Smash: The Dress Rehearsal

 

Last week I thought the beginning was a dream sequence, but it ended up being real. This week's opening really was a dream. Poor Tom. And I didn't think we would see Ellis again. Good thing it was only in Tom's dream - well, nightmare.

Dress rehearsals can be very scary. There's a saying in the theatre, "bad dress rehearsal, good opening night." I don't believe that. I think you can have a great opening night after a bad dress rehearsal, but it certainly is nicer when you have a great opening after a great dress.

I had many different reactions to this episode, very few of them neutral. You will see by the comments below that I have lots to say about this one.

Observations:

Ivy is much more confident in her relationship with Derek this time. I like this confident Ivy. Yes, Ivy is more confident and Karen's getting a bit paranoid.

Kyle traveled all the way to Boston to see Bombshell? That's interesting.

How could the audience (and critics) not know that Ivy's wardrobe malfunction was a mistake? She stood there looking like a deer in the headlights, and JFK put his arms around her to "cover" her. If that didn't look like a mistake, I don't know what would.

There's an eight-year old Norma Jean in this musical? How come we never knew until now?

Angelica Huston really needs to let her hair grow out. She looks so much better with longer hair.

Tom says that the wardrobe malfunction was the lighting team's fault? Um, I don't think so. And, I just have to say that I can't believe that the day before the preview Eileen and Julia would think it's okay to ask the leading lady to appear nude. I'm sure that's something you would have to put in a contract or something, isn't it? Maybe not. But it just seems gratuitous to me. I don't think you need nudity to show vulnerability. That's the job of a good actress - to show the vulnerability through her acting. I don't think the audience would think of her vulnerability at a moment like that, they'd just think - oooh, she's nude, and feel like they got a cheap thrill (well, maybe not cheap, Broadway tickets are expensive. *wink*) At least Tom gets it. And I'm not sure why they would suddenly think it made the scene better when it was just a mistake. It just baffles me. I guess I just have different thoughts on nudity than a lot of people in New York theatre.

Kyle really has gotten to know Derek and his little idiosyncrasies. It's funny when he imitates him. I just like Kyle more and more.

Do they have a stage manager for Hit List, or is Kyle the unofficial stage manager because they can't afford one?

Derek says that in the new beginning the Diva is the only one on stage, but he has the ensemble on stage with her. Does he not consider the ensemble "anybody"?

Act two of Hit List has eleven scenes!? Wow, that's a lot.

Oh, poor Karen. Things aren't going her way anymore. What happened to Miss Perfect's perfect show? Welcome to the real world. It bugs me that Karen thinks she should have it all. It's like she thinks the show is just for her, and everyone around her is there to give her what she needs. She doesn't think about the good of the show or about the other people in the show.

Good for Kyle. He gave an honest answer, even though it wasn't the answer Jimmy wanted to hear. I'm so proud of him.

I wondered if they could make Jimmy any more of a jerk. Well, I got my answer. Yes, they can. He treats Kyle so badly.

Ivy, listen to Sam, don't listen to your mother. You do not have to do a nude scene onstage. Anyway, any mother who would be okay with her daughter being naked onstage is just --- well, it's sad to say what that mother is. And I guess Leigh hasn't been that great of a mother, according to Ivy, so I can't say I'm surprised.

It's funny that Derek would tell Richard Francis from the New York Times right before the preview that they changed the beginning an hour ago. I don't know any director who would tell a journalist that right before they see a run-through. Maybe they'd tell the journalist after, depending on if it went well or not, but not before.

I can't believe Karen told Anna that Derek changed the beginning and gave Anna part of Karen's song only because Derek is mad at her (Karen) and Jimmy. Not only that, but she actually said that when Derek calms down that he'll take the song away from Anna What kind of friend are you Karen? So self-absorbed and conceited. You've been hanging around Jimmy too much.

I love Linda, the stage manager. Especially when Tom tells her that maybe he could write a really long entr'acte to make up for the fact that the intermission is running too long while they try to change the set for the opening of act two. Linda's response is exactly how I've felt about the speed of the two musicals getting to the point they are (and many other things being done at record speeds). I think the writers also know that they've unrealistically sped up the journey of these shows also, and they're making a joke of it through Linda. The quote is down below.*

Julia comes up with her idea to fix the long intermission problem quite quickly. "Did I say that out loud." *wink* However, the idea was pretty cool. I just have one problem with it. What happened to the people who already had the seats that the actors suddenly jumped out of in the audience? Those seats would already have been sold before the show started, and if I had the seats and was moved to other seats, I wouldn't have been very happy, even if it were "for the sake of a shorter intermission." And I hope no one kicked anyone in the head.

Oh, Ivy, Ivy, Ivy.

I wonder why Jimmy changed his name. Is it because of drugs? It's got to be something more than that if he can't tell Karen. She already knows about the drugs. So, what is it? I hope it's something totally unexpected.

If Richard Francis expected to start some kind of romantic relationship with Eileen, he just ruined his chances with his article in the New York Times. It's funny that he talks about how Hit List is better than Bombshell because the latter is about the past, and the former is about the present and the future. If you look at Broadway right now, most of the shows are set in the past, not in the present. The past sells.

Hit List is going to go to Broadway, and go against each other at the Tony's. That will be an interesting episode.

I'm so glad that Jimmy apologized to Kyle and told him that the show wouldn't be where it is if it weren't for Kyle. Jimmy's learning something.

I'm afraid for Anna. Jimmy's "old friend" Adam can't be up to something good.

Quotes:

Ivy: Whoever thought it was a good idea to have your first performance in front of your friends and family was obviously not an actor.

Julia: But the show itself was great.
Tom: Thank you Mrs. Lincoln.

Tom: We can't make Ivy do something she's not comfortable with just to sell tickets.

Julia: You think you can fix all that in six hours?
Tom: Yes. I believe in miracles. And you should too.

Tom: Little Norma Jean is off-book. Finally. Kids. Never again.
Linda: We fixed the fog. Never again.

Tom: Why couldn't Marilyn have taken a bus.
Julia: You dreamt this one up all on your own.

Tom: It's all working. All of it. See, the plane. Da plane.

*Linda: We got the intermission down, but it's still running long.
Tom: Well, maybe I could quickly write a really long entr'acte.
Linda: And orchestrate it and give it to the musicians and have them learnt it? Did I say that out loud?

Tom: You were so right.
Julia: As much as I never tire of hearing that, at the moment I don't care. I just want this to be good. For both of us.

Bobby: There's nothing quite like live theatre.

Jimmy: You got us here. Dude, I can't do this without you, you know that. Besides, you're edgy and occasionally brilliant.
Kyle: I'm brilliant all of the time. You're the occasional half.