Smash: Opening Night
Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 6:30PM Glenn here, one of the few remaing Smashites who will be with this dear show until the bitter end. I'm not going to mince words here: "Opening Night" was the best episode of the season so far. This is for a multitude of reasons that we'll get in to briefly, but mostly it's because "Hit List" barely factored. And when it did it was in the shadow of "Bombshell", the musical gets hailed the hit of the season. Too bad they didn't get that "love letter from The Times" that Liza so beautifully sang about a couple of weeks back.
2.12 "Opening Night"
This week is "Bombshell" heavy as opening night occurs and all the anticipation and exhiliration and drama and disappointment that comes with it. This is a good thing, folks, and "Hit List" thankfully takes a sidestep (although the show's writers can't help but force it upon Smash even when there are far more important things to be worrying about).
Ivy is naturally worried about the reviews... [more] but never more so than when she overhears two patrons on the street call her the ultimate diss - "a chorus girl". Ugh. Ivy, and by immediate association Megan Hilty, is not a chorus girl. Even when the show finally clues into itself that Hilty is the star they keep finding ways to remind her that she's perhaps not that good. Poor girl.
Still, she's got nothing on Julia who has a falling out with creative partner Tom. In a curious bit of... well, I'm not sure what it is (cross promotion? fortuitous symmetry? obvious cashing in?), Julia decides to revamp an old idea to turn The Great Gatsby into a Broadway musical now that the publishing rights have lapsed (she discovers this thanks to a surprise return of recent The Place Beyond the Pines Star and season one hate magnet Emory Cohen) only to discover via a bizarre Rosie O'Donnell cameo that Tom has decided to take upon another directing job. This leaves Julia in the dust and suitably miffed, but her growing relationship with off broadway producer Scott Nichols (Jesse L Martin, still not singing in each and every episode - what gives, Smash writers?!?) may just provide the answer. Well, that and a suitable end to the Julia/Tom relationship that could make for cathartic end in the inevitable series finale. I'm tearing up already, okay?
Lastly, Derek finally got a bit of what's been comin' to him and Karen realised she was never better than Ivy. It's about time! Sadly, the Karen V Ivy at the Tony's thing is really a thing that's really going to happen. I just don't think my heart can handle the disappointment when Karen wins the Tony and is crowned the Queen of Broadway (pigs blood is the only natural response, surely).
Best Bit: Megan Hilty slaying everyone. Could your fave? From dissing Derek for his rampant infidelity, to her triumphant rendition of "Don't Forget Me", to doing the best acting of fake modesty you will ever see in her duet of "That's Life" with Karen... she is FOREVER! Am I the only one who's enjoying Daphne Ruben-Vega as the hard-edged Bombshell publicist? Given how often they try to pass of "Hitlist" as a "Rent" for a new generation, it's nice seeing her run circles around Katherine McPhee, too. Still, McPhee was the best she's been. Away from the stage she is a casual presense and her backstage chat with Hilty was lacking the self-important that so frequently takes over her performance.
B♡BBY: Just one brief moment as he tries to break Ivy's "self-imposed media blackout" while wearing a brown turtleneck. Of course.
Most Confusing Moment: Oh, SMASH! You were doing so good and then you went and turn the very end into some bizarre misognyistic throwdown between Derek and an actress who accused him of sexual harrassment. Not only does she apologise for something he very clearly did wrong (victim blaming is so hot right now!), but he then cracks a smile and she goes home with him! I choose to believe this scene never happened because I can't fathom how anybody could write such garbled, offensive nonsense.
Gay Gay Gay: Well, there were cameos by Smash songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, as well as Rosie O'Donnell and even Edward Hibbert and Donna McKechnie in such tiny roles that they're not even listed on IMDb! But also, hey guys, were you aware Tom and Kyle are gay? Apart from a stray glance here and there, it's as if their homosexuality has been entirely erased from their personalities (well, apart from the fact they both write musicals). This week the writers found out how to work it into the script: alcohol and depression! Well, it beats Grindr. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda dug the pick up scene between these two. Tom finally got to express his sexuality again, but did so in a forward almost predatory fashion. Kyle, meanwhile, was all about the cougar appeal and jumped at the chance.
