Smash: Hits and Misses

Last time on “Smash:” Derek directed Ronnie’s one night only show while Mama Moore ran interference. Karen recruited Jimmy and Kyle to write a new song for the show. But when Derek decides to play it safe, Jimmy flips out that they won’t use his song. He disappears into the night which concerns Kyle. Meanwhile, Julia is upset when Peter ambushes her in his acting class by having said class read and discuss Bombshell with the names swapped out. So she reads his play and learns it sucks. This somehow brings the two together and they start working on Bombshell. Jimmy shows up, high, in time for Ronnie’s concert. She decides to do things Derek’s way and closes with the song Jimmy wrote. Everyone rises to their feet as she takes a bow with Jimmy and Kyle. Oh, and Ellis got Nick locked up and allowed Jerry to take over Bombshell from Eileen.

SMASH!


Eileen wants to kill her ex-husband. You know, the usual. Jerry, though, has learned to deal with it. Especially as I believe he’s hidden all the Manhattans on…well…Manhattan. He has set up a read-through to hear Julia’s new script to decide if he’s going to go forward with Bombshell. And he’s keeping Eileen far away from it. She’s none-too-happy about it.

Tom and Derek, meanwhile, are getting along. Shocking, I know. They are touring the Belasco Theater, which is being eyed as Bombshell’s future home. And Tom thinks it is big enough. “For what?” Derek asks. For the plane, of course! Tom and Julia are going “Miss Saigon” on us, guys! They’ve crafted a second act opening number called “Public Relations,” where Marilyn lands and is bombarded by the paparazzi. From many different countries and all played by Christian Borle. Because Christian Borle is AWESOME. Yes, all caps.

After he’s done performing, Julia and Peter rush in. They have completed the script. Tom asks if “Public Relations” is still in but they don’t answer. Julia just says they felt comfortable with how the script turned out. Tom notes the use of the word “we” and how Peter and Julia tend to finish each other’s sentences. He also notes how Julia isn’t freaking out about the read through.

Tom can smell the sexual tension. Can you?

Meanwhile, Derek calls Karen. She’s at a kickboxing class with Ana, arguing about whether or not to call Jimmy. Derek gives her a reason to do so: He’s gotten “Hit List” entered into the Winter Fringe Festival. Karen and Ana go give them the news. Kyle is ecstatic. Jimmy is blasé. Karen tells them they should have a reading so they could hear the play out loud. Ana says they’ve invited a few people over and they were excited to take part in it. Kyle can’t believe it but Ana explains that people like to be apart of the formation of a project. And Ronnie Moore performing Jimmy’s song last week didn’t hurt either. Meanwhile, Karen makes eyes at Jimmy and looks like she’s five minutes away from passing him a note which reads: “Do you like me? Check one: Yes No”

But from Jimmy’s bedroom comes a woman dressed in only her underwear looking for coffee. Karen is dejected to learn Jimmy is sleeping around after kissing her. Uh, Karen, you do realize he was high at the time, right? Outside, Ana tells Karen she should just associate with Jimmy on a professional level for now. Dejected, Karen agrees.

Julia and Tom go for a walk and spot another playwright! Tom apparently had a relationship with him which ended badly. So what does he do? Runs away like a pansy. (Sorry if I seem a bit more sarcastic than usual). So Julia talks with Rob, who recognizes Peter’s name. He tells Julia a cautionary tale about a friend of his who worked with Peter on her play. When it came time to hand over the script to the producer, the friend learned that Peter had submitted one he had written. And he made sure the friend’s was worse than his. This panics Julia.

In our “C” plot, Ivy begins rehearsals for “Liaisons.” She works with Veanne Cox, who some might recognize from the version of “Cinderella” starring Brandy, Whitney Houston and Bernadette Peters. She played one of the stepsisters. Anyway, they talk as they await their errant leading man. His name is Terry Falls and he is played by Sean Hayes. Ivy and Veanne are excited to begin working with him until he puts on the fake French accent. Then they are horrified. Which is made worse when Terry then begins to treat the show like a farce. So Ivy seeks advice from Tom, who has to leave because Julia is panicking.

