SMASH: Episodes 1-2

 I LOVE THIS SHOW!
I was late in realizing this miracle of a show exists,
but here are my thoughts on the first 2 episodes.
[I'll catch up on the rest ASAP, promise.]

1: Let Me Be Your Star

We open on Karen, a young Broadway hopeful, belting out a beautiful rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." As her voice soars, the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupts and brings Karen back to reality. She's at an audition, and the director rudely takes a call in the middle of her number. Karen calls her supportive boyfriend Dev to vent about how the audition was a bust. Later, she learns from her agent that she was considered too "girl next door" for the part. Karen voices her continued frustration over not being sexy enough for any roles.

• I was immediately hooked from the first conversation between Tom & Julia [the writing team, played by Christian Borle & Debra Messing] on the lack of fresh, new musicals on Broadway (although I did dislike their anti-TheatreBlogger comments).
• Tom’s assistant Ellis [played by Jaime Cepero] was annoying, but I appreciated his unrelenting appreciation of musical theatre & his monologue about finding joy working the ropes backstage; his recollection of “[feeling] happy just being backstage” is a very relatable sentiment.
• This pilot presented a great spectrum of conflicts & questions to charm a strong audience following… Aileen’s divorce & its’ effect on her financial role as producer, the bad past between Tom on the writing team & his director Derek, the question of which leading lady will snag the lead, Julia’s husband’s hesitation for her to pursuit this project because of the all-encompassing nature of the arts on one’s relationship.
• While on the subject of Julia’s husband, his character’s name is Frank & he is being played by true blue Broadway alum Brian D’Arcy James. It’s funny that cast in a non-singing part & non-theatre role, but his presence lends a pleasing authenticity for the authentic Broadway-lovers in the crowd.
• Megan Hilty & Katharine McPhee were perfect casting choices for their respective, opposing roles. As Karen, McPhee accurately depicts just the type of absurdly talented but strangely dry randoms who are finding success on Broadway these days. As Ivy, Megan Hilty displayed the perfect energy & angst of someone stuck in the ensemble, while still presenting the pristine, sassy, hopeful arrogance of an aspiring starlet.

2: The Callback

The final decision is revealed after Ivy and Karen are brought back for a second callback. Meanwhile, Derek, Eileen, Tom and Julia discuss Karen and Ivy, trying to settle once and for all who's best for the role. Ivy's a trained professional and looks like Marilyn, but Karen's got an innocence and star quality that's hard to ignore. They finally settle on yet another callback, this time for dancing. Then, they'll finally be able to put this debate to rest.  

I appreciated how this episode immediately addressed the effect one’s passion & success in an artistic field on their personal relationships. It emphasized the serious & white-knuckling stakes of Broadway in startling authenticity. No complaints!

 Episode Summaries