You go glen coco! Plus Andy Mientus has never been cuter, agreed?
I liked this episode very much. I give it a B+, although that scene with Derek and the actress is very damning. Let's just ignore it, shall we. But tell me, readers: was Megan Hilty's performance of "Don't Forget Me" her last ditch effort to make sure casting agents remember her? How did you find the Bombshell opening night?
Andy Mientus, Emory Cohen, Megan Hilty, Reviews, Smash, TV, musicals
Reader Comments (21)
My best friend, with whom I began watching the show last year, keeps insisting to me how much better it's gotten over the last few weeks. Sadly, I can't really muster the will to care enough to return to viewing it. My sole desire as it relates to “Smash" is to see “Bombshell" on Broadway with Megan Hilty in the lead, of course. There apparently is a “Save 'Smash'" campaign on Facebook, though I doubt it will amount to anything.
It's best chance of survival would be if it moved to a cable network and dramatically slashed its budget (that'd probably mean only following one production and axing even more characters). What could Smash fans send in though? Roswell fans sent in tabasco sauce!
You forgot to mention the episode's best, most cathartic moment, when Angelica Houston tosses off a "figures, Hit List!", dumped the ice bucket on Slimy Jimmy and his loser brother and then kick them out.
I think having a non-singing Jesse L. Martin on this show is the biggest non-use of singing talent on a musical series since Cheyenne Jackson on "Glee".
And as for the inevitable Karen vs Ivy at the Tonys, I think they should just just go to black right after whatever guest star they get to be the presenter says "And the winner is..." Curtain, end scene, series over.
I wasn't that blown away by "don't forget me", because omg those lyrics. I choose to think marc and scott knew mcphee was going to sing this in that awful finale and decided to give a half-assed effort... lol (or maybe they really incorporated that "tom and julia wrote this in under 3 hours").
but it's comical (or infuriating?) that "smash" even tries to pretend there's a contest for the tonys... this when we almost never hear anyone saying something superlative about ivy (besides tom, but he's her friend so it does not 'count' in-show), but we see EVERYONE gushing over karen and "hit list". for instance, in this episode, did they even bother to show a good review for ivy? I do not remember nothing specific.
That final bit between Kyle and Tom was cute
Glenn: Or fans of Stephanie Brown (Batgirl III in the Batman comics) sent in waffle mix. But with that, it's been a year and a half and...nothing.
How anyone thinks this episode and most of this season are anything but dumb is beyond me. This show had so much potential, with great actors, singers and performers and first rate music. The biggest thing lacking this season? A storyline that actually makes sense. The dialog is awful, often cheesy and unbelievable. I don't know where the writers went wrong but the idea was very good and execution horrible. So many unanswered questions, things thrown out of left field and they introduce characters we should care about only make them unlikable for no reason. I am heartbroken at the turn this show has taken. I love the music; I love the introduction of new characters and the chemistry with them. What I hate is the writers attempt to add these so called shocking twists and turns without really giving us a real sense of where they are going with the story. It is week after week of highs and lows, but mostly lows. It seems that in almost every episode to date, the last 5 minutes is by far the best part of the hour. I don’t know what the writers were trying to accomplish, but they missed a great opportunity to make this show go beyond season 2. Sadly, this show is doomed for cancellation and it is such a shame. My only hope (since I have invested so much time supporting this show), is that they go out with something worth watching!
It's hard to see how Bombshell can be a theatrical triumph when it's opening and closing have no theatricality. One girl alone singing a mid-tempo song is a tough way to start a show. What happened to the girls who pick-on Norma Jean before she sings "Star?" How does this work? She sings and then there's a book scene that establishes that she is Norma Jean at the beginning of her journey?I always conceived the song as being part of a ballet montage that shows Norma Jean competing in beauty pageants and getting modeling jobs, beating out the hundreds of other girls who think they should be stars until she's the last one on stage and gets her screen test. That's the way Derek would do it.
