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[0:00] Welcome back, listeners, to our tongue-in-cheek recap of what is television's most detailed depiction of the theatre industry. And yes, we're still talking about Smash, the NBC series that chronicled the creation of not one, but two Broadway musicals and all of the drama that ensued along the way. We've been going back, episode by episode, and yes, there are 17 of them in Season 2, to see how the supposed love letter to Broadway has held up over the last decade. In each episode of our podcast, we're looking to find the answers to these three questions. Did it represent Broadway then? Does it represent Broadway now? And is it any good? So let's dive in and talk about Episode 10 of Season 2, The Surprise Party.

Aaron, give us the stats. The Surprise Party premiered on April 6, 2013. It was written by Julie Rottenberg and Eliza Zuritski, whose work was last seen in the second episode of the second season, The Fallout. And it was directed by S.J. Clarkson. The viewership dipped again this week, this time by 1.1 million. 1.1 million? Bringing the total viewers to 1.88 million. We have three featured songs this week, two originals and one cover, and this time, no reprises. The originals included a Pasek and Paul original called Original, boppily sung originally by Bombshell's original Marilyn, Catherine McPhee, and a Shaman and Whitman piano bar tune called A Love Letter from the Times, sung by the legend herself, Liza Minnelli.

Oh, and Christian Borle, too. Our one cover was an underscore version of The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, sung by the birthday girl Ivy herself, Megan Hilty. And how was that old surprise party, Moe?

[2:04] Bombshell is in tech rehearsal, and it's very clear that Ivy has not forgiven Tom for casting her mother as Gladys in the show. She seems to have poisoned the entire company against him. He can't take back what he did, but he can remind her of how much he loves her with this birthday surprise for the ages, dinner with Liza Minnelli. But Ivy already has her own surprise party planned, so now she has to balance two parties in one night, one with Tom and one that he can't know about. At Hit List rehearsal, the company showcases a new song called Original for New York Times editor Richard Francis. He likes the number, a cautionary tale of a woman reinventing herself to become a star, but Francis is more fixated on what could be backstage drama, the show's director Anne Angenieux ditching Broadway for Off-Broadway, Arm in Arm.

Julia is doctoring the script of Hit List and finds the biggest problem is the diva, who she identifies as not really a character but a trigger for Amanda who has no real agency of her own. In coaching Kyle on his script, she learns that he hasn't really ever learned how to write a musical. But in a day of storyboarding with Julia and Scott Nichols, Kyle cracks the code at how to add some drama into Hit List. Good job, Kyle. Even though Liza Minnelli singing an original composition that Tom wrote during tech turns Ivy back into a Tom fan, she still doesn't invite him to her second birthday party. But when she leaves her keys at dinner, Tom walks in on a full company birthday celebration that he wasn't invited to.

Mama Ivy has to teach Tom that while they're working, they can't prioritize their friendship over their work. Karen and Jimmy have been canoodling in the costume racks, but he still wants to keep their relationship on the DL, per Derek's request. But Karen doesn't know about that agreement, and when she tells Derek, it puts a rift back between him and Jimmy that affects their work in rehearsal. Karen has to remind Derek that he doesn't own her, which gives Jimmy and Karen agency to start dating in public.

[4:14] Somebody original. Somebody original. Somebody original. Somebody original. What an original show. An original, original show. So original. With an original song, such an original plot line. It's so original. We can talk about original later. Okay, I want to ask a big, big picture question to you. What's up? We have this theory that Smash should focus on the drama of putting on a musical, not invent outside drama to focus on. Correct. Does Ivy's birthday during tech qualify as the first or the second? The birthday drama or the fact that she has a birthday, like the fact that we're talking about it at rehearsal? The fact that the show has decided to make the drama of episode 10 around two birthday parties to celebrate Ivy.

One that Tom knows about and one that he doesn't. That's the sort of the- Yeah, that is the big conflict of the show, which is obnoxious. No, it shouldn't. It's her birthday, but they're in tech. Come on. Like, yes, I get it. Tom's best friend is the lead and Ivy's best friend is the director, but like, you know what, do the show. So you're saying that Smash should bring our attention not to these birthday parties, but to, oh, I don't know, tech for a Broadway musical? Yeah, yeah, I mean, okay. Or the fact that the book writer is writing a second musical during tech? Yes, like no one's focused on any of these shows. It's so annoying. Tom's concerned with Ivy's friendship. Ivy's concerned about not offending her director by not inviting him to her birthday.