They go to Jerry’s office to talk to him. But they run into his assistant instead. And it’s Tracy Turnblad! Well, it’s Nikki Blonsky, who played Tracy in the Hairspray movie. She loves the script, praising it to high heaven. Suspicious, Julia asks about the Liz Taylor scene. Tracy loved loved it! Except Julia didn’t include a scene with Liz Taylor…but Peter pushed for it. She and Tom decide to cancel the reading to go over the script to make sure it’s the best one possible.

Back in the “B” plot, Ana and Kyle go to make copies and leave Karen and Jimmy alone. Jimmy cleans the apartment while Karen sings in a fantasy sequence. Their respective roommates come back and Ana corners Karen. She says she got a look at the script and has some concerns. But Karen waves her off as the others start arrive, including Bobby and Jessica. Everyone is excited.

Now onto the “C” plot: Ivy runs into Terry Falls and decides to clue him in. So she tells him the story is a drama, not a comedy. He thanks her and Ivy believes everything is fixed. Until the director comes in and tells everyone to follow Terry’s lead. So now it’s a comedy! Ivy and Veanne look horrified.

Julia tracks down Peter in the “A” plot but he swears he didn’t give Jerry another script. So they go ahead with the reading as planned. We don’t get to hear it, sadly, but we cut to the aftermath. Everyone sits in stunned silence. Julia wonders if it’s that bad but Derek tells her it’s that good.

Over in Brooklyn, the “B” plot has the exact opposite affect. Bobby thanks them for the free beer and says it’s getting late. Jimmy notes it’s only five pm but everyone tries to get out of there without having to comment. They try to be nice by calling it rough but Kyle flips out. He says they don’t understand it because it’s not “Broadway” and Bobby just flat out says it sucks. Aww, I thought Bobby and Kyle had potential!

In the “C” plot, the show isn’t any funnier. It seems more painful, if Veanne’s facial expression is to be believed. When Ivy has to act opposite Terry Falls, she throws caution to the wind and performs it the way it’s supposed to. She brings the room to tears. And Terry leaves. So Ivy chases after him. And explains acting to him. He is grateful to her.

Let’s go see where the “B” plot is ending up…Kyle is still sulking about how bad his script was. Look, Kyle, it’s like I tweeted: Nobody’s first draft is gold. It’s always crap. That’s what revision is for. Anyway, they collaborate on the future of “Hit List” when Ana gets an idea. Drop the dialogue and turn it into a sung-through musical, a rock opera like “Rent.” Everyone thinks it’s a great idea.

Separately, Jimmy and Karen have a talk. He says that they should just be colleagues and friends from now on and Karen agrees. Jimmy continues, talking about how Kyle explained her situation to her. Karen is probably wondering how Kyle knows about Dev and the broken engagement but he really thinks Karen is dating Derek. Because, you know, Jack Davenport.

To wrap up the “C” plot, Ivy reports to rehearsal the next day and runs into Terry. He tells her he stopped taking his medicines so that he can really feel everything. Megan Hilty’s face is “What new hell hath I wrought?” as she follows him into the building.

So that just leaves the “A” plot to wrap up. Jerry says he loves Julia’s script but that he’s not going to produce it. The entire room is shocked. He says that it’s smart and will win awards, but it won’t put butts in the seats. He wants to produce the original script of Marilyn the Musical, which Tom submitted to him for some reason last week. Tom also wants to do it while Julia and Derek want to do the other script. So they all agree to make Eileen the deciding vote and troupe into her office. The episode closes on Eileen’s face before she makes the decision.

And there’s the episode! A lot happened there and I think it’s to the show’s detriment. We need to focus on “Bombshell” and the characters we already love.  Or if they wanted to do “Hit List,” cut out Liasons and give it to Ivy! That’s what I thought when they first mentioned the dueling shows idea. Not that there’d be three of them fighting for my attention.

What do you all think?

Read the Playbill recap here