How do they get to that finale? What's the transition from her death to the song? Does it make sense for her to sing it? I'd've thought there would be a memorial where DiMaggio, or another sympathetic man from her life says "we were all brutal to her, so to honor her we'll try to be nicer. The mourners begin the song and then she takes it over.
I still don't understand what Gladys has to do with anything.
"Ugh, of course, 'Hit List'" from Eileen followed by beverage throwing was utterly delightful. I couldn't stop laughing.
"That's Life" was a lovely way to bring Karen and Ivy together plus I adored how they edited the lyrics a little to the Smash universe. Especially that little shout-out, "I thought of quitting but Eileen just won't buy it!" Aww.
"Don't Forget Me" was everything that I needed it to be. I thought Karen was actually going to die while Ivy was bringing it. That's the most acting McPhee has done all season. This was probably the only episode this season where i was all "ugh, fucking Karen." I still hate that Ivy has to follow freaking Karen so frequently. Three cheers for her for ditching Derek once she found out he was something else that Karen discarded.
Plus, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman at the premiere of Bombshell! and Leo and his amusing awfulness.
I get the drama between Tom and Julia though. It makes sense to me. Tom and Kyle though? WHY. This is just like Dev and Ivy. Just because you can put two characters together doesn't mean you should. WHY. WHY. WHY. Did Sam evaporate?
The Great Gatsby could actually be a great musical topic too but we'll just have to imagine since this show is pretty much haunting NBC. They don't even bother to show previews! HOW HARD CAN THAT EVEN BE?! They even cancelled that shitshow that they moved Smash for.
verbocityeric - I think i somewhat get Gladys' inclusion. She's the lone female voice in a story where Marilyn is defined by men (or at least in Julia's secondary version) I'm guessing it's contrast? Plus, the scenes with Gladys provide all of the Norma Jean aspects of the musical.
I truly think that Bombshell could really work but they would have to cut some of the songs. I love of all the songs so that would be a problem for me. lol.
Forgot to add, not only did Megan look luminous in that sparkly after-party dress, but unless there is more awesomeness to come, this ep should totally be her Emmy submission. She probably doesn't have a chance in hell but i want her to have as enough awards as humanly possible.
Yes, Eilieen's "Ugh. Hitlist" bit was amazing. I should have mentioned it. I'm so glad noboduy's mentioning Jimmy's brother subplot oh gawd.
I loved the episode, too. The best of the season probably. A few thoughts:
--Megan Hilty has never looked better on Smash than she did in that sequined dress with her hair pulled back at the Opening Night party. Wowza.
--Her "That's Life" opening was FANTASTIC. I was sure that McPhee was going to ruin it but then surprise! She wasn't half bad. And I really enjoyed the chemistry between them in the scene. Ivy's "I'm over our past drama" looks at Karen were lovely.
--I haaated that the show's two main gay characters hooked up in this episode. I found it very lazy, Glee-esque writing ("These two are gay so let's have them pair up. Everyone else in the show has.") Wasn't Kyle hooking up with that hot stage manager?
--Can we appreciate how amazing that Hit List poster looks!?
--I'm hopeful that the dual emphasis on Ivy wanting to step out of her mother's shadow and Hit List cutting Karen's role in favor of more for Ana means that Ivy will win the Best Actress Tony with Hit List taking Best Musical. I'm nothing if not an optimist.
Re: Tom and Kyle, I'll also add that the people I've seen online who support the pairing are all from Tom's generation. I find that interesting.
verbocityeric - "smash" should have shown more (or any) scenes from julia's book for us to understand the show better. we only got that (very) small dialogue scene after "our little secret".
though the book is a "complex masterpiece" says the nyt, we saw nothing of it.
and I believe I might just have to skip the "hit list" premiere episode ... look at what's to come.
