Rachelle's Reading List, Monday February 6th, 2012

Smash is the most hyped about TV show, ever. Well, tonight's the night folks. Smash, that new NBC show that you have heard shouted from the rooftop for months is finally debuting! I'm going to watch it (mostly for Angelica Huston), but I'm totally aware that it's probably going to be a major let down. What are the real critics saying? 1. USA Today Reviews [USAToday]

Almost every step this weekly musical about a musical takes is a risk — it's using mostly original songs rather than Glee-like covers; it's set in the rarefied world of Broadway; it's wandering into the often treacherous cultural waters that surround Marilyn Monroe— and almost every risk comes with a reward. And if you're still unsure, consider the talents working behind the scenes to get this right, including producers Steven Spielberg, Neil Meron, Craig Zadan and Hairspray songwriters Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. A witty, insular blend of All About Eve, The Bandwagon, 42nd Street and Downton Abbey, Smash follows Broadway songwriters Julia Houston and Tom Levitt (Debra Messing and Christian Borle) as they team with a money-troubled producer (Anjelica Huston) to launch Marilyn, a musical about Marilyn Monroe. Soon they and their in-demand director (Jack Davenport) are deciding between two Marilyns: out-of-Iowa novice Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Broadway veteran Ivy (Broadway veteran Megan Hilty). Tackling an icon like Monroe is, obviously, a daunting task (and a few Broadway efforts have already failed in the attempt). But as creator Theresa Rebeck has said, Smash itself is not a musical about Monroe. It's a TV show about people trying to launch that musical, and that's a crucial difference: You don't have to believe Marilyn is a good or workable idea for Smash to work. It helps, however, if you believe in the competing Marilyns — and on that front, McPhee is an unexpected godsend. The former American Idol contestant, who sounds much better here than she did in that contest, turns out to be a surprisingly appealing actor who holds her own on screen with Messing, Huston and Borle, who are quite the terrific trio.

[Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee, Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing via BFA] 2. NY Times Review [NYTimes]

Given that pedigree, you’re expecting to be bowled over by the pilot, but it ends up feeling like a collage of devices from the zillions of previous backstage plays, musicals and movies: the naïve Midwesterner hoping to make it on Broadway, the egomaniacal director and so on. This, though, is where the “M*A*S*H” comparison comes in. That show too started out slowly (and languished in the ratings). But it soon found its voice, and the audience found it. “Smash” gets better as it goes along. It’s unlikely to achieve television greatness like “M*A*S*H” did, but by Episode 3 it shows signs of becoming an addictive pleasure along the lines of this season’s “Revenge.”