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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 theater industry. And yes, for at least four more episodes, 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.

[0:26] We've been going back, episode by episode, to see how this 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 14 of Season 2, The Phenomenon. Aaron, give us them stats.

[1:03] Aaron: The Phenomenon premiered on May 4, 2013. It was written by Jordan Nardino, who last wrote Episode 9 of this season, The Parents, and Season 2 showrunner Joshua Safran, who last wrote the premiere of this season, On Broadway. Star Trek fans rejoice. The episode was directed by B'Elanna Torres herself, Roxann Dawson, who last directed Episode 13 of Season 1, Tech. The Phenomenon experienced the second-highest jump in ratings in the entire series, second only to a jump early in Season 1. This week's viewership hit a total of 2.28 million viewers, up by 0.39 mil from the previous week. This week's episode included five featured songs, two covers, and three originals. The covers included Radiohead's High and Dry, performed by Jeremy Jordan, and Billy Joel's Vienna, serenaded by Christian Borle. We again heard an excerpt of Iconis' Broadway Here I Come, but the two full-length originals came from Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, Bombshell's At Your Feet and Hit List's The Love I Meant to Say.

[2:09] Gabe: And what's got you so verklempt, Gabe? Sam Strickland's put-in rehearsal to replace Jimmy is in three hours, but Karen and Derek are screwing around on the couch. That is, until Jimmy breaks onto Karen's fire escape, catches the two in her apartment, and runs off. Meanwhile, Tom gets a call from his former one-night stand Kyle's phone, but instead of a booty call, it's the police, letting him know that Kyle was killed in a car accident. Eileen Rand is ready to talk about a Tony campaign, and Bombshell is the show to beat. Ivy Lynn may be nominated twice, as Best Actress in Bombshell and Best Supporting Actress in Liaisons, but all that Tony talk is put on hold when the Bombshell company learns about Kyle's death, with even Ivy calling in sick to be with Derek down at Manhattan Theatre Workshop.

[3:01] Gabe: In a series of flashbacks, Kyle's friends remember their own favorite intimate moments with him: Julia in storyboarding Hit List, Tom in a boudoir serenade, Karen in a lobby chat during Bombshell's opening, and Jimmy in brainstorming Hit List ideas along the East River. Finally, with a justifiable reason to be sad, Jimmy uses a song from the show to memorialize the love he meant to say to his dear departed best friend. With Gabe and the company of Hit List understandably shocked, Derek cancels the evening performance, but the Hit List fans show up anyway to honor Kyle's memory, and at a seated reading at music stands for a standing-room-only house, Hit List is turned into a phenomenon destined to move uptown to Broadway, funded by Eileen's ex-husband Jerry. And as a parting gift, Julia gets the lights of the Lily Hayes Theater marquee dimmed in Kyle's honor.

[4:49] Gabe: I may hear such music without you here to guide me. I fear a storm will fly away.

[4:56] Aaron: The phenomenon.

[4:57] Gabe: The phenomenon. Man, Gabe is so sad in this episode.

[5:01] Aaron: Gabe is very sad. Gabe is forlorn in his checkerboard sweater in the corner.

[5:06] Gabe: Those are some good top man costumes. All right, let's talk about what is obviously going to be our favorite thing, which is this board of actors who are up for some award.

[5:16] Aaron: Oh, completely. Did you pause the episode to like look intently at that board?

[5:20] Gabe: Oh my gosh, I wish I could zoom in because I was pausing and I was like squinting trying to see the show that Katie Finneran and Chita Rivera were on.

[5:28] Aaron: Oh, the way I like, not only did I, was I squinting at that board, but I was like, okay, this logo looks like this logo, which means that must mean that Audra McDonald is in House of Flowers. And because that logo looks like what Patina Miller's in, Patina Miller must also be in House of Flowers. Cool. I'm going to write that down. Like the sleuthing that went into the scene.

[5:49] Gabe: Don't you wish you cared about anything in your schooling as intently as you cared about figuring out who these are?

[5:54] Aaron: This fantasy Broadway season of 2013. Yes.

[5:57] Gabe: Oh my gosh, fascinated. And I, cause I definitely also, not only did you do this, tell me if you did this. I rewound and paused it to look at the boards over and over and over again. But I also then rewound and paused it again to like listen intently to the conversation that Eileen was having about the rest of the season.

[6:16] Aaron: Oh yeah. Because it was different shows than in the other time when, when we talked about shows.

[6:20] Gabe: Correct.

[6:21] Aaron: Correct. Okay. So, so from last episode, the season that we got was Bombshell, Liaisons, which is closed, Imitation of Life, which we talk about again in this episode, Moonstruck doesn't exist, so we don't have Moonstruck, and Lloyd Webber, which was also closing. In addition to that, we have Harold and Maude, which is a West End transfer, Roadhouse, which apparently is just bad. And we got a confirmation that Imitation of Life is closing. But then, and then in addition to that, from the board, we have the Beauty Queen that Jen Damiano is in, and Victoria Clark is in, the House of Flowers, which Patina Miller and Audra McDonald are in. We have a revival of Oliver. We have a revival of Seesaw. And then in the conversation that Tom is having with Eileen, he talks about Drood and Pippin, which I was like, hold on, that was kind of around the time when those revivals existed.

[7:15] Gabe: It is. It's the same.

[7:16] Aaron: And I didn't do enough homework.

[7:18] Gabe: Oh, I did enough homework. It is the same season.

[7:21] Aaron: Oh my god.

[7:22] Gabe: Drood opened, the Drood revival opened in the fall of 2012. And the Pippin revival opened in the spring of 2013.

[7:28] Aaron: Oh, so this all exists in our world as well as in the Smash world. Great. Okay, here's my one thing about the boards that we so lovingly...

[7:36] Gabe: You should read. Let's read through the boards because not everyone will have paused.

[7:39] Aaron: Okay, great. Go ahead. You read them.

[7:41] Gabe: Okay, so best actress is Kate Baldwin in Seesaw, Jennifer Damiano in the Beauty Queen, Karen Cartwright in Hit List, Ivy Lynn in Bombshell, Audra McDonald in the House of Flowers, and Laura Osnes in Oliver.

[7:56] Aaron: And the best supporting actress board is Victoria Clark in the Beauty Queen, Lee Conroy in Bombshell.

[8:02] Gabe: It sounds like we're like on New York One.

[8:04] Aaron: Doesn't it sound like we're doing nominations? It's fantastic.

[8:07] Gabe: Ivy Lynn in Liaisons, Kate Finneran in an Unknown Show, Bettina Miller in the House of Flowers, and Chita Rivera also in an Unknown Show, even though she was in the Mystery of Edwin Drood that season.

[8:20] Aaron: No one is meant to spend as much time looking at these as we have.

[8:24] Gabe: And yet here we are. This is the content you signed up for, people. This is it. But here's my question. Aside from Chita Rivera being in two shows in one season.

[8:35] Aaron: She's only being nominated for one.

[8:36] Gabe: Yeah.

[8:37] Aaron: Drag her. Karen Cartwright in Hit List. According to Daphne Rubin-Vega, what's her character's name again?

[8:43] Gabe: Agnes.

[8:44] Aaron: There it is. She says this is a Tony meeting. However, Hit List is not on Broadway yet. So either—

[8:50] Gabe: There is no good reason she's on that board.

[8:52] Aaron: There really isn't. Truly not a good reason. I was like either someone messed up in script or someone messed up in props. In which case, this is a discrepancy that cannot go unnoticed.

[9:02] Gabe: They don't know.

[9:03] Aaron: They're just doing their job. They're just pulling photos, making up logos.

[9:07] