The new television show, “Smash” which premiered February 6th on NBC, is a musical drama which guarantees random outbursts into song numbers throughout the show. The plot is a very typical Broadway style story about a girl named Karen from a small town in Iowa who moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Karen’s character is played by former American Idol competitor Katharine McPhee. Karen is a girl-next-door who is too nice to handle all the audition rejections that come her way. She hopes to get her big breakthrough role in a new musical created by a group of producers who want to make a Broadway production based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
Karen is enthused when she gets a callback, only to discover she is competing against another aspiring starlet, Ivy Lynn, who is way more experienced, confident, sexy, and looks bit more “Marilynish” than her. However, brilliant director Derek Willis has his eyes on Karen. He feels she is a breath of fresh air compared to all the other actresses he’s seen over the years. He challenges her during an awkward “personal acting session” in his home to show her provocative side. After all, if she received the role, she would have to play the part of a sex icon. Karen is willing to do whatever it takes to reach her dream.
Overall, the show was okay. The plot was similar to many other shows about the ‘fame game’ and used typical stereotypes of the theater; a small-town girl with big dreams, who must lose her hometown charms to evolve into a sex goddess to make it in the big city. There is a certain intrigue attached to the show’s usage of vignettes to look into the lives of the different characters involved in the production process. The viewer gets to look into their personal lives to see what they are dealing with outside of the musical in the making, such as divorce, adoption, and love. The preview for the rest of the season shows a lot of scandals that may come into play in the future episodes. People who are into the Broadway experience and drama will probably enjoy this show. Tune in on Monday nights at 9p.m. to find out who succeeds in getting the part of Marilyn Monroe and follow the journey of creating a sexually exhilarating musical in Smash.