeremy Jordan.
But then they both get so bent out of shape about Derek and Kyle "taking away Karen's song" and giving it to Ana, when all they do is give her three lines to sing as a prologue when the audience doesn't know what it means yet. Karen still gets to sing it! (And we actually hear her do so, which because they never released a recording, I'd forgotten -- it's really good!) It's like accusing the overture of stealing your song.
I generally feel that with very few exceptions writers shouldn't be in their shows, if for no other reason than that you need to be able to watch them to know what's working and what isn't. Jimmy's lack of perspective is proof of that. So, points for realism! Meanwhile, Dylan Baker returns as Karen's father (and is the best), and instead of eloquently explaining her career choices like she did in the pilot, she's just whiny and petulant with him. It's all very odd.
Dylan Baker is the best, no question, and the show's choice to write him in that episode as a cartoon is all the more disappointing for it. Karen is in her mid-twenties and formerly lived -- unmarried -- with her boyfriend. Does she seriously think she has to send Jimmy out the window rather than admit that she has sex sometimes?! I know it's partly so that Mr. Cartwright can be mistaken about whose jacket he saw rolling by on the fire escape, but...well, I guess I can't really say that kind of Three's Company plotting is unworthy of a show like Smash, but pretend I did.
These episodes also sees the return of Bernadette Peters not just as Ivy's mother but as her surprise co-star! I am with Ivy in feeling that Tom's part in springing this on Ivy rather than running it by her before talking to Leigh is a real shithead move and would be even if they hadn't been friends for years. But since they have, it's...really awful, in my opinion. You?
Oh, it's completely awful, even if they weren't friends. It just seems inappropriate. Granted, Leigh had been calling and Ivy didn't pick up, but while Tom and Eileen have every right to cast whomever they want, it's an unusual circumstance and a dick move. But then, Tom makes a lot of dick moves in his maiden voyage as director, which is another weird detour, writing-wise. I think we're meant to read his fakey-fake mannerisms as insecurity in his new position, and that's real enough, but it just kind of made me hate the character who had previously been one of my favorites. Fortunately, he's mostly redeemed himself by the end of this run of episodes, in no small part because -- unlike, say, Karen -- he learns from his mistakes and gets better as both a person and a professional. Go figure!
I hate the plot for making me take Julia's side ever, but I kind of have no choice when he starts seriously thinking about making his next project a directing gig and doesn't let her know. I get that everything happens in quick succession and maybe he didn't get a chance -- and also he's still mad at Julia for not telling him about her script doctoring on Hit List, which makes him look worse in the (horribly written, from what we hear read aloud) Times story comparing that show and Bombshell. But if she's been pitching him ideas for what they should be working on next together, like, three hours ago, if he's thinking their next project should be in the distant future or maybe never, she deserves to know. But at least she can land on her feet: Scott's going to give her a fall slot for a play she HASN'T EVEN WRITTEN YET.
This is one of those TV tropes that bugs me always and reaches epic proportions here: JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER. Yes, I know, you need drama in a drama, but come on. There's no excuse for Tom and Julia not to be having these conversations. And in real life (which, yes, I know this isn't), a Gatsby musical would take years to write (they don't even have the rights yet!), so there's no reason at all why Tom couldn't do both. Most of my pedantry in these posts is just in good fun, but this plot point really bugged me. I just wanted to shake them both.
People on this show do tend to be really presumptuous in general -- Karen bullying Jimmy into pursuing the staging of his show against his will; Julia informing Tom that they're going to announce their next project publicly when he just heard about it three seconds ago; Sam going on a probably drunk promise from Tom to QUIT HIS ACTUAL JOB in a touring company of The Book Of Mormon. It's annoying!
I think the thing with Tom and Julia is an allusion to Harold Prince, who famously always had his next project lined up on opening night, so that he wouldn't wallow if the reviews were bad, or rest on his laurels if they were good. I wish they'd explained that, because instead it just kind of made Julia look even more manic than usual. Speaking of Hal Prince, I've been questioning Derek's fame level for weeks and I finally realized something when Agnes mentioned that Tom's name can't sell tickets like Derek's can: he is supposed to be Fosse or Prince. I'm going to give Smash a pass on the fact that star Broadway directors like that barely exist anymore (Julie Taymor, maybe?) and allow for the throwback. I just wish I'd picked up on it sooner. I really enjoy getting to see him work on Hit List in a hands-on way we didn't really get to see with Bombshell. What we see of that process (Jimmy and Karen issues aside) is really fun. Even the parts where Julia helps.
And winks.
You're right: Hit List scenes that actually take place on stage are never not compelling to watch. Ana's debut as The Diva has to be so remarkable that a journalist's response to it would significantly change the show, and it is. Derek's workaround for "I Heard Your Voice In A Dream," conveying a cross-country journey with nothing but choreography, is riveting.
And even though "Original" is the best Taylor Swift song Taylor Swift never wrote, it's fun.
On top of all that, they don't even have to make their scenes headline-worthy by going full-frontal, IVY. ...Just kidding: Ivy's choice in that scene is (a) right and (b) smarter than Tom's.
Funny, my note on "Voice In A Dream" is "Everything they say conceptually is right but what we see is TERRIBLE." I'd blocked out that interpretive dance and wan little "look at me I'm sad" Karen completely.
I do love the song though. On the other hand, the only note I took during "Reach For Me" was "REACH FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Which is also in my top ten most-played songs in iTunes. I don't care if it makes sense, it's gorgeous to watch and the song is fantastic.
As for Bombshell, yes, Tom eventually gets most of his shit together, Ivy opens triumphantly (we even get to hear her sing all of "Don't Forget Me")...