Jimmy just wants to hook up with his lead in the closet. I don't know, closets? Like, even like Scott and Julia are working on the show, but they're just kind of dating in between lines. I'm like, can someone please focus on the work? One person can, and that person is Kyle. Is Kyle! But perhaps the reason that Kyle can is because Kyle has no personality other than the fact that he is the book writer. Today was Kyle's like education and book writing or storytelling. When he said, what's a board? I know it was supposed to be comedic, but for as much as we bash Kyle, good for Andy Mientus for being able to play wide-eyed and nice so well that when he says lines like that, you believe them to be true.

And you aren't like, like, we're like properly annoyed with Kyle. We're not like, yes, that is a bad line or a bad line reading, right? Yes, absolutely. Our annoyance is warranted here. I'm just glad Kyle, we got like Kyle working, because I feel like in every other moment of the show, which is why we haven't invested him yet. He's there to like name drop theater names. Like every time he's like, wait, is that Richard Francis? Wait, is that Liza Minnelli? Wait, is that Tom Leavitt? Like, in my mind, I actually think of him less as a book writer and more of like a 2013 Jennifer Ashley Tepper. I'm not quite sure. But they both live in the same place in my mind. People that work in the business who are like ultra knowledgeable about the personalities at play, and can help other people make connections.

[8:03] The thing with Jen Tepper, though, is like, because I met her when she was like a full-blown, like super fan of Broadway. And she has been able to use that love and passion and skill into a legitimate career in this field. Yeah, she created her own path, really. Yeah, but Kyle is still sort of in that super fan stage that fell upon this opportunity. Maybe Kyle would become Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Well, if he did, truth be told, Kyle maybe would venture a lot farther if he was able to like, separate from Jimmy. Because the way he... The way he protects Jimmy is like, cuckoo. Well, the way in the beginning of their work session, where he's like, we should wait for Jimmy. Wait, where's Jimmy?

We should get him here. He's gonna be so mad. I'm like, why are you an abused spouse, Kyle? And just like I wanted to see like the flashback of Jimmy of like, what made him into the man he is today. I also like really want to see the flashback of Kyle and Jimmy and like the abusive relationship that led them to this point. Honestly, that might get me some empathy for Kyle. I want there to be like a young Kyle that is played by Joshua Cawley, who gets to have like a really stirring, like 14-year-old song. A 14-year-old song that's like a fierce pop cover. Yes, exactly. This is where Smash missed. A coming-of-age pop cover for Joshua Cawley. I'd be here for it. I would have. There we are.

[9:09] Okay, so before we go too far into Hitlist, I want to talk about Bombshell being in tech. Okay. Okay, let's go. Because. Okay, you brought up this good point, which is normally when you're in tech, you're in a 10 out of 12. Yeah, we encountered tech during the out of town of Bombshell. So we're here again. I'm in tech. You can't get engaged during tech, but you can have a birthday party. Generally, because if we're assuming that this is a 10 out of 12, like we know tech to be, what time does all of the events of this episode happen? So if they all got out at midnight, Ivy has not one, but two surprise parties that she has to go to one dinner with Tom and Liza Minnelli, in which case what restaurant slash piano bar is open at what 1am?

How close is Liza to Tom that she's getting out of bed, coming down to a piano bar to sing as a favor to him? How late are Kyle and Julia working on script doctoring Hit List? And isn't the very last thing that Jimmy and Karen go on a date, they go on a date. And he literally says, plenty of places are still open. At what time for this is what this is when I was like, the amount of what time is it notes I took were here. What are the hours of this tech rehearsal? What time is it? Oh my god, what time is it? What time is it in all caps for notes about what time is it today?

[10:46] All right. So does it represent Broadway then or now? No, great. No, not even a little bit. So in the world of Smash special guest stars, where does Liza Minnelli fit into this pantheon? Is this a good use of special guest star? Is this a squandered use of special guest star? I mean, is it a good get? Absolutely. Is it a good you?

