名声大噪第一季

歌舞一级棒，剧情一级渣！

本来想在season2的链接写评论的，但是对这部剧的痴迷皆源于第一季的歌舞片段，所以还是回到这边来写。

热爱舞台剧的人可以欣赏一下，第一季的原创歌舞精彩到逆天的程度！以至于观众可以原谅幕后创作团队没有多余的精力再去雕琢剧情。确实，凭心而论，每首歌曲3、4分钟的长度，一集还不止一首，这样的剧中剧编排，放在一集45分钟的剧长里，人物的故事根本没有多余的篇幅再去展开。加上电视剧一周一集的拍摄周期，演员练歌练舞都累个半死，也不可能再有时间精力。

基于以上原因，虽然每看一集都感叹美剧的肥皂程度可以穿越到这种程度（剧情狗血到类似30年前的戏码），但仍然不妨碍每周焦急的盼望，之后再急切地等待原声大碟，以便把歌曲放在MP4里反复repeat。

表演而言，一大堆拿过tony奖的百老汇演员助阵，一群电影圈多有成就的大牌撑场，却仍没办法挽救女一业余的表演。由于女一的业余，也使得剧情严重缺乏说服力，最后编导逐渐向女二倾斜，于是女二的剧情越来越饱满有力。第二季针对女一的问题做了调整，让第一季浓墨重彩的剧中舞台剧得以保留最佳阵容，并进一步丰富剧情。可是，为了这个目的而生造出来的新舞台剧，却过于儿戏，以至于最后争夺tony奖时候的平分秋色更显得像编导的自说自话。

今天这部戏止步于2季的长度，彻底结束了。

最后两集的紧凑和丰富，终于回归到美剧的正常水平，好几次让人激动落泪，与剧集一起感受舞台制作的艰辛、不易和最终苦尽甘来的甜美。这个结局使得这部戏有个精彩的结尾。作为热爱这部戏2年的观众来说，非常感谢最后的这个圆满，This show deserves it！

从海报的女主角感和人物的设定——karen从小地方来到大都市什么的 参加同学会婴儿洗礼什么的唱red neck woman，就是要体现出这个女主的纯洁质朴。那当然就要体现这种质朴纯真，方式很简单——让她被邪恶的二号女主角坑，反复被其他人践踏几遍。奇怪的事情就在这里，我一点都不同情她的所谓的痛苦——因为让我们现实点，那真的不算什么。ivy的设定就更是奇葩，你要捧女主你干吗前面一直铺垫二号女主的美艳不可方物和奋斗啊，还加强心理戏，体现ivy的脆弱和没有安全感，还一直让ivy出来表现唱功，甚至还找来大咖演她吹毛求疵的妈，任何人，任何人如果不同情不为这姑娘感动那简直是不可能的。
女主角简直气场太弱了，以至于好几次我一看她出来都楞一下，哎呀，怎么把她忘了，干什么去了这女的又。一点不让人想念的一人，一集不出来都没人注意。
还要就是我觉得导演什么的也发现这女的不行，你看ivy和各种高手对唱过多少遍，karen就不行，一方面是角色设定，另一方面，可能真的能力也不行。
哪有这么捧人的啊 还搞出一个不会唱的大明星，简直像是一个大大的比喻啊 大家看啊 这就是karen的现实版啊——虽然她没有那么大牌
女主是一个没有和导演上床却让非常像是潜规则上位的人
太令人崩溃的剧情设定了 只听歌不看剧

从女猪被赶到配角，凯瑟琳·麦菲还真冤枉。总体上，本剧依然是一个癞蛤蟆吃到天鹅肉的故事，所以编剧一方面要表现KAREN乡村女孩的纯洁特质，另一方面又要营造出她的成功是顺理成章的，这实在是太难了。更何况凯瑟琳的外形和玛丽莲根本完全不搭调啊！搞到最后，根本就没给她留下什么发挥空间。

Smash的剧情设定真的很渣，从第一集就能对走向略窥一二：青涩邻家女逆袭专业心机女二号成就smash。不评判KM的表演，这个单薄的角色设定就已经限制住她了。又要扮好人，还要作为女一多唱流行歌巩固市场，虽然出不了彩，但是按照众星捧月的套路应该也比较保险。

小白兔灰姑娘的故事在自影视平民化开始已经辉煌了两个世纪。无论冲突多么狗血女主多么单纯到让人捶胸，只要结局美好，总有观众愿意为他们的草根明星梦买单。只是在选秀节目过分曝光后，所有人都看清风光背后永远有累累血泪。在这个没有童话的世界，选一个从选秀中摸爬滚打出来的歌手再扮回童话已经不再有什么说服力。