...and you get the acknowledgment you've wanted since the show got its title that it's catnip for critics and gossip columnists. From Michael Riedel himself, no less!
And after all they've been through, Karen and Ivy each get the chance to be gracious to the other -- Karen, after opening night, telling Ivy privately that she owned the role and no one could have done it better; Ivy, as Karen is slinking out following the brawl her thug boyfriend started in the middle of a fancy party, inviting her on stage for a hatchet-burying duet.
It's not like we get the impression they're going to be besties or anything, but they're both where they belong and they can be happy for one another. It's just nice that they can quit catfighting...particularly now that Karen has a new adversary in Ana.
FOR NO GOOD REASON. Ugh, sorry, we've been over this already.
That's okay, there's no wrong time to say Karen's an asshole.
True! But let's end, like Ivy Lynn ends this run of episodes, on a high note. Hit List has already sold out its Off Broadway run before even starting previews, Bombshell has opened to strong reviews (if not universal raves), Ivy and Leigh are reconciled, Ivy realizes she doesn't need Derek's booty calls, the original cast of Rent is gainfully employed. What could possibly go wrong?!
| 27 Episodes Watched |
5 Episodes Remaining |
| MVP Ivy |
LVP Leo |
The Pedant's Guide To Smash
- Ivy is presented as a diva for asking, but she's right: Marilyn absolutely needs a break in Act 2. And in Act 1. Based on the recent real-life concert, Bombshell seems basically unperformable.
- She's also right about redoing the costumes. Karen and Ivy have totally different body types.
- Tom can't just offer Sam a role, that costs money.
- Seriously, does no one in this world have an agent? Sam quit The Book Of Mormon without having a contract for Bombshell yet? And also apparently did so without having to give any notice whatsoever? And then Leigh got her offer at night (directly from Tom or Eileen) and is in rehearsal the next morning? Nooooope.
- And then Sam does get a job after all somehow. As a swing, which he doesn't want, but considering he quit Mormon like an idiot he should stop complaining.
- Related: it's not uncommon for shows to realize they need more coverage and add extra swings, understudies, and even assistant stage managers (poor Linda), but usually not until after opening, because Equity says that your company on opening night is your company forever -- you can't downsize. If you wait to add people, you can cut the positions later if you need to.
- Ivy's first instinct when Tom asks to talk to her is that she's been fired. Not unreasonable around here!
- I've simply given up on trying to figure out Bombshell's timeline. And I think the show has given up on trying to explain it, which I actually prefer.
- ...that said, how long is this tech? It's not necessarily unrealistic! Broadway shows can tech for many weeks! It's just a strange contrast to Boston, and it's unclear where the money is coming from.
- If it is a super-long tech, then not all of the days would be 10-out-of-12s, which can explain how Tom can take Ivy to dinner with Liza...
- ...and Ivy can have a birthday party. Except then the invited dress is the next day? But they do keep saying how tired everyone is, so they're just making bad life choices. I'll allow it. Sorry, Dev.
- "Whoever thought it was a good idea to have your first performance be in front of your friends and family was obviously not an actor." Word, Ivy Lynn.
- Oh, NOW Eileen wants to cancel a preview? Shows have long intermissions in early previews all the time. It takes practice to get a big set change right, a lot often has to shift backstage between acts (most Broadway theaters have surprisingly little wing space; storing scenery and getting it where it needs to be at the right time is a real puzzle, with much of it actually being hoisted into the air on winches when it's not in use), and the crew almost never gets to do it in real time during tech. It's not the end of the world. But back when you had to replace your star with no rehearsal, canceling was out of the question?
- It didn't occur to anyone to move a number to solve the intermission problem before? (Well, Julia was downtown.) It's called a "scene in one" (though usually it's just in front of a drop, not in the house), and it's been a part of musical theater structure to cover set changes literally forever. When did they have time to tech and light it? And how does "Dig Deep" make any sense before "Public Relations"?
- Eileen would never allow planting actors in the audience and losing those prime seats. Plus there's a show in two hours: they're already sold.
- I believe this is the second time an agent has ever been mentioned on Smash (maybe Rebecca had one, so not counting her), and it's Sam receiving a call about whether he's going on. NOPE! Swings and understudies are always on call, and their agents don't care. That call comes from the stage manager. And he was in the lobby of the theater anyway. She'd just tell him.
- The scene after Bombshell's first preview is what a stage door actually looks like, not Ronnie's flashbulbs.
- It's odd that they used real theater names all season, including on location, then changed the name of the Lyceum.
- Bombshell's opening night party is at the Hotel Carter? GROSS.
- Eileen and Agnes's ad meeting war room is totally real. It mostly happens the next morning and not actually at the party, but close enough.
- There's a poster from the original Off Broadway production of Rent behind Scott's desk. A signed Rent poster. So Jesse L. Martin and Daphne Rubin-Vega both exist in a world in which Jesse L. Martin and Daphne Rubin-Vega are playing other people. And Jesse plays half his scenes standing in front of his own signature. This hurts my brain.
- Picnic table seating at a fancy benefit for a downtown theater company: yup.
- I doubt that even giant show queens know what the Arts Editor at the Times looks like. I work in the industry and I don't know the name of the Arts Editor at the Times. The theater critics, yes, but not the editor.
- It's utter nonsense that Hit List is rehearsing in the theater with full tech. They're teching and staging at the same time? While rewriting the entire show? No. When is the set getting built? When are the lights getting hung? And there'd be another show in that theater! (Though I guess they do say it's the first show of the season.) The funny thing is, the real NYTW has rehearsal studios in the building.
- I'm not saying the structure of Hit List doesn't need work, but there's more to writing than just moving scenes around on notecards, JULIA.
