“Opening Night” premiered on April 20, 2013. It was written by Bathsheba Doran & Noelle Valdivia, and directed by Michael Morris, all three being prolific Smash veterans; Doran’s and Morris’s last episode was season 2’s The Song, and Valdivia’s was season 2’s The Bells & Whistles. The viewership rose from last week’s downer, growing by .11 million viewers to a total of 1.91 million!! Hooray!
We only had two featured songs this week. We had a cover of Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life, sung by Marilyns past and present, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, and we got the chance to revisit Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman’s tour-de-force finale, Don’t Forget Me, this time performed by the Bombshell victor herself, Megan Hilty.
The curtain comes down on Bombshell’s final preview and things are looking up for Ivy! That is until she dives into reading Broadway message boards, where she’s being touted as a “career chorus girl.” But backstage before the overture, Ivy’s mother and co-star tells her that her experience has made her into the star she is today. She brings the house down with a glorious performance ending with ‘Don’t Forget Me,” which leaves Karen visibly shook.
Even before opening, Julia is already pitching Tom ideas for their next show: a musical version of The Great Gatsby. But Tom may have found his own new project without her, directing a Broadway revival of City of Angels. When she confronts him about the rumor at the opening night party, he admits that all he wants to do right now is direct, not write another musical.
Downtown, Hit List has sold out the rest of its off-Broadway run. Eileen has invited the company to come uptown and see Bombshell’s opening, which makes Karen feel like she’s watching her ex-finance walk down the aisle. Jimmy implores her to go and that she’s got him in her corner. But it’s Jimmy that implodes at the opening night party, getting into a fist fight with his drug-dealing brother in the middle of the event.
The reviews are in and Variety calls Bombshell “The finest musical of the season.” But it’s the New York Times review that has everyone on edge and Ivy hiding in the restroom. The current Marilyn confides that she can’t get the former Marilyn out of her head, but the mutual admiration society is there in full force as Karen admits that she was watching Ivy play Marilyn. Ivy promises Karen that she’ll make it to Broadway herself soon enough, but off-handedly jokes for it “not to be this season.”
That promise may be going down the drain as Derek hatches a rumor that Hit List is heading to Broadway. It doesn’t stop the two leading ladies from dueting at the party on an impromptu version of “That’s Life.” But that’s not the most surprising pairing of the night, as Tom and Kyle end up leaving together while Ivy gives Derek blue balls. Surprises abound, as Eileen doubles down on their so-so New York Times review, declaring “Screw the Times! We’ll sweep the Tonys!”