[11:08] Mo Brady: I don't know, what else do you want Liza Minnelli to do other than sing a song and, like, have one, like, pearl of wisdom that she says? I mean, I guess it's a good use of her. I just don't like how they used her. Does that make sense? Right. Smash uses her well. Tom uses her horribly. There it is. Like, the Rolodex of his phone is fantastic, but this has gotta be at the top of it. And he's gonna use this as an avoidance to apologize to his friend? What did you think of "A Love Letter From The Times"? It was fine. It was okay. How did you feel? It is a song that is about what's going on in the story. I mean, I don't know if we've ever seen an original song on Smash that is about the thing that is going on outside of the story of Bombshell or Hit List or Liaisons.

I mean, yes, but it's like, could we get something in the middle? Like, we got all of, like, the existential music kind of pretending like it's about, like, it's contextual in the musical, but referencing real life. This is just straight up, hey, we're in a fight. Hey, I got you, Liza. Do you forgive me now? Shaiman and Whitman really got into their characters' heads because they made you think that Tom Leavitt wrote this song. And I literally listened to it. I was like, is there an apology at all in this song? No. No. It shocked me that it worked.

[12:33] Aaron Albano: Was it working or was it just avoidance? Was Ivy like, I see what you're doing? I don't know, because the scene after Liza, who did sound fantastic in the song, by the way. It was like a good old Liza Warble, like all of us signed up for. But the scene after, on the street, it seems like she had forgiven him at that point. And only when he then shows up with the keys, does she turn back into Mother Hen and schools him in a fantastic speech, might I add, about compartmentalizing work and friendship. Yeah, Tom's focusing his energy on his friendship and not on where he should be focusing his energy, which is, can I direct this new musical? Yeah. And I'm just like, dude, focus your energy where it's supposed to be. Season two is really changing things for me because I am becoming more of a Derek fan and less of a Tom fan.

[13:29] Mo Brady: Which is so sad, right? Yeah. All right. So speaking of Derek, let's talk about Hit List and this scene work that we see with Derek, Jimmy, and Karen. Oh my gosh. They're rehearsing, just the three of them, but there's no one else in the building. There's no one else in the room. Like, where's the stage manager? Where's the rehearsal pianist? Like, where is anyone else? This feels like it's just Derek inviting Karen to his apartment to work on scenes all over again. But Jimmy just is there too. Like, it just feels icky to me. It feels super casual. And maybe this is the intention of the show to really contrast the levels of production this is? I don't know. I would assume that at whatever level of an equity theater, all of these roles would still exist. Who is Linda's counterpart in Hit List?

[14:25] Aaron Albano: Yes, we need a Linda. Oh my gosh. Hit List needs a Linda so bad. Hit List definitely needs a Linda, especially when Derek just grabs Jimmy. Talk about some kind of reporting and fining. Like, that was uncalled for. I get it. We all know why. And we're all privy to the reason for this love triangle, but wildly inappropriate. I just want this love triangle to be gone.

[14:49] Mo Brady: I'm so sick and tired. Yes, correct. It's so annoying. The one plus is that Karen is standing up for herself, because I'm glad that she's mad at both of them. Because Karen is great. Karen is an angel from the heavens. We know this. She has been a true source of goodness this entire series.

[15:08] Aaron Albano: Mostly, but yes, I will stand there with you. Karen just has horrible, horrible choices in friends, colleagues, career ambitions, partners.

[15:20] Mo Brady: She has a strong moral compass.

[15:22] Aaron Albano: Yes, she does.

[15:24] Mo Brady: And can bop. Let's talk about "Original."

[15:27] Aaron Albano: Gosh, do we have to?

[15:28] Mo Brady: That original song, "Original." How did you like "Original," Mo?

[15:32] Aaron Albano: This is a terrible song. This is a terrible song. I do not like this song. I do not like this staging. I do not like the reason for this song in the story. I think it's all dumb. I think the dumb use of having an actor play the before and the actor playing the after with the reveal of them next to each other is dumb. I just think it's dumb.

[15:55] Mo Brady: Well, go in, Mo.

[15:58] Aaron Albano: We just did "Voice in a Dream." We just did the best, right? And then this is just direct. It's like that dumb move that you see in choreography sometimes where you hop on one foot, but then you make it look like it's running, but in place.

[16:17] Mo Brady: You mean Flashpots and Newsies, "King of New York"?

[16:20] Aaron Albano: That is. That is "King of New York." Maybe that's why I didn't like it. I was like, I've seen this before.

[16:26] Mo Brady: I've seen this eight years ago. Also, I mean, this is very Newsies time. So maybe that was just like the trend in choreography was running in place.

