Jumpin’ Joe DiMaggio

Last week, Ivy got the lead in “Marilyn the Musical.”

This week, Derek’s meeting Karen in a posh restaurant. He asks her how she’s doing now that she’s not Marilyn. She says she’s fine and she’s good with being in the ensemble. Derek tells her she should be pissed and Karen’s clearly flummoxed. I’ve noticed some people on the internet don’t like how Karen’s not thrilled to be in the ensemble, which is a big step for her. But I can understand it. We don’t know how much time has passed between episodes. Karen may not have gotten over the disappointment of not getting the lead just yet.

Anyway, Dev shows up. He wasn’t too comfortable with Karen meeting Derek alone. The two men then have a Brit off, compounded by the fact that Dev went to Oxford and Derek went to Cambridge. That’s like Harvard vs. Yale. Karen decides to get Dev away from this alpha dog fight. They go back to their apartment where he kisses her.

We’ll stick with Karen’s storyline for now. She’s getting excited about being in the ensemble, but everyone around her is trying to bring her down. Her coworker at the diner says that rehearsal schedules are unreliable, especially for workshops. And the pay is horrible. She is trying to convince Karen not to take the job, clearly. And she has Karen worried about finances.

So much so that she’s thinking of not going to her friend’s baby shower back home in Iowa. Dev convinces her to go and have a good time. He says he’ll handle the finances if need be. Karen is unsure but Dev sends her to Iowa. (Played by Nyack, NY, according to tweets from Katharine McPhee).

Her parents (played by real life married couple Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker) are concerned by her mood. Karen tells them not to worry—and that she can hear them talking with the door open. They come out and try to be supportive. Karen tells them that she doesn’t want to think about Broadway this weekend. Which can be understandable. Sometimes, you need a break so that when you go back, you’re more refreshed.

So she goes to the baby shower, which is in a karaoke bar. Her friend opens Karen’s present, which is a giant teddy bear. The friend says the baby will love it. Karen tells her the bear is for the mother. She says that when things get overwhelming with the baby, she can hug the bear and call Karen. The friend is touched, though she does point out that Karen has no knowledge of motherhood and is therefore useless. She then drags Karen onstage to sing “Redneck Woman.” And she does, dancing with her friends.

In the end, Karen gets ready to go back to New York. Her dad gives her some money and she protests. He reveals that he went to the karaoke place to watch her sing. And he tells her that he knows she’ll be fine, but he’s her father and he’s supposed to help her out. Aww.

To the Ivy Lynn front…Ivy is the lead! And she answers my question regarding last week’s sexcapade. To Ivy, it was genuine. She does wonder if it’s the reason why she got the role. Her friends tell her it was because of her talent. She wonders why Derek hasn’t called in awhile and they tell her not to worry. Especially as Derek shows up back stage. Ivy asks him to help her work on Marilyn after sex. He says that they are working on Marilyn which results in a look from Ivy. Derek backtracks and says that he’ll have his assistant pencil her in for a session.

But Ivy is still suspicious of Derek’s true feelings for her. Especially as they never go to his apartment. He feds her some story about why they can’t go to his apartment that I honestly heard as “Lies, lies, all lies! Lying through my teeth but my British accent distracts you from it.” Ivy buys it. I tell you, it’s the British accent.

Okay, and Jack Davenport. He’s dreamy.

Anyway, Tom finds out about Ivy and Derek. Though as Gay Chorus Boy Stereotype Dennis points out, it wasn’t a secret. After all, they met back stage. Tom isn’t too happy as Ivy is his muse and Derek is teh ebul. Julia isn’t so ready to condemn. Why? Because she had a showmance.

With who? Michael Swift played by Will Chase who can join Christian Borle in the list of cast members I’ve seen perform live. He’s a big star who is introduced singing Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” at La Mama. With a dancer who I’ve seen in “Moving Out.” Ooh, I should start a list!

Cast Members AB Has Seen Perform Live
Christian Borle
Will Chase
The dancer in “Grenade.”

Anyway, Derek and Eileen decide that he’s perfect for Joe DiMaggio from that performance…somehow. But he’s unsure. He has a wife and a child to think about. Said wife is played by Michelle Federer and she is supportive of him taking the role. Ooh, someone else for the list as I saw Federer as Nessarose in “Wicked.”

Cast Members AB Has Seen Perform Live
Christian Borle
Will Chase
The dancer in “Grenade”
Michelle Federer

Anyway, apparently Michael is a BIG baseball fan so playing Joe DiMaggio would be a BIG DEAL to him. So he gives and agrees, much to Julia’s dismay. She explains to Tom how she had a showcrush on Michael because he sang their songs so well in the last Tom/Julia musical he was in. But at first, it was just a showcrush. Until they went for a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s filmy and sepia toned and clearly the summer…And then Michael kisses Julia. Which led to an affair that lasted a few years before they broke it off.

Tom is surprised in a “But we tell each other EVERYTHING” way. But he tells Julia he understands why it’s awkward for her now. She believes it won’t be a problem.

What will be a problem is Ellis. He is gushing to his friends underneath a bridge about working on a developing new musical. They ask him if he’s getting any credit for it. He’s like “No, why?” They think he should ask for his (non-existent) right for a credit. To do so, he takes Julia’s notebook. I guess to make a copy and claim to have written stuff or something. But the big surprise of all of this? Ellis is STRAIGHT! I know, right?

Meanwhile, Anjelica Huston is trying to raise the money needed to finance a workshop for Marilyn. But she runs into resistance as she’s not producing it with Jerry. He offers to help, but she doesn’t want her soon-to-be-ex anywhere near Marilyn. She throws a Manhattan into his face to prove it. He’s gotten used to it—he actually ordered the Manhattan for her toss. He also was flirting with her. Anjelica realizes its because he thinks she has another admirer, who bought her the earrings she has been wearing. But she bought them for herself.

Anyway, I love Will Chase and am glad he’s on this show. I know there are rumors that Debra Messing and Chase both divorced their spouses because they have their own showmance going on. Whatever, he’s crazy talented and it’s well deserved. I look forward to seeing him more on the show. And hearing him—like on “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

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