Let Me Be Your Star!!

Didn't Evita wear a dress like this? Slut!

Tonight I had the great pleasure of going to an advance screening of the upcoming NBC premiere of "Smash"...and I could not have been more pleased with it! I have been shaking and crying over the idea of this show since the very first preview. It has more things than I can even count to love about it, but I will try anyway.

DO YOU SEE THE SPARKLY UNIFORMS?!

1) Flaw-free Idol reject Katharine McPhee in her acting debut

2) Flaw-repellant Wicked alumni Megan Hilty (the part I am most excited about, tbh)

3) Fierce bitch extraordinaire Anjelica Houston playing a fierce bitch

4) A mouth-watering cast and set of producers

5) Oh did we mention it is about a Broadway musical?

6) And that it has multiple musical numbers per episode?

7) And that this numbering system isn't really working out anymore?

8) It is gay boy's wettest of dreams...is what the general point I am getting at?

OK...enough of that. The preview (which you can find below) had me literally calling/texting/emailing/tweeting/facebooking/banging-on-windows to anyone who would listen to me about this fantastic new show. It has now been months and in February it will finally premiere. Walking over to the theater tonight, I had a touch of apprehension that it couldn't possibly meet my high expectations. All of those worries were SMASHed to pieces! (Aha. See what I did? Ahahaha. HAHAHA. Hehhh...hehh...god I hate myself)

Me the entire show, tbqh

Smash is the story of two aspiring Broadway stars and the creation of a play based on Marilyn Monroe. Karen Cartwright and Ivy Lynn are two very different women with very different backgrounds who both are chasing their dream. While it very much feels that Karen, played by McPhee, is being framed as the star of the show, Hilty's turn as Ivy actually comes off as equally sympathetic and interesting. Not to mention more talented. Each song that Hilty sang on the show sent absolute chills down my body and had me squealing with gay joy.

What was most important to note from this extremely tight premiere was that not only did they do a remarkable job unveiling the many characters involved, but the musical numbers were believably woven into the storyline and were perfectly executed. If this first episode is anything to go by, non-theatre buffs will have no problem enjoying this show to its fullest. Much like the good moments of Glee (of which are numbered these days), you need not be into people breaking out into song to feel the joy and passion behind the songs and the characters behind them. 

While pilot episodes are always tricky to judge a series on (again...just look at the trainwreck Glee turned into), if this premiere is anything to go by, then Smash will be everything that I was hoping for and more. I just sincerely hope that American viewers and NBC recognize its brilliance and support it. Below you can watch the preview as well as a high quality recording of the musical triumph featured in this episode, Let Me Be Your Star.