2016 Tony Awards Predictions: Best Featured Actress

The 2016 Tony Awards get closer every day, and we are now deep into my annual prediction article series. Having already tackled some of the behind the scenes races and the Featured Actors, today the hardworking Featured Actresses get their time in the spotlight. As always, I will do my best to predict who is the most likely to win, and if I feel another individual is more deserving than the likely winner I will make sure to point them out. Read on to find out my thoughts on some of this year's most exciting races!

Warning: Occasional snark and plenty of speculation to follow!

Best Featured Actress in a Play

Megan Hilty and her plate of sardines in Roundabout's Noises Off.

Nominees: Pascale Armand, Eclipsed; Megan Hilty, Noises Off; Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans; Andrea Martin, Noises Off; Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

This category is stacked with some amazing talent, to the point where it would be difficult to argue against any of the nominated actresses winning. When you have a category where two-time Tony-winner Andrea Martin appears to be the least competitive entrant, you know you are dealing with some amazing performances.

Personally, my money is on Megan Hilty, who took the same general outline that helped Annaleigh Ashford win this category last year (quirky oddball character in an ensemble farce) and turned it up to 11, resulting in one of the most consistently side-splitting performances I've ever seen. Every single gesture and inflection of Hilty's was perfectly calibrated for maximum comedic effect, and I don't think a performer has generated a higher number of belly laughs on Broadway since the original company of The Book of Mormon. Both Pascale Armand and Saycon Sengbloh are excellent in Eclipsed, and I would be genuinely happy for either actress to win, but I suspect this is a case where vote splitting actually will make both performers less competitive than they would be if either had been nominated on their own. And while I suspect many people have a deep respect for Jayne Houdyshell's nuanced, naturalistic performance in The Humans, I think Hilty generated more excitement in a role that seems to scream Tony Award.

Will & Should Win: Megan Hilty, Noises Off

Special Mention: Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton

Nominees: Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple; Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton; Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me; Jennifer Simard, Disaster!; Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along

With all due respect to the other nominees, there is a runway favorite in this category, and her name is Renee Elise Goldsberry. The actress is simply sensational as the fiercely independent Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, whether she's encouraging her sisters to "work" during "The Schuyler Sisters" or trying to entice Hamilton away from said work during "Take a Break." And her showstopping, jaw dropping performance of "Satisfied" is absolute perfection, the kind of legendary turn that recalls what it must have been like to witness Audra McDonald sing "Your Daddy's Son" in the original company of Ragtime.

That is not to say the other actresses aren't deserving. Adrienne Warren is a standout during her two big numbers in Shuffle Along, and gains extra points for the role being such a complete 180 from her last Broadway appearance in Bring It On. I have long admired Jane Krakowski for her impeccable comedic timing on the TV shows 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and she demonstrates an unbelievable range of emotion and skill during her supporting turn in Roundabout's enchanting revival of She Loves Me. I will admit to being less taken with Danielle Brooks' somewhat one-note performance in The Color Purple, but the actress is undeniably talented and certainly earned her place among this year's nominees. And while I didn't see Jennifer Simard in Disaster, the video of her final performance making the rounds proves that she was a force to be reckoned with. In another year, any of these women might be a front runner, but this year it is all about Goldsberry.

Will & Should Win: Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton

Special Mention: Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to check back soon for my thoughts and predictions on the Best Actor and Actress races. Plus, catch up on the rest of my 2016 Tony Award coverage by clicking on the links below:

Nominations React

Best Book and Score

Best Direction and Choreography

Best Featured Actor

2016 Tony Nominee Predictions: Part III (Supporting Actor/Actress)

Tomorrow morning, we find out the people and productions that will compete for the 2016 Tony Awards. And as always, I am leading up to that day with plenty of blog coverage on who I think those lucky nominees will be. Using a combination of first hand experience, analysis of industry trends, and my gut feelings, I have already made my predictions for the production and lead actor/actress categories. Today, it's time to tackle some of the most wide open races around, the Featured Actor and Actress categories.

