Smash: The Bells and Whistles

 

In this episode, Tom is trying so hard not to be like Derek that he lets his cast walk all over him, and Derek is trying hard not to let Jimmy walk all over him. Directing a show isn't easy. Especially shows that are still going through changes, that haven't been completely cast, and that are going to open in, what, three weeks?

Observations:

It looks like the opening of Bombshell has been reblocked. It's just Marilyn walking to center stage while everyone stands around her grinning as she belts out her song. Actually, I don't think they were "rehearsing" the opening number. I think it was an excuse for us to hear Megan Hilty sing the song and smile because she's Marilyn again. And just so you know, I really like Megan Hilty. I just think it wasn't a real representation of rehearsing an opening number. Otherwise, they would have gone on with the scene, not have everyone just applaud her performance.

This show raises a lot of questions that I'm really interested in knowing the answers to. When you write a show that is going to open on Broadway, how much control does the writer have? When a show that is established is produced (where the writer isn't involved in the production), the director is completely in charge. What she (or he) says, goes. But when the writer is right there when the first production is mounted, how much say does she have? Jimmy tells Derek that it's his (Jimmy's) show, and he wants to be in control of it. Is he correct in saying he should?

Karen is the inspiration for another plot line in Hit List. Can't let her go one episode without her proving her "muse" status, she might lose it. *wink*

"Let's Start Tomorrow Tonight" is a great song. I loved hearing Leslie Odom, Jr. sing it. And the number featured Bobby and Jessica. Even better!

Karen made a suggestion to Derek and he actually rejected it. Oh my! She is losing her touch.

Tom is asking Derek for advice on how to deal with his actors. How to be a real "director," and not just someone who takes everyone else's suggestions.

I love the scene with Tom and Derek. They actually had a civilized conversation. You can tell that they were friends once. It would be nice if they were friends again. I just still want to know what happened between the two.

In the last episode, Hit List was about transformation. In this episode the show's about "two people falling in love and what gets in the way of that." If the director and writer really haven't figured out what the show is about three weeks before it opens, then sets and LED screens are not the biggest problem.

I liked the staging of "I Heard Your Voice in a Dream." If this show could just have more production numbers, I would be so happy. I love musical theatre, and when a musical number works it's so great. I would like to see that number live. It probably would be much more effective. The only thing I didn't like in the number was Karen just standing there. If I were directing it, and she had to stand there through the song, I probably would have had her pantomime singing, as if she were performing, with her back to the audience, not looking at Jimmy at all until the end when he makes it over to her.

Good for you, Tom. You're finally learning what it means to be a director. Although I think it's foreshadowing that he's also going to lose a few friends.

Karen should have told Derek that she and Jimmy were talking and he interrupted them. She didn't even give Jimmy a chance to say what he wanted to say.

Quotes:

Derek: I guess we see the moment differently.
Jimmy: No. You see it wrong. No offense.
Derek: None taken. Although I don't like to think of any idea as "wrong" on the first day of rehearsal.

Tom: Grudges don't go away. They just get bigger.

Julia: There must be something I'm not getting.
Tom: Yea, the hint.

Agnes: I'm aging here. Sean. I just hit menopause while on hold.

Agnes: No one is friends in this business.

Julia: I know that you want this to be a democracy.
Tom: I would prefer an "intellectual salon."

Julia: At the end of the day, you are the director. You have to be a parent. Set strong boundaries, or you're going to lose control of your kids.

Jimmy: Lea Michelle?! Lea Michelle!?
Derek: You say it one more time, and she magically appears.

Derek: I know what I'm doing here, Jimmy. Just let me do my job.

Mia (re: Eileen): I tried to stop her!
Richard: You can't, Mia. She hasn't stopped moving since the 70s.

Julia: Locked in the bedroom at your own cast party? You look like me at my sweet 16.

Tom: Call the Mormons. Tell 'em you're not coming back.

Derek: I'm just trying to get us on the same page.
Jimmy: The more you talk, the less I feel that we are.

Derek: Contrary to popular opinion, I've got some friends in this business.

Sam: What about the hat? Too much Sammy, not enough Nat, right?

Derek: What I don't want is to show some kid walking across the stage for five minutes.
Jimmy: It's some kid walking across the stage to tell a girl that he loves her. If we can't get an audience to care about that one its own, one of us isn't very good at his job.

Derek (to Tom): Hope you enjoyed the show.

Tom: How do you sleep at night knowing everybody hates you? I'm seriously asking.
Derek: Well, you realize that having them respect you is more important that having them like you. It's a lonely business, Tom. You can't be friends with them.
Tom: Don't think that's going to be a problem with you and Jimmy.

Tom: Listen to him, he's not your enemy.