SPOILERY link - but not really right?: http://www.broadwayspotted.com/spotted-smash-spoiler
I really can't with those quotes. lol
I've been disappointed by the lack of direction in Kyle's love life, but would rather have seen him hook up with Bobby. Andy Mientus nailed the scene, but Christian just felt lazy. He didn't sell me as actually being gay and had no chemistry with Andy.
Loved the Eileen scenes.
Gonna miss the show. It's a mess, but I still love it. And Megan Hilty...LOVE.
good episode. Oh hey, remember Jennifer Hudson? lol
SMASH is always at its best when it centers itself on performance, so it's no surprise that this was one of the best episodes of this season (perhaps even its entire run). I do wish we had seen a bit more of the Broadway Bombshell (perhaps we will in coming weeks?) as I have absolutely no clue about how most of it could possibly work and I feel they could have done a lot more with the tinkering that comes with Broadway previews. But, Ivy had her shining moment and brought the freakin' house down at the show AND at the after-party. That girl is nothing but class.
So many scenes in this episode were great: Everything with Bernadette Peters, the graceful scene between Karen and Ivy in the bathroom, Eileen and the ice bucket (SO perfect!)... but my favorite by far was when Ivy overheard the older man outside the theater say to his wife that what he didn't like about the show was HER ("She's been knocking around the chorus for years..."). Guarantee that scene hit home for anyone who has ever tried to work their way up through the ensemble. I am also LIVING for Daphne Rubin-Vega, although I wish the show would use her as a foil for Eileen more. The scene with Tom and Kyle (it's true, that hairdo did WONDERS for Andy Mientus) played really well, I thought, as they were both adorable. I had a momentary hitch where I was all "what about cute stage manager guy?!?" but then realized that Kyle probably idolizes Tom, so why wouldn't he take the opportunity to go home with him? It may not make real-world sense, but within the logic of this show it makes perfect sense (and in the theater world in general, this happens a lot more often than most people would like to admit; trust me).
And who'da thunk?!? Katherine McPhee (and by extension, Karen) wasn't completely, utterly awful this episode! Emmys all around, I say!
This was definitely the best episode of the season - as one might expect from an episode with two outstanding Megan Hilty performances. I hate that Smash closing number - holy lousy lyrics, Batman - but her duet with McPhee was surprisingly great. The last few episodes have been much, much better, and I hope they can carry this momentum through to the end of the season. I will never believe that Hit List is a better show than Bombshell, or that Karen is even half the talent that Ivy is, but I can still buy that they'd be positioned as rivals and battle it out for hype and box office and awards - and it could be a lot of fun to watch that happen.
I'm not sure there was meant to be a scintellating amount of chemistry between Tom and Kyle. The former was drunk and the latter is exhausted by his friend.
WOW. So i caught up now that i'm back in town. What an episode! Definitely the best this season and so good it made me sad all over again but not in a bitter way that the show won't have a third season. In fact if this had been the last episode it might have felt like a perfect capper.
The biggest mistake this show ever made in season 2 was not doing a time jump to the good stuff. They friterred away all the "wait and see" uncommitted curiousity on terrible terrible stalling episodes to unwind tired plot threads. why don't showrunners learn from the confident bold leaps that shows like Battlestar Galactica or Mad Men make between seasons. Audiences can catch up. They don't need everything spelled out when they see a time jump they'll understand that "this happened when i wasn't watching"
Well I finally caught up with this episode and in fact the entire second season. This season is much, much better than the first and I really appreciate that the drama is about the work. The only time I can't stand the show is when they drift into stupid soap opera territory (Jimmy and his brother) and of course any scene that requires Katharine McPhee to "act."
McPhee was tolerable in this episode because she got to sing but not too much, and her acting was mostly just about quizzical reactions to the goings on around her (blank stupor is a McPhee strong suit).
I ended this episode wishing beyond hope that Christian Borle and especially Megan HIlty could get Emmy noms. I really don't think an I Survived Smash t-shirt is sufficient reward for all their hard work.