SMASH Reviews — Page 6

Playbill_Trash said: "I’m not a Jesse Green fan in the slightest. But is it possible there are people outside of this message board bubble that just like to like things when they're fun and good?"

Yes, and Smash was fun...

I loved it too, it's so fun to listen to the cast recording. I just knew there wasn't a lot of interest which is such a shame. Fun afternoon at the theater! We all just need some fun musicals sometimes 😊

KarenValentine'sheadband said: "Do I need to watch the tv show for referance before I see the musical? I've never seen it?"



Absolutely not!

I actually feel that it’s better not to have seen the tv show before seeing the Broadway show. You’ll be more objective and not constantly comparing the two like many on this board. It’s a much better show than many here have stated. Enjoy!

I've noticed with some interest on how many in here were just chomping at the bits to have SMASH get roasted by the critics. When the NY Times critic made it a Critic's Choice, quite a few were disappointed that he liked the show. Obviously, crtics had various opinions about the show. I think it's great that Green saw merit in the show...which hopefully will mean a respectable run for SMASH. I am looking forward to seeing the show on June 22nd. To each his own.

MemorableUserName said: "Playbill_Trash said: "I’m not a Jesse Green fan in the slightest. But is it possible there are people outside of this message board bubble that just like to like things when they're fun and good?"

I believe the point is that a lot of people don't think the show is good, which is whythey're objecting to such over-the-top praise. Are you suggesting that this message board is a bubble where people only like things that are unenjoyable and bad?"


I think the suggestion is that art is ultimately subjective, and you can’t rely on reviews to tell you how a piece will make you feel.


Sure others opinions can guide you, but if you have an interest in SMASH, see it. Support the arts. Make your own mind up on how it makes you feel.


So many shows out there that some adore, others hate.

Make up your own mind.

Email from the SMASH marketing team with the subject line "SMASH is a New York Times Critic's Pick!" just landed in my inbox. What hath Jesse Green wrought?

A Theatre Fan 2023 said: "I saw this in the second week of previews.I thought it was terrible and didn't enjoy the experience at all (it didn't even give me, 'It's so bad, it's good' feelings - I thought it was simply bad).I was sure thiswas destined for uniformly poor reviews, andto say I'm surprised by the NYT review is an understatement."

Perhaps that's why the press isn't invited to the second week of previews. Sure, some shows like RWHC seem ready to go from the get go; some aren't so lucky, but manage to get their s**t together as time goes by.

Luminaire2 said: "MemorableUserName said: "Playbill_Trash said: "I’m not a Jesse Green fan in the slightest. But is it possible there are people outside of this message board bubble that just like to like things when they're fun and good?"

I believe the point is that a lot of people don't think the show is good, which is whythey're objecting to such over-the-top praise. Are you suggesting that this message board is a bubble where people only like things that are unenjoyable and bad?"


I think the suggestion isthat art is ultimatelysubjective, and you can’t rely onreviews to tell you how a piece will make you feel.

Sure others opinions can guide you, but if you have an interest in SMASH, see it. Support the arts. Make your own mind up on how it makes you feel."

While that's a very true sentiment, it in no way matches what the poster said that I was asking about. This:

"But is it possible there are people outside of this message board bubble that just like to like things when they're fun and good?"

seems to indicate the poster believes this board is a bubble that only likes things that are bad and not fun, or doesn't like things that are fun and good. It's less about subjectivity, since it doesn't suggest people make up their own minds, than dismissing, if not slamming, everyone online as determined to hate everything. Which...yawn.

Lot of thoughts on this one. Big fan of the show in a hate/love kinda way, so I had many feelings. Liked it but definitely didn’t love. Fantastic songs with wonderful talent and that’s the book you come up with. Issues…

1) Why couldn’t we leave this with an Ivy/Karen, lead/understudy conflict? What is the point of Chloe? So we can talk about body positivity? Save it for another show because she was entirely unnecessary.

2) If you need to keep the three girls or even just the two, and if you’re expecting us to have a revelatory moment when one of them sings “Let Me Be Your Star,” the other girls shouldn’t also be so good. It lessens the wow factor of that moment.

3) Too many songs were cut into pieces because of the rehearsal structure.

4) Also, because of the rehearsal structure, we miss so much of the context that make the songs so good. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” should make us feel Marilyn and Joe’s desire to be the ordinary “folks next door” instead of the chaotic lives they lead.

5) Were the influencer/social media posts an homage to that concept in Hit List (in Smash’s second season) where the audience engages with the show? That and the scarves were really the only Easter eggs that I saw.

6) How do we have Krysta Rodriguez in this show and not call her “the diva.” Come on!

7) Fake Stella Adler? Oof. She and Method Marilyn were too miserable. Was I rooting for Ivy through that? Was I supposed to want her to keep the part over the understudy who could sing or the one who knew all the moves? We didn’t learn enough about her before that to make me care. We were just told that she was “nice to everyone” at the beginning of the show. Eh.

8) After an entire musical about keeping a show fun, we end with Marilyn’s death scene and then a discussion at fake Sardi’s about how hard the job is and how they all wanna quit? Hated the intern, but thank goodness he gave us something bright at the end.

9) Can we avoid cheap bathrooms humor and stale innuendo? I didn’t need to see that Karen was liking and then had something happening “the other way.” And Nigel’s pining for the dancer was so grossly stereotypical.

Those are my gripes. I know there are many, but I still enjoyed it for what it was - a simple show about making a musical. “Let’s Be Bad” just made me wish “Some Like It Hot” was still running over this one.

This is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life. Truly, spectacularly awful. And it makes the professionals look like the most vapid, narcissistic, inept people on the planet. I feel bad for the cast, and I am amazed that a creative team of this caliber could make such a disaster.

RaisedOnMusicals said: "I thought you love theatre trash."

😂 I usually do love a ridiculously campy, bad flop. Loved Diana. It was a blast. This was just… boring. And awful.