在女一单薄化的同时，她的宿敌女二形象却在日益丰满。而Megan不只有“丰满”的背景故事和细腻的感情转变，更有“丰满”的声线和“身材”。这才是怎样的剧情粉饰也装不出盖不住的star quality。

有点跑题了咳咳。回归主题，最后一集为Ivy哭惨了，她的绝望和无奈，以及专心致志的坚持让人心碎。Art is never therapy; art is poison.我只是重复的想如果被一个不远如我用心的新手抢走角色和一切，我会怎么做。 要承认的是在艺术里本就没有公平和正义可言。只是作为女二的你我，既不能为了那些抓不住的幸运荒废了用心，也不能让得失心太重拖累了最初的纯粹。
我相信Ivy总能在重生后在那么多欣赏她的人的推荐下找到自己的smash。

本着对音乐剧的热爱开始看此剧，发现了很多熟人，废话不多说直接上介绍

Tom Levitt（作曲家）——饰演者Christian Borle
音乐剧目：
Spamalot 火腿骑士，Legally Blonde 律政俏佳人，Jesus Christ Superstar 耶稣基督万世巨星，Amour爱，Mary Poppins 欢乐满人间，Thoroughly Modern Millie……
奖项：tony、drama desk提名，clarence derwent award、Broadway.com Audience Award获奖
必须八卦一下，他的前妻是Sutton Foster！两届tony获得者，非常著名的百老汇diva
Christian Borle表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDA0NDE2.html（legally blonde）
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDA1NjUy.html（强烈推荐，左边那位就是他的前妻sutton foster，那是他们还在一起）

Ivy Lynn——饰演者Megan hilty
音乐剧目：wicked，9 to 5（OBC）
她最著名的音乐剧角色就是wicked里面的glinda，是继Kristin Chenoweth后最受欢迎的glinda饰演者
表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDU0ODA0.html

Linda（舞台监督那位亚裔女士）——饰演者ann harada
音乐剧目：Avenue Q， 9 to 5，seussical，悲惨世界，children of eden……
最著名的角色是Avenue Q里面的Christmas eve
奖项：Broadway.com Audience Award，Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award获奖
表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDA5NzU2.html

Eills Boyd（讨人厌的小助理）——饰演者Jaime Cepero
音乐剧目：Jesus Christ Supersta，hair，the bubbly black girl，sheds her chameleon skin
此演员不仅会唱歌，而且十分擅长跳舞，smash的编导一点都没用到人家的长处，还让他讨人厌了一整季
表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDM1MjQw.html

Dev（Karen男友）——饰演者Raza Jaffrey
音乐剧目：孟买梦，芝加哥，妈妈咪呀
他是孟买梦伦敦西区的原版卡司，深受好评
还记得第12集的那段非常莫名其妙的宝莱坞吗，据说那一段的目的纯粹是为了让他唱歌……
表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDM3NTIw.html（chicago片段 网友现场偷拍）

Frank Houston（Julia老公）——饰演者Brian d'Arcy James
音乐剧目：Time Stands Still，Next to Normal，Shrek the Musical（怪物史莱克），The Apple Tree，The Lieutenant of Inishmore，Dirty Rotten Scoundrels，Sweet Smell of Success，Titanic，Carousel，Blood Brothers
他是音乐剧怪物史莱克百老汇原版中史莱克的饰演者，同时也是音乐剧泰坦尼克号的百老汇原版卡司，smash中他好像就唱过几句，简直大大的浪费
表演视频：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDY0NDM5ODE2.html

下面说几个大牌客场
Ivy的妈妈Leigh Conroy——饰演者Bernadette Peters
百老汇女王！7次tony提名2次获奖，8次drama desk提名3次获奖！
熟悉百老汇的应该没有人不知道她吧，出演过的剧目一大堆，音乐剧大师桑德海姆的御用
我随便列几个她出演过的剧目：song and dance（tony获奖），into the woods，Annie Get Your Gun (tony获奖)，Sunday in the Park with George，Mack & Mabel……

Lyle west——饰演者Nick Jonas
大部分人知道他应该是因为Jones brothers，不过人家也是混百老汇长大的，童星时还可爱，但是长大了唱功和演技也没见长，放音乐剧里实在太弱，尤其是在悲惨世界25周年演唱会上饰演马吕斯的杯具表现，获得封号“小神马”
演出剧目：悲惨世界（小时候演伽弗洛徐 长大了演马吕斯），音乐之声，美女与野兽，how to succeed in business without really trying（此剧在他担纲演出期间在百老汇关门大吉了）……

Michael Swift——饰演者will chase
音乐剧目：rent（吉屋出租），miss saigon（西贡小姐），秘密花园，蜘蛛女之吻，Billy Elliott，the story of my life……
他最最让人熟悉的角色应该是rent百老汇告别秀里的roger，他演出过的剧目非常多，所以不怎么样的作品也很多。。。不过他在smash里好歹唱了几首，算此次唱得多的了。
戏里Julia在怪物史莱克老公和roger之间纠结，戏外Julia的演员Debra messing约会的对象正是will chase

