Consider Me - Nashville

After spending a lot of time thinking about and writing about SMASH yesterday, what a refreshing change to watch NASHVILLE at the end of the day. I sure wish the writers of SMASH are watching that show. I sure wish Kat McPhee would learn a thing or two from both Hayden Panetierre and Connie Britton. Nashville is my most looked-forward-to show happy watch each week. It's doing everything right that SMASH is doing wrong. 

One such example is this song. Work the steel line OUT. Just a little something for your Thursday. Buy it.

SMASH Season 2 Premiere - The Fall Out

Hi. I'm back again with the SMASH recapping. No, not the funny ones. That's Rachel Shukert. I'm the painfully earnest one. But I just can't help myself. You can read my thoughts on Part One of the premiere here. Or any of my Season One Recaps from BroadwaySpotted here. Now, onward to part two: The Fallout. 

And indeed, that's what this was. Particularly when held up against that first hour. 

The best thing about the second part of SMASH's season 2 finale was all the Broadway people. In addition to Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus & Krysta Rodriguez, this episode gave us Annaleigh Ashford, Mara Davi and the lovely Brynn O'Malley. Not to mention...The Fierstein. 

Tied for the best thing in The Fallout is Megan Hilty's performance of "They Just Keep Movin' The Line." I say her performance and not the song because, the song is just ok for me. And leads me back to a statement I feel I make again and again which is that Bombshell has two of every song. Each song should serve an individual purpose in the show and Bombshell doubles up on all of them. "National Pastime" does the same thing as that Wolf Howl song, and for that matter, also "Let's Be Bad." There are 22 songs in Bombshell-- a musical with basically no book! That's at least a seven too many, as far as I'm concerned. "They Just Keep Moving the Line" feels like one more Marilyn desperation to make it song-- and way more appropriate for Ivy to sing than Marilyn. That being said, I'm glad Ivy sang it. Which is to say, I'm glad Megan Hilty sang it. Because Megan Hilty = butter.

There are also two things tied for the worst thing about The Fallout. (There is also a long list of honorable mentions including the "Would I Lie To You" hallucination number and any moment in which Karen tries to seduce anyone, which we were tortured with again this ep.) 

The first worst is that as bitchy as theatre gets, the president of the American Theatre Wing would never kick Tom, Julia and Eileen out of a dinner. As in, order them to leave. Though, if you're going to portray the woman as a judgmental battle-ax  might as well go straight to Margo Martindale who has never played anything but a snakey, sad, judgmental battle-ax in her entire career. Kind of a weak move. And I was personally offended on behalf of the theatre community. I don't think we'd ever do that. (Anyone with stories to the contrary, please feel free to correct so I can lose that final shred of hope I had for humanity.) Worst thing number two isn't just a problem with The Fallout though. It's a long running problem. Even more than my Julia problem. I mean, at least I HATE her. At least she elicits a response with her unprofessionalism and constant wallowing victimhood. 

But Karen is the dullest thing ever served on white rice. I feel like a broke record with this. Everything with her is a case of show don't tell. They keep on and keep on telling us there's something special about her. Well, I've watched every ep and I sure don't see it. Like when they tell us a song is very good. Nope, you gotta just play the song and let us decide. Everything she sings, every line she says, Kat McPhee just drops it on the floor. She is wasting Jeremy Jordan's sizzle. I hope he continues to make fun of her for the rest of the season. She is walking particle board. Or, to just go ahead and quote Rachel Shukert,  she is "the human equivalent of one of those grocery store peaches that looks like a Cezanne but tastes like the inside of a mattress..."

But on that note, the worst worst thing about The Fallout was its ratings. Only 1.1 million viewers. Let's hope there's no yanking the show. Because I can't wait to see how Jimmy Collins thinks anything will ever happen to his music without the help of actors, directors, producers or audience members. And because what replacement masochistic method could I ever hope to find of this caliber and high production values?

Smash Season Two - Episode One, Part One

As cynical as I have sometimes been in my recapping of the show, both here and in the more official capacity over at BroadwaySpotted.com, I want to reemphasize that I've never actually been one of the SMASH cynics. My deep hope persists that SMASH can still be a great show and occasionally shows flashes of it. 

