SummarySongwriters Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) create a musical about Marilyn Monroe and must decide whether the veteran Broadway actress Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) or newcomer Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) should play the blonde legend.
SummarySongwriters Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) create a musical about Marilyn Monroe and must decide whether the veteran Broadway actress Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) or newcomer Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) should play the blonde legend.
Though clunky in places, at its best the series captures the essence of what the movie version of "A Chorus Line" didn't, providing an illuminating window into the creative process.
Smash introduces its winsome ingénue Karen (Katharine McPhee) to a headstrong young songwriter with hip Rent ambitions (rising star Jeremy Jordan, who headlined two real Broadway musicals last year). This subplot, like much of Smash, is cheesy and corny, but works when the impassioned singing starts. Which, for a musical drama about musicals, is what matters most.