Smash: Series Premiere

Just as NBC was waving their arms in surrender, going under with the heavy tide of ratings failure, a lifeboat comes in the form of Mr. Steven Spielberg.

A show about musical theater! Before you roll our eyes and picture all the Gleeks out there glittering with pop renditions…wait one second. Spielberg first came to Bob Greenblatt, president of entertainment at Showtime, in 2009.  He wanted each season to feature the creation of a new musical and if the show proved successful, to mount them on Broadway the following year. Sounds like a brilliant concept, but after the project landed in the hands of NBC, questions have been raised regarding the authenticity of the show-will it be a true-to-life depiction of the starving-artist New York struggle?

With Showtime, maybe; with NBC, of course not. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Isn’t musical theatre about appealing to the mass public in the first place! With a team of Broadway veterans, some of the most valuable writers in TV and the stage and Captain Spielberg, they might just pull it off.

Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle), two of Broadways most beloved writers have a spectacular new musical in development: Marilyn the Musical.  It’s the talk of the town and now begins their search for the next big star. Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) is, like the majority of the population in NYC, pursuing her theatrical career. From the beginning, her determination, tenacity and fresh-faced innocence are appealing. We’re rooting for her.

There’s also Julia and Tom’s chorus-girl-ready-for-her-big-break close friend Ivy Lyynn (Megan Hilty). She’s trying on the part through rehearsals with the writers and director, and yes, the shoe fits. The only catch is that the director Derek Willis (Jack Davenport), who rubs Tom completely the wrong way with his pompous demeanor, wants to discover the next big star. After Karen waltzes into an audition for the musical, singing an admittedly mesmerizing rendition of “Beautiful”, he’s got his eye on the prize. Which may perhaps be more than just Karen’s voice.

Which girl will land the part of a lifetime: Ivy or Karen? Game on. The stakes are high and that’s always a great way to start the season.

Theresa Rebeck is both the executive producer and head writer for Smash. Not only is she experienced in writing for TV, she’s also an extremely successful playwright. She’s just the person for the job. Through the glitz and glam, she’s already begun to plant intricate, compelling personal plot lines for each character.

It’s great to see Messing back on the small screen and playing a part that couldn’t fit her better: the quirky, intelligent woman who’s friends with all the gays! She’s deliciously charming and already has depth to her character in development. She and her husband Frank (Brian d’Arcy James) are looking to adopt a child. Next to all the backstage drama, let’s hope this story can hold its weight.

And then there’s Anjelica Houston, who at least in the pilot, is completely underutilized. She’s the producer who’s lost both her reputation and her husband. We’ve seen the “nasty divorce” before, but what will be truly gripping is to watch will her be rise out of the ashes. If Marilyn the Musical is a success, Eileen could be back on top. Who doesn’t like to see Huston in a role where she can exercise her feminine ferocity?

There’s more than enough goodies to get you excited about Smash. If you’re a fan of the theatre, there’s the multiple Tony award winning director Michael Mayer. Looking at the success of his shows Spring Awakening and American Idiot, it seems as if Smash couldn’t be in better hands. It’s also a second shot chance for Broadway songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, whose Catch Me if You Can didn’t quite live up to it’s hype. But if the pilot proves anything, the soundtrack this season should be full of delicious new music, all in hopes of sales soaring within the itunes market.

And then, it goes without saying, Spielberg is just one more reason to watch. If his initial idea comes to fruition, we could not only see the rise of musical theater on television, but also on the actual stage. Here’s to hoping The Book of Mormon is only the beginning of Broadway’s rebirth.