Broadway, Bound. Smash looks and sounds good. It just doesn't quite feel real

摘要

Right up eront,nbc's smash gives you a reason to feel good about yourself for watching. Broadway lyricist Julia (Debra Messing) bemoans the current crop of musicals to her songwriting partner Tom (Christian Borle): "Revivals and movies— why doesn't anyone do new musicals anymore?" she asks. Smash is the TV musical about the making of just such a show: the life story of Marilyn Monroe. And there you are, watching it! You get it! You're not part of the problem! Julia's complaint reads as a kind of manifesto for Smash (NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m. E.T.). American Idol, NBC's The Voice and, of course, Glee all piggyback on the power of existing pop hits. With its original music and urbane characters, Smash feels like an attempt to do Glee for adults: age-appropriate escapism. It's classy, not campy. (Instead of kids throwing slushies, Oscar winner Anjelica Huston throws martinis.) It's got a creative team with pedigrees to overfill a marquee: Steven Spielberg produces with theater vets Craig Zadan and Neil Meron; playwright Theresa Rebeck created and writes it; Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray) do the music. It's polished, professional and reverent of Broadway—sometimes to a fault.