Utterly smashed... that's what I would describe myself since I finished watching the first season of the TV series, Smash. To say that I liked the series would be an understatement. Why wouldn't I love it? It has 3 elements that I adore: theater, songwriting and fellow Gemini, Marilyn Monroe.
For those who haven't seen the series, here's a summary:
Smash is about a group of people who are producing a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Their road to broadway was filled with intrigues, competition, and frustrations as the characters' personal lives intertwined with the hurdles of their theater production.
The first season showcased rivalry between Ivy Lynn and Karen Cartwright on who's going to play the lead in "Bombshell", the musical about Marilyn Monroe. Ivy, played by Megan Hilty, is a Broadway veteran who's career seemed to be stuck in the chorus, or ensemble, to be politically correct. Karen, played by Katherine McPhee, is a stage newbie from Iowa who's resume is "light and green" but her singing is simply remarkable. At the end of the season, after a series of mishaps and intrigues, the role of Marilyn ends up on the hands of Karen, or at least for the entire run of Bombshell's pre-Broadway shows.
In a few weeks, the second season will start and as I have read from various web articles, the show made big changes, even as far as changing it's creator Theresa Rebeck with Josh Safran. This makes me a bit nervous about the outcome, mainly because I believe that the first season worked because Rebeck is actually IN the theater industry as a playwright. We'll see...
Four actors we're also booted out and replaced with new characters as they battle it out with other theater musicals on Broadway. That should be exciting, I think. But what I am really wishing for is for Bombshell to become a real musical on Broadway. It deserves to be on Broadway. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the songs! My two faves on their OST would be Don't Forget Me and Second Hand White Baby Grand.
So, for this TV series, two thumbs up! If you love theater and music, you'd surely love this show. And, it's nice to see a more mature, musical TV series, a far cry from that high school musical Glee. Plus, IMO, the songs here are much, much better since most of them are originals.
I bet season 2 would be another, er, Smash!