Prediction these nominees is always tricky, as almost anyone who sets foot on a Broadway stage is eligible. Past winners have run the gamut from dynamic one scene wonders like Andrea Martin in Pippin to people who are essentially secondary leads like Aladdin's James Monroe Iglehart. In general, more stagetime makes someone more competitive - they have more time to show range and make a lasting impression - and this year there are a slew of contenders in this category who do just that (including the entire casts of the highly praised The Humans and Noises Off). 

If any acting race is going to expand to a potential six or seven nominees, my gut tells me it will be one of these, which is why in addition to my official picks I will also be choosing one or more wildcard performers in each category, representing who I think is most likely to prompt an expansion or unseat one of my official picks. Now read on to see who I think should starting thinking about what they're going to wear to Broadway's biggest night!

Best Featured Actor in a Musical

Daveed Diggs (left) with Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda during one of the show's exciting "Cabinet Battles."

This category is looking like a potential bloodbath, with a huge number of worthy performances up for consideration. This is one area where Hamilton's massive success may actually hurt it, as the various supporting players in that musical could cancel one another out. I have the best feeling about Daveed Diggs' scene-stealing duel roles as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the hip-hop musical, but can't rule out Jonathan Groff's extremely memorable comedic performance as the foppish King George III.

In a similar situation, there are four past Tony-nominees/winners eligible for this award among Shuffle Along's star-studded cast, and I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them among this year's nominees. Word on the street indicates that Billy Porter has the kind of standout moment that gets Tony voters' attention late in the show's second act, so I would say he is the most likely to make the cut. But Brian Stokes Mitchell is one of the most respected musical theatre actors in the business, and his status as something of an elder statesman also makes him extremely competitive.

Personally, I would love to see The Color Purple's Isaiah Johnson nominated for his nuanced portrayal of the villainous Mister, but there's so much buzz around the show's flashier female performances that he might get lost in the shuffle. She Loves Me counts past Tony favorites Gavin Creel and Michael McGrath among its cast members, both of whom are certainly possibilities, although given his Drama Desk and Theatre World Award nods young Nicholas Barasch may just be the most likely Tony nominee among the beloved revival's male supporting players. Waitress' Christopher Fitzgerald has also done extremely well when it comes to guild nominations, well enough that I expect him to be among the five (or more) names announced Tuesday morning.

Nominees

Nicholas Barasch, She Loves Me

Daveed Diggs, Hamilton

Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress

Jonathan Groff, Hamilton

Billy Porter, Shuffle Along

Wildcard

Isaiah Johnson, The Color Purple

Best Featured Actor in a Play

Michael Shannon in Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Given the number of one and two character plays that made it to Broadway this season, this category is surprisingly light on potential nominees. One actor certain to be among this year's contenders is The Human's Reed Birney, a performer most had assumed would be moved up to the Lead Actor category given the size of his role. Having such a large amount of material to work with gives him an advantage, as does his status as a highly respected character actor who continually does acclaimed work. I will also be surprised if Michael Shannon doesn't receive a nod for his heroic work in Long Day's Journey Into Night, with the mercurial actor showing an incredible amount of range over the course of that drama's four hour runtime.

Literally every male cast member of Roundabout's Noises Off is eligible in this category, and a case could be made for any of them. Jeremy Shamos and Rob McClure, both past Tony-nominees, were each fantastic in their roles, as was David Furr with his hilarious take on the play's bumlbing leading man. I'm almost tempted to say all three make the cut and call it a day, but given The Crucible's Bill Camp and Jim Norton scoring Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations respectively, that seems unwise. One of the Crucible men will probably make the cut, although which one is a complete toss up.

Nominees

Reed Birney, The Humans

David Furr, Noises Off

Jim Norton, The Crucible

Jeremy Shamos, Noises Off

Michael Shannon, Long Day's Journey Into Night

Wildcard

Rob McClure, Noises Off

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, the "oldest and wittiest" of the Schuyler sisters in Hamilton.