When I heard about the shake up at the helm and on the decks, I was pleased. Mostly that we'd be losing that yucky assistant, who, strangely, my mind has already repressed. I cannot remember his name. Hold on, I'm going to go look it up... Ellis! 

Anyhow. I was less pleased to eventually lose Brian D'arcy James and Raza Jaffrey, but, alas. What we were gaining in return was worth the price. Jennifer Hudson (sorta), Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez and most especially Jeremy Jordan as series regulars with Sean Hayes and LIZA MINELLI as special guest stars?? Okay, then. Sign me up and let's get to watching. 

I still find that there's something quite vacant about Katharine McPhee as a performer. She never feels present in any scene or any song. And I still don't get Marilyn even when she's playing her. Also, I feel like she's a little too bitchy anymore to Ivy. I dunno... maybe because to me, it was months and months and a whole country ago-- 5,440 miles ago-- I think, dude, let it go. No need to get anyone fired. Plus! You breaking up with your Dev (was that his name? Another one I've almost completely erased from my memory) meant that now you live with Krysta Rodriguez and I'd way rather watch her.

Most of the plot elements you guys can guess because, well, they pretty much give them all away in the promo. And I don't have much to say about them. I'm good with it. I don't mind some soapy elements. I lived on the Broadway campus long enough to know that the soap factor is actually one of the more accurate (and often satisfying!) elements of SMASH. 

I'll say this though. I really do think they're going in the right direction. Yep. Bombshell should be thwarted. Because that shit's real. And because even without seeing the entirety of Bombshell, I can tell you right now I know for a FACT Julia's book for the thing was bad. Most shows get thwarted in some way, even when the writers have clout. 

And thank god for whoever's idea it was (I'm guessing new showrunner Gossip Girl's Josh Safran) to bring in plot lines (and REAL MUSIC!) from young and emerging writers! YAY! It feels like being single for a really long time and then finally getting asked out on a date. And I'm not even writing for the show! But that's how satisfying it feels. 

I'm also going to make a note that this episode features two of the most honest moments ever featured on the show to date. One of them, however, was immediately followed with eye-rolling pretense. 

When Jennifer Hudson tells Kat McPhee to 'protect the work,' I nodded my head for like a full 30 seconds. But then, she said, "This will be you in six months," and walked out of her dressing room to a stage door that felt like a red carpet premiere. And just like that, the moment was shattered on the dirty theater district pavement. 

The other moment--- oh, the other moment-- there was just nothing Hollywood could do to ruin it. Not Kat McPhee holding up her iphone for Derek to hear it, nor the plot contrivance of her forgetting the phone on the bar forcing her to come back and hear it. Nothing could ruin Jeremy Jordan singing Joe Iconis's 'Broadway Here I Come.' 

I'd personally like to thank my friends Joe and Jeremy for this moment of the show. I re-watched the last four minutes of the episode about seven or eight times last night and once again this morning. It's so much better in the full version than what they show in the promo. I'm not a fan of the way they edited the song for that promo. It doesn't show off the best parts of the song IMO. But you'll watch the full thing and you'll see. You can also hear the lovely Molly Hager sing it here. And of course, Krysta, sing it here. 

Off to a good start, SMASH. Please, please, I beg of you, keep it up. Josh Safran promised me and you "more music, less scarves." I'm going to choose to trust him to keep that promise. And I'll keep watching. But who am I kidding. Like all the people who love Broadway, I'm a glutton for punishment. I'd watch it no matter what. 

You can watch part one of the Season 2 premiere on Hulu here. 
The full two hour premiere airs on NBC February 5

Fly Aways- 

- What's going on with Jennifer Hudson's teeth during her performance? It's like she lost the weight and became a lollypop head and her teeth just seem HUGE now. 

- I was surprised to find Theresa Rebeck listed as an executive producer. My understanding is that she was relinquishing all affiliation with the show from now on, save Created By. Guess not. 

- I feel a little dirty for saying it, but can we petition for more Riedel in this season. I'd take him in every episode really. There's something more palatable about him as semi-fictional soap villain on TV. AMIRIGHT??? 

Full Fathom Five - An Announcement!

Most of being a writer is a kind of slow inching towards some bigger picture of a career. And if you are very lucky, there comes a time where you are able to realize a sea change has taken place. Not suddenly-- though it seems that way-- the work is now coming to you. The work is finding you. 

