On last night’s second episode of Smash, “The Callback,” we learned who the team chose as their Marilyn Monroe in the Broadway musical they’re in the middle of creating from scratch, original songs and all. In last week’s pilot, we were introduced to the two finalists for the role, Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty). Both certainly had their own unique advantages.
But after a callback round that included another performance, with choreography, as well as a back and forth when no one could come to a unanimous decision, the role ultimately went to Ivy. But is she the right person to play Marilyn, especially since Smash has pivoted McPhee as the star of the show.
Here’s what E! Online had to say on the matter after a reader submitted a question about it:
“There are still plenty of twists and turns ahead! In April, Uma Thurman is set to guest star, and I’m told that she is brought in as the “movie star” who comes in and yoinks a major role away! Whattaya wanna bet it’s Marilyn? Kind of a stretch (literally) given her so-not-Marilyn body type but should be a faaascinating storyline nonetheless.”
I’m predicting that Karen will ultimately earn the role. In the preview to next week’s episode (which you can view below), we see that Derek wants her to join the ensemble. I believe that while she’s in the ensemble, she could end up being a sort of understudy to Ivy, learning and memorizing the lead role, and then something happens that causes Ivy to bow out. Or what if they both share Marilyn? Ivy could do it on certain nights (about half the time) and Karen could do it the rest of the time.
E! also provided us with a little scoop on Tom’s assistant, Ellis, and if he’s going to ultimately be trouble for the Marilyn team:
“Ellis (Jaime Cepero) and Julia (Debra Messing) will continue to brutally butt heads, but we’re happy to report that the lowly assistant will grow a backbone and stand up to her belittling eventually. And then he steals something very important to both Julia and the show.”
Source: E! Online
(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.