Unlike their male counterparts, the noteworthy supporting actress performances in this year's musicals are more evenly distributed over multiple productions, placing fewer cast members in direct competition with one another. At this point, I would consider She Loves Me's Jane Krakowski and The Color Purple's Danielle Brooks sure things, as they have been on essentially every Featured Actress in a Musical list up until this point. I also consider Hamilton's Renee Elise Goldsberry a virtual lock for her absolutely transfixing performance as Angelica Schuyler; her performance of the song "Satisfied" alone is the stuff Tony-winning performances are made of, and the fact she has several other standout moments throughout the show just increases the strength of her case.

Personally, I would really really love to see Lesli Margherita nominated for her star-making performance in Dames at Sea, but I'm not sure people still remember that show even happened. Meanwhile, Waitress is one of the few shows to have multiple candidates in this category, and although neither Keala Settle or Kimiko Glenn have appeared on any end of season lists just yet I do suspect Tony voters will be smitten with the show and its performers.

This year may also see the first career Tony nomination for longtime New York City musical stalwart Andrea Burns, one of the few people in On Your Feet called upon to actually act as opposed to just being a charming personality. Sierra Boggess has always been more popular with audiences than with awards granting bodies, but the competition in this category is just thin enough that she might sneak in there for her work in School of Rock. And as the recipient of an Outer Critics Circle nod in this category (no small feat considering both Broadway and Off-Broadway performances are eligible), American Psycho's Helene York cannot be left out of the conversation.

Nominees

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton

Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me

Lesli Margherita, Dames at Sea

Keala Settle, Waitress

Wildcards

Sierra Boggess, School of Rock
Helene York, American Psycho

Best Featured Actress in a Play

Megan Hilty as Brooke, the bad actress trying her best to be good in Noises Off.

In my opinion, the woman to beat in this category right now is Megan Hilty. Her side-splittingly funny work in Noises Off was the greatest thing about that top-notch revival, and her role in the show practically screamed Tony Award (Katie Finneran won the Tony for playing the same role in the show's last Broadway mounting). That is not to say Hilty is without competition, as Eclipsed presents three worthy challengers in the form of Saycon Sengbloh, Pascale Armand, and Zainab Jah. I personally found Sengbloh to be the most compelling, but Armand's deft transitions between high comedy and devastating emotional honesty could give her the edge in many people's eyes. Of course, this is all a conversation for another day, as I fully expect all three women to be nominated against Hilty.

The only real question here is which actress will get the fifth nomination slot. It could go to one of Hilty's costars, as both Andrea Martin and Kate Jennings Grant were pitch perfect in Roundabout's farce. I'd actually give the edge to Grant, whose slooooow crawl across the stage to remove an errant prop is one of the greatest bits of physical comedy I have ever seen, but I suspect if forced to choose the nominations committee will stick with Tony favorite Martin instead. One also can't rule out Judith Light for her work in Therese Raquin, especially since she is one of the very few performers to pull off back to back Tony wins (and in this same category, no less). If the Noises Off ladies cancel one another out, Light will definitely be the beneficiary.

Nominees

Pascale Armand, Eclipsed

Megan Hilty, Noises Off

Zainab Jah, Eclipsed

Andrea Martin, Noises Off

Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

Wildcard

Judith Light, Therese Raquin

And that completes my predictions for this year's Tony nominees! We'll see how well I did come Tuesday morning, and in the meantime you can add your thoughts in the comments. Also, don't forget to check out the rest of my 2016 Tony coverage:

2016 Tony Nominee Predictions: Part I (Production)

2016 Tony Nominee Predictions: Part II (Actor/Actress)

A First Rate Revival of a First Rate Farce

Review: Noises Off

After seeing Noises Off, you'll never look at a plate of sardines the same way.