I have said before, and I continue to laugh about how it took me leaving New York to start to get all the good work I wanted. And now, it's taking another big move-- to London-- and various freelance-y projects have now really kicked into full gear. 

The one that I am at liberty to announce to you today is that I'm the new official SMASH recap-er for BroadwaySpotted.com. I've wanted to get into Entertainment recapping for a while now (Molly Lambert, you're still my hero. VULTURE, don't think this means I'm not available to you.) and this feels like the perfect way to do it. 

So from now on, SMASHcaps will not be featured on Fergie & Fife. Instead, you can check them out here. And please do. Normally, I prefer to be funny in SMASH recaps. I like jokes. But the truth is, I'm a bit worried for the show. And I just couldn't do it today.... as I lie here in a half-packed, half-painted room... sneezing with a vengeance. I hope to be funnier next week. I also hope they pull the episode together next week. 

And hurrah for freelance work! And g'bless the sea change. 

"Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell."

SmashCap - Ep. 3 - "Life is long. Theatre is longer."

Episode 3, "Mr. DiMaggio" was simultaneously the blood-boiling-est & the boring-est of the eps so far for me. And not just because of the extended presence of cheating Will Chase. Or the fact that the actual plot line for his & Deb Messing's characters on the show is as... you guessed it...cheaters. Here's the good and the bad from last night's offering. 


The Goodish
- That class & Oxbridge Brit-off between Dev & Derek Wills. What's funny/sad is that it's not an exaggeration. How you can tell that both of them have been in the states for too long is how direct they were about it.  They've learned to ditch the subtext. "I can hear it in the O's." "Oxford." "The other place." My favorite line was from Derek: "Oh, I'd forgotten this game."


- More Dylan & Becky Ann Baker!
- The best chemistry on the show belongs to Angelica Huston & Jack Davenport
- Jack Davenport reminding Kat McPhee that musicals take FOREVER.
- "We'll be at Vintage." I'm glad they pick bars where people actually go. 
- I sort of want one of those animated GIFs of Deb Messing justifying adultery. That's rich. 


- Ellis, the too-big-for his-britches assistant. Dude is certainly scheming. And way ahead of himself. LIKE WAY. The stealing of notebooks. The eavesdropping. The ownership of ideas. See, there's a difference between a concept and an idea. And I don't think anyone would actually have kept him around that long. But it is good plot for the show. For the record. FOR the record. I just want to say this now because I was personally offended during the scene: if Steven ever has an assistant and that assistant ever blocks my entrance to a room or says, "Maybe you should give Steven some space," not only will I fire that person, but I will crush them. Just FYI. 


The Badish
- Sorry, but Kat McPhee lacks any and all energy. Even when she's performing. Did you for one minute believe her "Redneck Woman?" More like "Beige-neck." Girlfriend is neutral. I hate to pull a VOTE! quote here, but "You're not even vanilla. You're like unscented deodorant." I think they've officially lost me on her. 


- A Bruno Mars show at La Mama? 'Member when I said kudos for reminding us that the timeline of a musical is LONG? Right, now apply that here. Bruno Mars has been on the scene like a year. He doesn't even have enough material to make a show out of. They clearly just wanted to do that specific song with Will to ape his last performance as Roger in RENT. La Mama does some strange shit (I lived across the street for a lonnnng time) but never that crazy. And never that commercial. Ridiculous. 


- "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is the weakest song to date. Conceptually. Musically. Lyrically. I'm imaging the conversation I'd end up having with Steven if I sent him those lyrics. He'd zero right in there on the word "GRIP." That shit don't sing. And the song is boring. The clunky "Julia remembers how great her family is" montage over it didn't help. As my pal Kevin Michael Murphy (KMM) aptly tweeted, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the first song that will be cut from the musical." Truth. 


- Now that we've brought up DiMaggio.... Um, Will Chase looks NOTHING like Joe DiMaggio. There is nothing Joe DiMaggio-esque about him. In no world would I cast him as Joe DiMaggio. 


The Bottom Line
The plot itself is getting better, but too many Glee moments. More (good) original tunes. Less Bruno Mars and Gretchen Wilson please. Thanks for the reprieve on the tired adoption plot though. 

