Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Small Talk: Who You Are

David T. Cole

By David T. Cole
in Smash [V]

Recommended Posts

David T. Cole

David T. Cole

The Small Talk topic is for:

 

  • Introductions
  • Off-topic chatter
  • Having virtual tea with forum buddies

 

This is NOT a topic for actual show discussion. When you want to talk about the show:

 

  1. Figure out the nature of the topic you want to talk about
  2. Look for an existing topic that matches or fits
  3. If there is NOT an existing topic that fits, CREATE ONE!

 

Examples of topics that populate show forums include (but by no means are limited to):

 

  • Character topics
  • Episode topics
  • Season topics
  • Spoiler topics
  • Speculation topics
  • In the Media topics
  • Favourite X topics
  • ...you get the idea

 

Happy trails beyond Small Talk!

Wilson Cat

Wilson Cat

Yesssss. Welcome, fellow Smash... uh, fans? I was Cran over at TWoP. I posted in the Smash thread there, although mostly while the show was still on the air.

 

Awesome, and thanks Cranberry!  I live near the Hilty family and recently had a lovely visit with Megan's parents.  Her mom told me her own idea for a Smash follow-up which would be titled 'SMASHED'.  Ivy, pregnant and drinking sparkling apple juice, would sit in a bar and the other characters of Smash would come into the bar, themselves smashed, and would tell Ivy about their lives since Bombshell.  Or since whatever.  How cool would that be?  (Of course Karen would be the Princess of Broadway, most likely also a Hollywood superstar, and the continuing Princess of all Princessdom, and probably too purely sweet to be smashed.)

  • Love 4
Lach

Lach

This thread is for non-show discussion, so I will move those posts over to the Ivy League thread for you! (Yes, we can discuss the character and Megan Hilty over there.)

 

...And moved! It's nice having multiple threads here.

Thank you Cranberry for moving my posts, though, I am not sure discussing about how Megan's parent feel about Kat in the Ivy league thread would be appropriate or is it okay? 

Wilson Cat

Wilson Cat

I've given up on trying to figure out why I am still so obsessed with Smash, in fact why did I ever watch Season 2 is a question without an answer.  All that being said, I read the following passage in Garth Stein's lovely book "Racing in the Rain" and immediately thought of Smash.  Of the Mary Sue-istic Karen, of the angst of viewers and critics alike who were like WTF is with this show that tells me one thing and shows me something else.  But this lovely passage illustrates  the fatal flaw of a show that could just as well have been titled "KAREN IS AWESOME!" in spite of the fact that she wasn't awesome, nor was the actress playing her awesome....nor even half way good, and awesome was right there in the flesh and blood in the person of Ivy played so beautifully by Megan Hilty.

So some of us wallowed through 2 full seasons of hate watching simply because of Ivy, and of the excellent work of songwriters Shaiman and Wittman.  Here is the passage from "Racing in the Rain" (for those of you who have not read it, the entire point of view/narrator of the story is a terrier mix dog named Enzo):

 

The true hero is flawed.  The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles - preferably of his own making - in order to triumph.  A hero without a flaw is of no interest to an audience or to the universe, which, after all, is based on conflict and opposition, the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object. (........) The sun rises every day.  What is to love?  Lock the sun in a box.  Force the sun to overcome adversity in order to rise.  Then we will cheer!  I will often admire a beautiful sunrise, but I will never consider the sun a champion for having risen.  So.  For me to relate the history of ... a true champion, without including his missteps and failings would be doing a disservice to all involved.

 

Karen was never anything more than a fairly middling sunrise.  She had no flaws, she overcame nothing.  We were simply told that she was the most amazing sunrise ever, and that it was all due to her special awesomeness.

  • Love 2
marsha

marsha

(edited)

I enjoyed 'Smash' in the same way I tend to enjoy most the 'behind the scenes' in showbiz type shows/movies. Truthfully, it got to be not quite 'hate watch' tv for me as there always seemed to be something going in that I could actually enjoy (and, frankly, I could watch/listen to Anjelica Houston do just about anything) but the biggest issue I had with the series was Megan Hilty. I couldn't stand her and it wasn't just the character, Ivy, either. I thought she was just over-the-top annoying all the time and her singing always sounded really so shrill to me. YMMV, natch.

 

Also, the character of Ellis was such a waste of a potentially fascinating character. In that case I'm not sure if it was also the actor playing the part that had something to do with it but, it sure didn't help.

 

'Karen' was kind of 'meh' (not a good reaction to have for one of the series leads) but I think it would have been more interesting if they had made her more 'Eve Harrington-ish'. A talented young woman who 'played' at being a 'innocent lamb let loose in the concrete jungle' instead of being such a 'Mary Sue' (is that the right term?). Oh, and I had to laugh when I saw an add for what was the upcoming Fall show 'Scorpion' (I think) that said something about the 'long awaited return to television' of Katherine McPhee. Really? Really?

Edited by marsha
Wilson Cat

Wilson Cat

marsha wrote:

 

but the biggest issue I had with the series was Megan Hilty. I couldn't stand her and it wasn't just the character, Ivy, either. I thought she was just over-the-top annoying all the time and her singing always sounded really so shrill to me.