When is bad acting the best kind of acting? When it is intentional and pulled off with the kind of deft, reckless comic abandoned used by every single cast member in Roundabout Theatre's stellar revival of Michael Frayn's farcical masterpiece, Noises Off. The belly laughs come early and often in this dizzying comic tour de force, which marks not just the first Broadway show of 2016 but also the first great one.

Heralded since its 1983 premiere as one of the all time great theatrical comedies, Noises Off milks its many laughs out of an exceedingly simple premise. A troupe of actors is desperately trying to mount a production of the fictional sex farce Nothing On, a terrible play being done terribly by the ill-equipped actors. Noises Off is broken up into three acts, each set at a different point in the show's run: Act I details the show's disastrous technical rehearsal, Act II moves the action backstage during a performance midway through the show's run, and Act III comes back in front of the curtain to show just how much the show has fallen apart by the end of its run. All of this is enacted by a wonderfully eccentric cast of characters who are concurrently sorting out multiple backstage romances, none of which seem to be going particularly well.

It must be said that even 30 years later Frayn's writing remains a marvel of economy and subtle exposition. As Noises Off primarily deals with how poorly the play-within-a-play is going, there's little time for fleshing out the actors performing it, and yet Frayn manages to pepper the dialogue with enough organic references to their offstage lives that everyone comes across as a person rather than a caricature. The show's first act is funny enough on its own that you don't realize how much expository groundwork it's laying. The repetition of scenes from Nothing On (necessitated by multiple missed cues during the play's tech rehearsal) allows you to follow what's happening in Acts II and III, where the same portion of the fictional comedy is viewed from backstage and from the audience during completely botched performances, yet you don't even realize that's what Frayn's doing until long after the final curtain has literally fallen. The only real knock against the writing is that the playwright fails to follow up on the bombshell revelation at the end of Act II, but at the same time the fact Frayn leaves certain details offstage details to the imagination is part of the appeal.

Of course no matter how strong a script is, you still need a cast and creative team capable of executing it, and that is where this revival truly shines. As the saying goes, "Dying is easy; comedy is hard," and nowhere is that more apparent than in the carefully plotted madness of Noises Off. The play relies on everything going wrong in such a specific fashion that one misstep would derail the entire enterprise, and yet for it to remain funny you cannot see the work or be aware you're being set up for a punchline. Director Jeremy Herrin nails this aspect, carefully crafting each moment of stage time so you can follow both the plot of the play-within-a-play and the behind the scenes shenanigans with ease. He keeps the pacing tight and the comedy heightened yet real; none of the characters have any idea they're being funny, which makes their hapless misadventures all the more hilarious.

Herrin has also assembled one of the hardest working casts in the industry, a true ensemble where every member is working together towards the larger goal. Part of what makes the sparsity of character development work is this cast's ability to fill in the blanks with their mannerisms, and at any moment you can watch anyone onstage and see a fully committed and often deeply hilarious performance. The specificity of the character choices is astounding, as is the varied and delightful ways they interact with one another. It helps that everyone has impeccable comic timing and a major affinity for physical comedy, from prat falls to slap fights to a tumble down the stairs executed with near balletic grace. The actors' physicality comes to a head during the showstopping backstage pantomime that makes up the majority of Act II, a sequence so packed with comic genius it could be watched half a dozen times and reveal entirely new layers of brilliance each time.

Andrea Martin is excellent as the company's resident (and fading) diva, who slowly but surely comes to realize she's in way over her head. Famed comedienne Martin is essentially playing the straight woman, which anyone who works in comedy will tell you is the hardest role to make work, a change of pace she expertly handles while remaining her unimpeachably hilarious self. Jeremy Shamos is side-splittingly funny as an actor who can't stand the sight of violence and just wants to know his motivation, getting funnier and funnier as his character becomes more and more bedraggled. Kate Jennings Grant is immensely appealing as the company's most competent actor and resident gossip monger, and has perhaps the play's single greatest bit of physical comedy as she *slowly* slinks across the floor midperformance to "unobtrusively" remove an errant plate of sardines from the set. Campbell Scott is delightfully explosive as the cantankerous director trying to corral this hapless troupe of actors, and both Tracee Chimo and Rob McClure provide fine support as the production's stage manager and resident technician/understudy, respectively. David Furr kills as the fading marquee idol seemingly incapable of finishing his sentences, and as the resident drunk Daniel Davis is great fun.

But the true standout of the show (quite the accomplishment in a cast this talented) is Megan Hilty as the blonde bombshell who spends the majority of the play in sexy lingerie. Hilty is one of the best bad actresses you are likely to ever see, and her every second of stage time is a multi-faceted masterclass in comic business. Hilty never upstages her cohorts, but when it's her time to shine she takes the moment and runs with it, like her tear-inducingly awkward crawl down the staircase while searching for her missing contact. Whether she's practicing her meditation, silently mouthing the other actors' lines, or flailing her arms in mock panic, Hilty is a comedic knockout.

Really, the only thing wrong with Noises Off is that it's a limited run production, meaning we only have another month to savor this sublime production. The entire hilarious cast will soon have to clear out of the American Airlines Theatre to make way for a very different type of classic (Roundabout's upcoming revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night), so I beg you to brave the cold and catch this production while you can. It's the perfect antidote to the winter doldrums, and proof positive that comedy can be every bit as artistically rewarding as drama.

Smash Gives 'em That Big Finish

Ivy (Megan Hilty) and Karen (Katherine McPhee) celebrate the fact that they aren't actually competing against Audra McDonald (not pictured) for the Best Actress Tony.

While the Tony Awards are only days away and I have plenty more predictions to make, I wanted to take a break from all that to reflect on a quiet but important event that took place during the holiday weekend: the series finale of Smash.

A behind the scenes look at the making of a Broadway musical, poor Smash has had a rough time of it.  After the pilot premiered to near-universal acclaim and fairly strong ratings, the series began its fast descent into mockery and derision.  The show became the poster child for a movement known as “hate watching,” with people tuning in every week for the express purpose of making fun of the show’s every flaw.  After the rather public firing of creator Theresa Rebeck at the end of season one, NBC promised that new showrunner Joshua Safran would retool the show into a sleeker, sexier Smash and thereby reinvigorate the show.  But the second season premiered to dismal rating that only sunk lower with each passing week, prompting NBC to move it to Saturday nights before officially cancelling the show a couple weeks ago (although any observer could tell the show was doomed for months beforehand).

I have to say, I quite enjoyed the two hour series finale that aired Sunday night.  Although it could have stood an extra 10-15 minutes to fully wrap up its myriad storylines, I felt the finale did an excellent job of providing closure to the series and the characters.  I would have loved to see a higher budget Tony Awards ceremony, and it would have been great fun to see all of the “nominated” industry heavyweights actually cameo, but I loved seeing where all the characters ended up and the wins in each category felt right. 

Ultimately, I feel like Safran made good on most of his promises about fixing the show, as this season was generally tighter, more focused, and less subject to the wild fluctuations in tone and characterization that plagued the back half of the first season.  Not every addition was a home run, but none bombed in the spectacular manner that reviled elements like Ellis or Julia’s son Leo did in season one.  But while I personally am sad to see the show go, I think in some ways this is a blessing in disguise, as the story about the creation of Bombshell came to a natural conclusion with no obvious extension.  Safran has stated that a third season would have seen Karen starring in the movie musical Tom and Julia were asked to write in the finale, possibly with Jimmy taking over composing duties so Tom and/or Derek could direct.  It’s an interesting premise, but even Safran admits he hadn’t quite figured out how Ivy figures into that story, and a Smash without the amazing Megan Hilty is almost destined to be a lesser show.