Eileen找的投资人randy cobra——饰演者Terrence Mann
音乐剧目：猫，悲惨世界，美女与野兽，亚当斯家族，洛基恐怖秀，the scarlet pimpernel，lennon……
这位大叔出场不多但来头很大，他是两大音乐剧猫、悲惨世界的百老汇原版卡司，在悲惨世界里饰演沙威，在猫里饰演tugger，曾获两次tony提名

还有一位大牌客串Uma Thurman，但她是电影圈的，而且太有名大家都知道，我就不介绍了~

除了以上人物之外，tom的约会对象sam，Ivy和Karen身边出场最多的几名舞者和伴唱Bobby、Jessica等也全都是货真价实的百老汇演员，个个拉出来都是能歌善舞的专业人士。

总之这部剧卡司可谓人才济济，十分强大，结果被坑爹的编导搞得如此狗血，看在原创歌舞不错的份上打个4星。
最后其实我只想说，看看这些帮你跑龙套打酱油的的演员的资历，再搭上一个艾美视后（Julia/Debra messing），一个奥斯卡影后（Eileen/Anjelica Huston），一个英伦大帅哥，Karen你好意思么，情何以堪，情！何！以！堪！呀！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

'Smash' finale recap: Let Megan Hilty be your star
May 15, 2012 | 11:36 am
 


Just before the last episode of the first season of “Smash” aired, show runner Theresa Rebeck announced that she would not be returning for Season 2. Instead, Josh Safran, a "Gossip Girl” producer, is coming in to, in the words of Tom (nee Christian Borle), “reboot” the entire show.

Though this type of personnel change isn’t unheard of, it is rare for a major show to lose its captain this way, and one can only guess that Rebeck, a creature of the theater, decided that some of the magic that she was hoping to translate onto the screen was irretrievably lost and that she was better equipped to work on a smaller scale with the strong stuff, rather than the diluted version writ large. Or perhaps she just realized that the show, as it stands now, is massively flawed and that the energy it would take to right the ship wasn’t something she was willing to waste on Katharine McPhee’s mealy-mouthed line readings anymore. Or perhaps she was asked to gracefully exit to make room for a helmer who understands how to take the show’s potential and deliver something worthy.

Because this show does have potential! When I watched the pilot back in January (doesn’t it feel like years ago?), I knew that this was a show that would live or die on the score. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman came out of the gate blazing, with numbers like “Let Me Be Your Star” and “The National Pasttime” that have held up throughout a season of listening to them -- at least as well as any Broadway soundtrack holds up. And with the exception of a miscalculated Ryan Tedder number and that bizarre turn to Bollywood, the show’s best element has always been its original music.

Take the closing number from Monday night, “Don’t Forget Me,” a final energetic ballad that led into a “Let Me Be Your Star” reprise. Even though I was furious that it was McPhee singing it and not Megan Hilty -- but more on that in a bit -- the song moved me, and I thought it was a fitting way to end a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. She pleads for the audience to remember her good qualities, how hard she strived, and not how hard she suffered. She wants to be a legend. A tall order, but as Marilyn is the textbook definition of legend in our culture, it doesn’t feel stretched, and even the fade-in of a large projection of her face comes at just the right moment. It’s sappy and overstated, sure, but so is much of the best work on Broadway, and I know I would have applauded like mad for that finale had I been in the audience.

So what we’re left with at the end of the first season -- and they haven’t even made it to Broadway yet, oy -- is that the show within a show works on some basic level. The thing that doesn’t work is the outer shell, the NBC show, and I think Rebeck saw the writing on the wall about that. But because NBC is pressing toward Broadway with this thing, they will have to figure out a way to make it better. And I think we all know that means not just handing over the reins to Karen.

Here’s the thing: I see what they’re doing here. Karen is the more moldable, malleable, Norma-Jeanable option for the role; she is the pre-Marilyn Marilyn, prone to fits of shyness and doubt and occasional reveries of intense talent. But she’s also boring and stiff, and those are two things that Norma Jean never was.

I understand why Derek is seeing her strange ghost wander around the halls like a specter from his own personal version of “Scrooge.” His vision of Marilyn is that of an innocent, a child, a ball of beautiful clay that men shape. And while it's problematic that the director of “Bombshell” has a misogynistic skew on the whole story, it does fit right into Derek’s persona. He likes his women to be little girls, delicate flowers, requiring his attention. It’s worth noting that when he was the sweetest to Ivy, she was at her lowest point, abusing drugs and getting kicked off stages. He wants to be the big daddy in the room, and Karen is a canvas on which he can paint that fantasy, down to her backstage melt-down. He has to coax the performance out of her as if she’s a baby bird, rubbing her curves and telling her that she’s a star, that he loves her. There were many men that treated Marilyn this way, and it possibly killed her. Which is to say, Derek has chosen Karen for now, so that he can treat her and mold her however he likes. I’m just not sure that it won’t kill her in Season 2. Just wait until she sleeps with him and he loses interest (and he will).

