SMASH Hits Moral Low- Page 3
SMASH Hits Moral Low
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#50SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:30pm
They aren't using Larsen's likeness or story -- it is just a parallel/similarity. (A strong similarity, granted.)
And taking advantage of a death for profit is hardly unique.
#51SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:31pmQuite the mix of this year's real nominees and some old favorites.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#52SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:34pm
Who would cast Osnes in OLIVER?
If it's a parallel story how is it honoring Larsen?
Is BEAUTY QUEEN a musical of BEAUTY QUEEN OF LINEA?
Id see Vicky Clarke in that!
And Borle mentioned PIPPIN.
Where's Petunia's pic for that?
My head is spinning.
#53SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:34pm"Life rights" actually exist? I thought that was something they just made up for 30 ROCK.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#54SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:40pm
I can't think of a single example of any other TV show or script that... I can't think of a collection of words or a phrase that captures the essence of what they did, since nobody's done it before, but a script that is based on a true story. I guess you could say.
Never.
#55SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:43pmAnd just to get the Smash schedule straight, we have another episode on Saturday 5/11 and then won't see it again until the final 5/26? Way to screw this show over even more NBC!!
#56SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:51pm^Yes because they lumped the episodes involving the Tony Awards together. We'll see nominations and the winners in the same night.
hyperbole_and_a_half
Leading Actor Joined: 3/21/11
#57SMASH Hits Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:01pm
I really can't understand the wailing and teeth gnashing. Were we similarly outraged on behalf of Michael Crawford when Smash hired Sean Hayes to mock his behavior during DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES? Or for Sutton Foster when a watered-down version of her THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE experience became 40% of Karen Cartwright's arc last season? What should Julie Taymor sue over first: the Smash plotline where a high-flying, aerobatic female archetype threatens to become the dominant character in her show, or the Smash plotline where a director gets publicly fired and threatens to get litigious over his contributions remaining in the show? Should the estate of Bob Fosse be worried that Smash tried to hide the fact that they stole the character of Joe Gideon by turning him PG-13 and giving him an English accent? Do the producers of Wildhorn's DRACULA have legal standing to go after Smash because Bombshell turned a bit of accidental nudity into a marketing point? Is Ben Sprecher serving legal papers to Eileen Rand this morning for appropriating REBECCA's production woes for Bombshell? Is Sondheim owed royalties because Smash turned Franklin Shepard, Inc., into a book scene last week without credit? Should Theresa Rebeck's scarves sue for slander???
If none of these were "moral lows", how are we supposed to be upset at a rather frank retelling of the one of the most interesting theatre stories of the past 30 years: the Larson/RENT phenomenon? What is there to be upset about? Is it the reminder that, yes, producers did exploit the death of Jonathan Larson to bring more attention to their show, and, yes, the loss of Larson was felt keenly by a cast that probably should not have been performing his work right away but may have experienced a tremendous catharsis while doing so? None of this was Smash's doing.
More importantly, is there some sort of mailing list I can join so I can know in advance which of Smash's parables I need to feign mock indignation about? I'm a little unsure how I'm supposed to react to the Kristin/Idina Tony feud storyline we are building to...
Also I sincerely hope this is the most number of words I ever write in defense of Snatch (auto-correct typo and it's staying).
#58SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:02pm
Some other odd things about the possible Tony nom boards:
Eileen says not to worry about Hit List because it won't be transferring, and yet they have Karen't picture up for Best Actress. If they bothered to put her up, why wasn't The Diva put up under Featured Actress?
Tom mentions Drood and Pippin, two real shows that happened this season. Chita is pictured for Drood, but Patina is nominated for House of Flowers, I guess in the Diahann Carroll role. Why not nominate her for Pippin?
Even though Imitation of Life is closing they don't think anyone will be nominated from it, yet they think Ivy will be nominated for Liaisons, which only played one week?
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#59SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:07pmhyperbole, you forgot that Flaherty/Ahrens should be suing over the Borle/Messing characters.
#60SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:37pmSo many of you can't even spell "Larson" correctly.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#61SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:45pm
"So many of you can't even spell "Larson" correctly."
Thank you Kristin Chenoweth
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#62SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 1:50pmJohnithin Larsen is not even hear to defend himslef that he didn't die from a car. #tommoraw4me
JohnyBroadway
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/12
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#64SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 2:38pm
I have not been this devastated since Lady Sybil's death.
I cannot imagine a life without Smash.
My only quibble with this episode was that they did not find some way to get Daphne Rubin-Vega up on the stage to sing for the first performance after Kyle died.
#65SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 3:11pmMaybe she will at the Joe's Pub benefit they'll have next season to raise money for bisexual power bottom book writers of sung through musicals.
#66SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 3:31pm
Hyperbole raises an interesting point. I had wondered multiple times if Smash was a roman a clef, with characters standing in for real Broadway people. But Hyperbole points out that it's much more of a collage, with every moment lifted from Broadway trivia and history and woven together.
It's not a great drama or a great soap. I mainly enjoy it for the songs and for "spot the historical reference." For instance, Hyperbole's assertion that the Sean Hayes arc was a reference to Michael Crawford and "Dance of the Vampires" makes perfect sense, but the show itself was a pastiche of the infinite rewrites and tonal shifts of "Candide," while Hayes's character seems to be an analogue of comedian turned Broadway regular Martin Short. It's a cut-and-paste method that can be fascinating or simply alienating from moment to moment.
yankeefan7
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/12
#67SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 3:33pmWhizzer - exactly and on Memorial Day weekend also when people are out and about during the holiday weekend.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#68SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 3:37pm
"benefit they'll have next season to raise money for bisexual power bottom"
How do you know he was a bottom? Kurt and Blaine on Glee both want the audience to believe they are tops.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#69SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 4:45pm
What about the similarity of Jimmy and Kyle to Pasek and Paul?
Up and coming songwriters, one gay, one straight?
And P&P even wrote some of their songs.
I take SMASH as entertainment and try to overlook the gaffes, but sometimes it's too much, why would Anagelica have to tell Tom that PIPPIN is a revival?
beautywickedlover
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
#70SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 4:48pmI don't have anything positive to say about last night's episode. There are just too many problems to list.
#72SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 5:55pmCPD- In fairness to Tom about the Pippin/Drood comment, he responded that he worried about them competing with him for Best Director.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#74SMASH Hit's Moral Low
Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:21pm
To Namo's point:
Law and Order bases plots on real events all the time -- sometimes specific enough that you can very easily draw the exact parallel and figure out exactly who they're (loosely) fictionalizing. Like that recent SVU episode that was so clearly about Chris Brown and Rihanna that one of the characters made a joke about it. But they acknowledge that the script was based on a true story, or inspired by true events, or whatever phrase they wanted to choose. And what they did instead comes off like they thought nobody would notice that they were claiming to have made up something that is a tragic, but like or or not, legendary part of American theatre history. Sure, lots of "made up" plotlines are inspired by other things. But with something THAT iconic, and parallels THAT exact, Smash had a responsibility to be more honest and respectful than it was. IMO.
(And, with, say, Law and Order, they -- usually -- adapt enough that the events aren't being told so verbatim that they actually don't even make sense in context. Like Smash went so far as to include a chairs-and-music-stands reading of Hit List just to bash you over the head with the fact that it was Rent. Why did the actors need music stands? They've been in previews already and they are clearly off book.)
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