Blonde Ambition. McPhee, far left, and Hilty square off to be the next Norma Jean.
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We're meant to see that Marilyn: The Musical is very good--partly because characters keep saying so and partly because it looks exactly as you'd expect it to. Which is also true of Smash. It's slick, well produced and easy on the ears. It's just not in any way surprising.
That approach may make Smash a hit. Yet NBC's musical comes along at a time when the best of Broadway (and TV) involves an element of chaos--Avenue Q, say, and The Book of Mormon. Smash could use more messiness--the kind of windmill punch the undisciplined Glee pulls off at its best, the disorder that conveys real life. Smash has pipes and polish, but as Marilyn knew, sometimes you gotta throw the audience some curves.