'SMASH'!

From left: Brian d'Arcy James, Raza Jaffrey, Jack Davenport, Katherine McPhee, Christian Borle, Megan Hilty, Debra Messing, Jaime Cepero and Anjelica Huston (source)

I don't usually watch TV series but of course I had to check out one which basically is about Broadway and about the process of making a musical. Before the people who are not musical theatre fanatics stop reading, I'll have to add that this is a series for everyone, not just musical theatre people. There is lots of that standard American relationship drama which keeps you hooked not to mention that there are some great covers of popular songs and absolutely amazing original tracks (to the extent that you can't often tell which ones have been made specifically for the series). 

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In short: Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing), a composer/lyricist duo decide to write a new musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Two actresses end up battling over the main part: Karen Cartwright (Katherine McPhee) who is new to the industry but shows great promise and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) who is experienced after years in the ensemble and is desperate for her big break. Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) and Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) join the team as the director and producer respectively. Not only do we get to see a musical in the making but we also get glimpses into the lives of the characters outside of the rehearsal studio. 

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Smash is not a copy of Glee. The setting is completely different and the former is aimed at a slightly older audience. It is true that both of them have singing and dancing in them and I agree with what Megan Hilty said in an interview: that Smash would never have been possible without Glee preceding it and making musical theatre cool and popular amongst the general audience and particularly the younger generation, but still Smash is very different - in a good way. One of the things I particularly like is that many of the actors have been chosen as a result of Broadway credits and many big musical theatre names have come to guest star as well. So yes, the singing is top class.

The trailer:

And one of my fave songs from the series so far (sung by Megan Hilty and the guest-starring Will Chase):
                                          
I found a great quality video of the cast doing this song in the series but for some reason I couldn't insert it. Here is the link if anyone wants to see it though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCfxDmKM4Jo&feature=related

My advise: do have a look into this one :)
Smash on the NBC website: http://www.nbc.com/smash/