So why didn’t Smash become the breakout success everyone hoped it would be?  It’s a complicated question.  I think the biggest obstacle the show faced was never fully deciding who its intended audience was.  The show, especially in its first season, would have seemingly knowledgeable characters suddenly become idiots to allow the writers to explain key concepts like workshops and previews to audiences unfamiliar with how Broadway works.  And yet at the same time it would have industry professionals like Jordan Roth or Michael Riedel appear as themselves with no explanation as to who they were or why they were important, something that surely made anyone not intimately familiar with the New York theatre scene feel slightly lost (I’d even wager there’s a large contingent of NYC actors who wouldn’t necessarily recognize theatre czar Jordan Roth on sight).  Trying to have it both ways ended up pleasing no one, as theatre professionals would get insulted by the characters’ spontaneous naivety and outsiders would get confused by the overly specific, unexplained references.

Then there is the problem of the writing, particularly in the first season.  Under Rebeck’s direction the show could be a narrative nightmare, inconsistent in its logic and continually trying to force uninteresting characters down the audience’s throat.  The show also had a nasty habit of making previously sympathetic characters unlikable and selfish, a problem which it never fully escaped.  Add in a 7-month break between seasons and you have plenty of reasons for less dedicated viewers to jump ship.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that theatre people are also partly to blame, as a large percentage of them approached the show with the wrong attitude.  A number of friends and colleagues would constantly complain that the show wasn’t “realistic” and that certain plot twists would never happen, citing that as irrefutable evidence that the show was garbage.  But this assumes popular shows like Law and Order are a 100% accurate representation of the criminal justice system or that Grey’s Anatomy is the place to go for solid medical information.  Like all workplace dramas, Smash embellished elements of the business to make for good TV, and I for one found myself much more disturbed by the things I’m sure do happen, like when Julia’s high-minded Bombshell rewrite was rejected in favor of a more tourist-friendly version.

I think the positives of Smash far outweigh the negatives.  It introduced musical theatre to a wider audience, as even the paltry 2 million viewers a week are more people than see the Broadway production of Wicked in a year.  It provided a host of Broadway actors with a steady, TV-sized paycheck, which will provide them with a nice financial buffer while they search for their next stage project.  And once they land that next project, the exposure they received on Smash will be a valuable marketing tool to help sell tickets (and unlike most Broadway stunt casting, we know these people have the skills to actually succeed onstage).  And it gave us some truly stunning new songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who really need to be writing more musicals to stand alongside Hairspray and the underappreciated Catch Me If You Can. 

So farewell, Smash.  I for one am grateful for the two seasons of entertainment you provided, and while you certainly had your issues, you were far from the unqualified disaster so many folks made you out to be.

The Long Road to Broadway

Review: Smash Season 2 Premiere

Jennifer Hudson and Katherine McPhee prove that once upon time, American Idol actually produced marketable talent.

NBC had a lot riding on Smash, the big, expensive musical drama about the creation of a Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell.  After a stellar pilot, the show somewhat undeservedly became one of the most mocked pieces of entertainment in pop culture, resulting in the firing of creator/showrunner Theresa Rebeck and several major cast members.  Following an extended hiatus to accommodate the show’s retooling, Smash has finally returned with a two hour premiere that largely resembles last year’s incarnation, although under the surface lurks a host of subtle but significant tweaks with the potential to radically increase the show’s overall quality.

Season two of Smash picks up right where season one left off, with the cast and creative team of Bombshell eyeing a Broadway transfer after a largely successful run in Boston.  Karen (Katherine McPhee) received glowing reviews for her performance as Marilyn, while critics also singled out director Derek (Jack Davenport) and composer Tom (Christian Borle) for their many contributions.  Unfortunately, the press wasn’t so enamored with Julia’s (Debra Messing) libretto, and the behind the scenes shenanigans that plagued Bombshell’s development now threaten to overshadow the final product.  Meanwhile poor Ivy (Megan Hilty) finds herself struggling to get back in Karen’s good graces after sleeping with the rising star’s boyfriend, a move that has caused the entire creative team to give her the cold shoulder.

