I’ve been forcing myself to watch Smash, the new NBC hit about the making of a musical on Marilyn Monroe. Given the nature of my work, I felt it was my duty to at least watch the first season, hoping it would get better along the way, but to no avail. If this were a live show, I probably would have left at the intermission.
I tried to like it, I really did. Some things make it easy to want to: the choreographies are solid, the direction is more than adequate, and the original songs are rather catchy and worthy of the real deal.
There are two things that make me irk about this show: the unrealistic timeline and the trivialisation of the developmental process of a musical. In less than one season, the team managed to write and conceptualize an entire musical, cast and prepare a workshop. All of this thanks to one producer and no investors on-board until workshop rehearsals were almost completed.
I also find the debate ironic on whether or not the show needs a star in it. They attempt to sympathize with Broadway performers who, they suggest, are much more capable of delivering; implying that stars are merely used to bring in investors and to sell tickets. However, in less than 10 episodes, Nick Jonas, Bernadette Peters, and Uma Thurman made highly publicized guest appearances.
Despite its shortcomings, mainly based on issues of authenticity, Smash has managed to be just that so far. It has garnered much critical acclaim from television critics. In all fairness, I am sure that doctors cringe just as much at hospital dramas, a guilty pleasure of mine. As all clouds have a silver lining, I guess I must begrudgingly offer one. While Smash does not truly do justice to those who dedicate their blood, sweat, and tears to musical theatre, perhaps the accessibility it brings to the world of theatre will inspire a greater appreciation for the art. Let’s face it: who can argue with more support for the arts?