Barf.

Crush Week Continues: Smash/Crush

Despite the dip in SMASH's ratings from the premiere, I thought, on the whole, this episode was a step in the right direction. Here's what went wrong and what went right with the show I can't help but have a crush on. 


The Goodish
All of the creative conversations and little moments on the street and in restaurants feel real now. And not just because Jordan Roth shows up (but huzzah for Jordan Roth!) In the pilot, I bought lyricist/composer friendship (obvs Deb Messing knows the Will & Grace schticky dynamic. Ugh, sorry, I just still hate her.) but in that scene, I felt the artistic collaboration. The number of times I've lounged on the couch, around a bulletin board or a piano with Steven, moving numbers around, just freestyling or chewing at the edges of what we're trying to do. 


And my favorite moment of the episode-- hands down-- they're talking about criminal checks on adopting a baby vs. writing a musical. Messing says, "And let me tell you there are a lot of people who should be stopped from writing musicals." And Borle's cackle/laugh/gesture "uhhuhI'm aware." I much prefer Borle as a gay man. 


(PS- my second favorite is when Anjelica Huston tells the twitty girlfriend of her ex, "we've met" and she responds, "I don't think so" and then Huston says all Huston-y "I dooooo!")


Also, I think Julia's right (fine, fine, I looked up her character's name)-- as least based on what we know so far-- that "Let Me Be Your Star" is a better opener than an act break. That song is also growing on me. I still hate the lyrics "Norma Jean's gone/She's moving on" but...what are you gonna do? 


Thanks for showing me some Savannah Wise, Jessica Lee Goldyn, and Katie Webber in this version.  


The Badish
The adoption plot is sort of already boring. Leo's speech? (In the BACKYARD!) I was completely disengaged. I kept thinking... did they recast him from the pilot? Or did his face just get plump? 


And then I kept thinking... BACKYARD!? And then... Brian d'Arcy James is a SCIENCE TEACHER?! 


So, listen. The feminist in me is like, good job, Theresa Rebeck. You don't cop out and make her married to a banker or whatnot. But... the realist in me says, ALL THAT brownstone was bought with musical money? With that backyard and crazy red walls and monstrous industrial sized refrigerator? Just.... 


On the realism front, I also gotta say this. Don't get me wrong; I like Raza Jaffrey as Dev. But as someone with intimate, tedious knowledge of the UK/US Work Visa system, especially with regards to public sector jobs like, say, the Mayor of New York City's office, I find it, well, impossible that he has that job. 


I haven't seen a genuinely Marilyn or Norma Jean moment from Kat McPhee. Even all dressed up, she doesn't look like her, she doesn't feel like her. I like Kat McPhee, and perhaps it's part of the punch they're trying to pull for the moment, but I don't see it. (Speaking, also of WTF on "not seeing it" why does the otherwise plugged in director keep going back to Scarlett Johansson?!? Please don't make me explain why that's wrong.) As far as production numbers go, I think "20th Century Fox" is a much less tired idea than the baseball number. 


The Bottom Line
The original music is improving. But it was Megan Hilty and a song not by Shaiman & Wittman, nor written for the Marilyn musical, that in my o-pinion delivered the most satisfying musical and emotional moment of the show to date. And that was the stripped down version of George Barry Dean, Troy Verges & Carrie Underwood's "Crazy Dreams."


Megan Hilty and Tom Kitt turned a song I never paid much attention to into a very present and applicable baby-tear jerker. I never cared for twang of the original. But Tom Kitt was at the piano for the number, with a nice montage over it. And I'll bet 10 bucks the man Kitt did that arrangement. He can arrange any song into brilliance. (Where was his Tony for American Idiot? No, seriously.) Sometimes less really is more. 


It was a good way to end the ep. because it's a reminder of how many little steps there are along the way. And how big each one feels. Even the reading. Even the workshop. Even if it's probably going to get recast and rewritten. But every day you get up to do it again is a little bit more of a dream continuing to come true.  I liked this episode for the same reason I like the show in general. Because it makes me feel like if I'm not part of something-- you know, really part of something-- that I'll just die. You gotta have that feeling every day. Every day without that feeling is scarier than any prospect of failure.