One thing new showrunner Joshua Safran has repeatedly promised is that Smash 2.0 would focus more on the backstage drama and less on the character’s soapy personal lives.  The season premiere certainly supports that statement, with all unresolved interpersonal plotlines wrapped up by little more than a wave of the hand before new show-related conflicts are introduced.  While this is a welcomed bit of house cleaning, it eats up a large portion of the premiere’s first hour and makes that episode feel like a repeat of the misguided tonal shifts perpetrated under Rebeck’s guidance last year.  In fact, the first hour is so hamstrung by having to clean up last season’s mess that I’d wager the decision to have a supersized premiere was driven primarily by the network’s desire to trot out the second episode as a better example of what season two has in store.

The new storylines introduced during the premiere are actually quite interesting, and executed with a more consistent tone and pace than we’ve previously seen.  The Rebecca-inspired financial woes Bombshell encounters show promise, and illustrate that Eileen (Anjelica Huston) should really be more suspicious of her bartender boyfriend’s extensive bank account.  Having serial womanizer Derek hit with a succession of sexual harassment lawsuits is a stroke of genius that makes excellent use of the delightfully smarmy Davenport, and the addition of Jennifer Hudson as a Tony-winning actress/inspirational figure for Karen brings with it a welcomed dose of spunk and genuine star wattage.  (As expected, Hudson’s musical numbers are positively thrilling.)

But the storyline with the biggest implications for Smash’s future is the introduction of a competing musical being developed by struggling Brooklyn songwriters Jimmy (Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle (Andy Mientus).  It accomplishes the hat trick of providing a point of contrast by which to judge Bombshell’s progress, creating conflict by offering the possibility of key cast members jumping ship, and making Smash’s world seem more alive by not having Bombshell exist in the vacuum.  Bad-boy Jimmy also makes an intriguing love interest for Karen by virtue of being the only person who doesn’t immediately worship the ground she walks on, although right now the character is so aggressively off-putting it somewhat negates any narrative appeal he provides.

Speaking of Karen, the struggling artist from Iowa has emerged as the show’s most problematic character, a handicap made even more maddening by the fact that she is clearly intended to be Smash’s protagonist.  Her experience in Boston has replaced her wide-eyed naivety with an unearned sense of entitlement, resulting in diva-esque behavior that makes her increasingly hard to root for.  Karen now treats Ivy with the same disdain Ivy exhibited for poor, sweet Karen in season one, but whereas Ivy was eventually scolded and told to tone down her hatred the other characters are inexplicably willing to support Karen’s vindictiveness.  On the plus side, this has allowed Ivy to revert back to the insecure but likably ambitious woman she was in the pilot, becoming a much more compelling character in the process (and her budding friendship with Julia certainly doesn’t hurt matters).

Overall, the first two hours of this season of Smash give us a show that is slowly but surely recovering from the dark days of Bollywood-inspired fantasy numbers that marked season one’s low point.  The show still has its quirks, including an eye-roll inducing transition into a Derek-centric musical number and a couple of highly implausible plot contrivances (Karen is apparently the only actress in New York who still lists her physical address on her resume).  But many of last season’s most glaring problems are conspicuously absent – although I fear dearly departed Ellis may reappear further down the line – and replaced with a slicker, more coherent tale of backstage politics and rival projects.  The show has a vast untapped potential, and hopefully Safran and crew can harness it to create true must-see TV as the season progresses.

Does NBC Have a "Smash" Hit On Its Hands?

Megan Hilty and cute boys in sparkly baseball uniforms - Just two of Smash's many valuable assets

After months of hype and weeks of Facebook statuses about how much more awesome Smash is going to be than Glee, the NBC musical drama about the creation of a Broadway show finally aired on TV last night.  And I have to say, I enjoyed it.  A lot.  Am I obsessively addicted to it, ready to devour any and all information I can lay my clammy little fanboy hands on?  No.  But I will certainly be tuning in next week to see where things go after a very solid pilot.

