Now that Marilyn: The Musical has an investor in Nick Jonas’ Lyle West, the musical, I presume, can really kick into high gear. There are three songs that will be featured in tonight’s episode, “Let’s Be Bad.” Megan Hilty will perform the title song, “Let’s Be Bad,” an original. Katharine McPhee will take on the James Brown classic hit, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” And Will Chase will cover Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You,” which is a fantastic song, if I do say so myself.
In anticipation of tonight’s episode, let’s listen to these three songs. Check them out below:
“Let’s Be Bad” — Ivy (Megan Hilty)
“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” — Karen (Katharine McPhee)
“A Song for You” — Michael (Will Chase)
The songwriting team for Smash, Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, talked to the LA Times about their work on Smash and what it’s like writing original songs on a constant basis for the show. Shaiman said, “We approached it as if we were actually writing a musical about Marilyn. But we also kept in mind what it had to accomplish to advance the characters in the show too.”
As the creator and an executive producer, Theresa Rebeck says that her main goal through this whole endeavor is to create quality television over churning out songs that are hit after hit after hit. “If people want to buy the music or want a theater production out of it,” she says, “I think that would be fantastic. But our main concern is putting on a good TV show.”
If Rebeck is looking for a focus on good TV, what are the composers wanting out of this? “We just want to write songs that people find themselves humming along to,” Wittman said. “A shimmy or a shake would be fun too.”
Which songs are you looking forward to most in tonight’s episode? And do you agree with the producers and composers that the point of the music should be all about advancing the storylines and character developments on the show?
Smash airs Mondays at 10pm on NBC.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