It wouldn’t be such a problem that Derek went with Karen as the big choice if the show didn’t have such a captivating starlet in Hilty. McPhee did a serviceable job on that last number, but I kept thinking that Ivy would have brought something else to the song entirely. Karen’s “Don’t Forget Me” felt like a pleading, a wish. I bet Ivy’s would have felt like a command. The show is so miscast, in that Hilty is clearly a Broadway performer with the chops for that kind of theater, and McPhee is more of a pop star who somehow keeps beating out the Broadway performer -- it doesn’t make logical sense. We are all supposed to suspend our logic and go with the idea that Karen’s the raw talent who is secretly a genius, but I don’t know why they keep pushing that narrative when clearly it isn’t true.

Hilty is the real genius in the Marilyn role -- even Anjelica Huston knows that, even if she couldn’t sway Derek -- and if I were here, I would be contemplating the fistful of pills as well. The show wants us to care about Karen and to despise Ivy, who sleeps with other people’s boyfriends and tries to sabotage everything. But the best person in real life is not always the best person for the job, especially when it comes to show business. I hope that next season they let Ivy redeem herself and take her place. Bernadette Peters needs something else to do besides look devastated.

Borle told the L.A. Times that next season will focus more on the nuts and bolts aspects of putting on a Broadway show, and less on the soapy drama, to which I say (like Sam) hallelujah! My favorite little bits of this episode were Julia and Tom trying to hammer out orchestrations and the stage manager trying to keep everyone happy during a crash run-through. I’d gladly take more of the technical behind-the-scenes sausage, which the pilot was so good at portraying with auditions rather than plot lines involving Dev or Michael Swift. I can’t even get up the energy to worry about the fate of Karen and Dev. She’s a star now, so I’m assuming that relationship is going to fizzle under her spotlight. As for Michael Swift, he may have impregnated Jules, but that doesn’t make him less creepy or predatory. All he has done is thwart their Chinese baby plans.

The only side character who remains compelling at the end is Ellis, who threatens to enact revenge on “Bombshell” while wearing a red devil suit. His little speech to Eileen about doing what needed to be done (a.k.a. nearly murdering a movie star) and how near-murderers never get coffee for anyone was preposterous, and he deserved to be fired. But part of me thinks that in 15 years, Ellis is going to be one of Broadway’s most successful producers. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty with peanut shavings or possibly blood, and showbiz tends to reward insane ruthlessness. I hope the second season explores this dark patch instead of just making him the villain. Ambition does have its place on Broadway, and I’m interested to see where Ellis lands once he learns to harness his.

And that’s all she wrote, folks. See you next year, when we hit the Broadway stage. Will Karen even do a hip thrust that doesn’t make her look like a fembot? Will Ivy channel Marilyn even more than she already does with an overdose? Will Nick Jonas give back the Degas? Will Ellis burn down a theater while he stands there cackling? Will Anjelica Huston ever sing again? And how long can Julia hide her belly beneath her flowy Eileen Fisher garb? All will be revealed soon. Until then, don’t forget Marilyn, or she will haunt you.

 The Songs!

“Mr and Mrs Smith” 2 out of 5 Jazz Hands. Karen has about as much chemistry with Michael Swift as Julia has with her own husband. Not a great start to her star turn.

“Howl” 3 out of 5 Jazz Hands. I really love this song and the jingoistic USO choreography, but I don’t love Karen in it. Ivy standing backstage imagining her own rendition (P.S. “Smash,” please stop with all the flashbacks in Season 2 -- it’s like shaking your own hand) doesn’t help Karen any, as she was so clearly better, effortless and charming at it. Karen gets through the number, but I am not seeing this extra spark that Derek tells Ivy about. She looks mechanical and scared.

“Don’t Forget Me” 4.5 out of 5 Jazz Hands. And then she brings it home, and it’s magical. This is one of Tom and Julia’s best songs yet. Maybe they should always cram in a new ending on the day of the show to keep things fresh. I wasn’t feeling Karen’s tragic sexuality in her suicide scene, but her begging not to be forgotten in this number made me forget how much better Ivy would have been and just focus on McPhee in the role. Because we are stuck with Karen as Marilyn going into Season 2 -- at least for a little while -- any number that makes her more likable is a good thing.



http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/smash-finale-recap.html