[16:36] Aaron Albano: That step is definitely more timeless than Newsies. So I will give that to you. That it is definitely a step we have seen before in many iterations.

[16:46] Mo Brady: I got mad with the use of the Engen twins. So there are two performers. They have done Broadway, National Tour. They're twins, and they appear in this song, Brooke and Tiffany Engen, and they're both great. But I felt like the ploy of using them was such an eye-rolly thing of like, there's a woman and she is a nerd, and then she's a star. Wait, there's two women and they're both playing the same woman, but then there's two other women playing the second metaphor that Karen sings about who aren't twins. Where are these women in the rest of the show? What are the tracks of these women if you've just hired four people in your off-Broadway musical who only do a featured bit with no singing in one song? It just felt like a dumb solution to the problem of how do we stage this?

[17:46] Aaron Albano: I love you're so upset about this song. I'm so upset about "Original."

[17:52] Mo Brady: I actually loved it because I saw the Engen twins and was like, oh, that's cute. And my brain went to, how are they going to recast these tracks?

[18:02] Aaron Albano: I love that you and I go immediately into coverage long-run replacement questions.

[18:09] Mo Brady: Always. Always and forever.

[18:12] Aaron Albano: No one in the Smash writing room got even one step down that path, and you and I each got like 25,000 steps down that path and came back.

[18:24] Mo Brady: And to be fair, I'm like, when you're putting up a show, you're just using the people in the room. But these weren't even people in the room! We've never seen them before or since!

[18:35] Aaron Albano: Well, but maybe they're doubling as the covers for the anti-gravity people from last week.

[18:42] Mo Brady: The covers for the anti-gravity people. Speaking of not knowing who's in your ensemble, this is, I think, is the one and only time Tanari Vazquez is in the Hit List ensemble, right? Because I never saw her on set, and I'm with the Hit List ensemble every time after this one. And I was like, wait, Tanari's in Hit List? Who knew? I had no idea.

[19:08] Aaron Albano: I feel like this isn't in, this isn't her first time on the series, but I did think it was weird that she sort of like pinched it, but not as weird as I thought the Engen twins were or the two other women who we never see again.

[19:20] Mo Brady: Correct. I didn't hate the song. I didn't love the song. I think from all of the music that we've heard in Hit List, it didn't feel like it fit. Even though it's a Pasek and Paul song, and they have written for Hit List before, it might be because it's, is this the first uptempo we've seen for Hit List? It's the first like non-angry song.

[19:46] Aaron Albano: Yeah, every song. We've either gotten like super deep, dramatic, early 2000s angst rock songs, or we've gotten like driving ballads. And so I was just like, all right, well, I guess this is our uptempo for Hit List. And I wonder if it's because we're just not seeing these shows in context, that every time we get an uptempo for either of these musicals, we're like, get me out of here. Because none of this is good. Like, give us the meat, which usually shows up in the I Want song, or the driving ballad, or the 11 o'clock number, that we have no patience for all this fluff. It was my least favorite kind of musical theater song.

[20:29] Mo Brady: Yes. Which is like, here's a story about someone else who will never actually be part of this story. But somehow part of their experience relates to the experience that we're having. Yeah, it was also weird, because it was like, it aesthetically didn't fit. Like there was so much color, there was so much, it felt like it was in a different show.

[20:45] Aaron Albano: I take back that thing about my least favorite kind of song, because then as I was describing it, I just realized I was describing "Metal Lark" from The Baker's Wife. And "Metal Lark" from The Baker's Wife is a great song. So maybe my new solution is they just should have put in "Metal Lark" and called it a day.

[21:01] Mo Brady: Perfect. That's always a solution. Can we get Liza to sing it? Liza and Bernadette sing a duet of "Metal Lark" instead of this track.

[21:15] Aaron Albano: Perfect. At a piano bar at 3am.

[21:25] Mo Brady: To keep up to date with next week's recap, be sure to watch Season 2, Episode 11 of Smash, "The Dress Rehearsal." You can find Smash episodes on the NBC app at NBC.com or the forthcoming Peacock app. Welcome to 2020, folks. The Ensemblist was produced today by me, Mo Brady.

[21:44] Aaron Albano: And by me, Aaron Albano. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And the second is by becoming a Patreon member at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Thanks for listening, guys. Until next time!