First off, I want to say that any comparisons to Glee are apples to oranges comparisons.  Whereas Glee is primarily aimed at young girls with attention spans no longer than a typical YouTube video (and gays who act like said young girls), Smash is aimed squarely at adults.  This goes a long way towards explaining why it is already functioning on a higher level than the Fox series, since most adults won’t put up with the kind of nonsensical shenanigans that occur with alarming frequency at McKinley High.

Thankfully, the characters in Smash are all reasonably coherent, believable people who behave in consistent and mostly logical ways.  I say mostly because it is a tad suspicious that such an on-the-ball personal assistant to a famous Broadway composer wouldn’t realize that sending at an unauthorized copy of a demo recording would be frowned upon.  And even more suspicious is that Katherine McPhee’s character, a 24-year-old who seems well adjusted to New York City and the theatrical scene, would receive a call at 10 o’clock at night telling her to go to the house of the Broadway director she just auditioned for and not figure out he wanted to sleep with her.  But other than that, the characters are well written and serve their functions well.

A large part of this is due to casting, which is spot on.  I particularly enjoyed Debra Messing and Christian Borle as the composing team, and Jack Davenport is deliciously smarmy as the hotshot Broadway director (and I can’t wait to find out why his character and Borle’s hate one another).  Even McPhee, who was probably the biggest question mark as far as acting ability was concerned, is doing a fine job.  Do I want to give her an Emmy?  No, but I also don’t want to yell at her to get off the screen, either. 

I also think the show did an excellent job in handling the biggest concern among theatre lovers prior to the pilot airing.  Most people I know, in typical diva worshipping fashion, seem to be of the opinion that any sane person would cast Megan Hilty on the spot.  I happen to agree that she is probably a more appropriate choice to play Marilyn Monroe, but the pilot of Smash makes a good case for at least seeing what McPhee has to offer in the role.  And honestly, they sold me on the idea of this rivalry with a single line of dialogue: the dismissive “thanks” given to Hilty by the director after her workshop performance of the baseball number.  He clearly doesn’t like Hilty, and honestly, that sort of unfounded bias would be more than enough to hold someone back in this business.

Yet in another way, their rivalry actually is my biggest concern with the series.  If Smash is going to be about the development of a Marilyn Monroe musical, the fictional creative team is going to have to pick their lead relatively early on.  But the pilot sets up the competition between these two actresses as the main conflict for the series, so I’m interested to see what new obstacles they manage to invent while keeping both women in play. 

It also drove me *insane* when I heard that disgusting, Autotune-style mechanical reverb kick in on the FIRST NOTE of McPhee’s rendition of “Beautiful.”  People do not sound like that in real life, and they certainly don’t sound that way when they audition.  If it had kicked in after McPhee went into fantasy-land later in the number, I could have dealt with it, but not right away.  It was the one bad habit from Glee to rear its ugly head, but was thankfully confined to that one performance (Hilty’s vocals sounded gloriously unaltered, which is what happens when you cast actual Broadway talent).

I was also happy to see that unlike Glee, Smash is putting a lot more effort into the “book scenes.”  On the high-school set series, they get so busy singing their pop covers that I often feel like the story is rushed and underdeveloped.  By cutting the number of songs in half, Smash actually had time to begin to develop its large cast of characters and their various problems.  And when the songs did occur, they were for the most part new songs of a very high quality.  And by having the musical at the center of Smash be about a showbiz star, the songs written for the show-within-a-show will be able to reflect the same themes going on in the characters’ lives, which makes them actually work within the context of the TV show.

As Glee continues to be undone by its erratic behavior, the impending graduation of its core characters, and the dramaturgical gymnastic that will be required to keep said characters around for season 4, it’s nice to see Smash come along and take the TV musical into adult territory.  I will certainly be watching, and I hope the rest of America will as well.