 

I know it isn't sensible to argue with someone's opinion, because god knows I have zillions of opinions that others probably find nonsensical.  That being said, I don't know how Megan's (Ivy's) '2nd Hand White Baby Grand', 'Crazy Dreams', or 'Never Give all the Heart' could feasibly be described as shrill.  But then I'm a ridiculously over-the-top Megan Hilty fan-girl, have seen her many times in concert, and find her irresistible.  In the episode 'Let's Be Bad', that drunk Ivy at Derek's door (and eventually into his apartment...) was so vulnerable and believable.  I don't know.  To each his/her own, so I'll agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions and mine are no more valid than anyone else's.  (But Megan Hilty rocks.   Ooops)

  • Love 2
photo fox

photo fox

I have a Broadway-related question, and I knew this would be a good group to ask.  :)

 

I have the good fortune to be traveling to Manhattan this summer with a few people from work, none of whom have been to NYC before.  We'd like to see a Broadway musical, and we aren't picky about which one, since obviously none of us have seen a show on Broadway, and we've seen only a few traveling shows between us.

 

What's the most cost-effective way to look for tickets?  Is there any benefit to ordering early, or are we better off going and then seeing what's available when we get there?  (i.e. do they discount tickets the day of or day before to fill the seats?)  Since we don't care what we see, maybe that's the best way to go?

  • Love 1
Wishing Well

Wishing Well

TKTS! It's right in Times Sq, look for the bleachers and giant gaggle of people. Most shows that have available seats will be there day of selling deeply discounted tickets. There is also a location right off of the Wall Street area, same business but less of a crowd. Tickets are probably going to be flying high with Tony noms so this will be the way to go. Wicked, BOM, and some of the houses that sell out constantly might have rush tickets or a lottery. Never hurts to try, I have had friends win tickets for the two aforementioned!

  • Love 2
ebk57

ebk57

If you want to plan in advance, you can check BroadwayBox.com, or sign up at Playbill.com (it's free, they just want your email address).  They have discount tickets to a lot of shows that you can get if you want to plan.  The discounts aren't quite a good as the TKTS booth, but if there's a particular show you're interested in, it could help.

 

Have fun!!

  • Love 1
Wilson Cat

Wilson Cat

(edited)

I'm returning to NYC, to the old stomping grounds, for a 4 day 4 show Broadway Blitz this month.  If you really DO care about seeing a particular show the best way to get tickets in advance is to go to the direct website for that show.  And it can be tricky, because the ticket brokers can make it look like they are the show.  Anyway, tickets in the orchestra for most of the top shows should not cost more than $150.  You'll see a few that are higher, but go over to the side of the orchestra a bit and they will be a lot less per seat.  I'm going to be seeing "Something Rotten", "Fun Home", "Matilda", and one more.  Wanted to see Dr Zhivago but the reviews were bad.  So perhaps On the Town or An American in Paris.  Have decided to skip seeing Megan at the Cafe Carlyle (<sniffle>) because it is just prohibitively expensive and then they tack on a minimum $75/person food & drink on top of the admission price.  Will do a little report when I get back about what we see and how we love the shows.

 

Anyone in the Seattle area really should make it a point to see Jacques Brel at ACT/5th Avenue with Kendra Kassebaum.  It is simply wonderful.  Seeing Phantom of the Opera on Thursday at the Paramount, and a new musical being developed in Seattle, Jasper in Deadland on the 12th.  And won two tickets to see Jacques Brel again on Sunday, the 10th.  May is turning out to be a crazy theater month for me.....love it!!!

Edited by Wilson Cat
  • Love 1
Babalu

Babalu

(edited)

Ooooh, please report back, Wilsoncat! I'm going to New York in August and am definitely seeing Fun Home and Hamilton and would like to see at least one more if I can squeeze it in. Currently in contention are: An American in Paris, On the Town, Something Rotten, and The King and I. (To make this post more on-topic: the main reason Something Rotten is on the list is Christian Borle.)

Edited by Babalu
Wilson Cat

Wilson Cat

Didn't end up seeing Megan at the Carlyle.  But hope to catch her next time I make it to NYC to see her in whatever she is working on for B'way.  Annie Get Your Gun is running the limited engagement beginning October 27, but I won't make that one.  Saw Christian Borle and Brian D'Arcy James in Something Rotten last month. Awesome awesome awesome.  Christian is just the best, most swaggeringly obnoxious, delightful William Shakespeare.  And Brian is terrific as Ned Bottom. I wrote about the other shows (Fun Home, On the Town, and Matilda) in the theatre thread here on the Forum. Here's a link, as it isn't the easiest thread to find. Who else misses TWoP, in spite of their Nazi moderators (they booted my ass for some now-forgotten sin, 'boards on boards' I believe, which I really never quite understood. Well obviously I didn't understand it.  I broke the effing rule and was thrown out of the place!)

Did I mention that I somehow managed to stub my toe on a big old chunk of upheaved pavement crossing 42nd Street on 6th Avenue on my way to Something Rotten? That was 5+ weeks ago and I'm still in a cast from my finger tips to my elbow.  Never in my life have I so appreciated the importance of opposable thumbs on both hands.  Cannot begin to count how many objects I've hurled across the room because I can't open a jar of baby food chicken for Wilson or dump the Aleve into my casted left palm or turn a stinkin' doorknob if I have shit in my right hand and try to do it with the hand enclosed in the disgusting purple cast!!

Here's the theatre discussion thread:

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/9659-theatre-talk-in-our-own-little-corner/page-20#entry1277665

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...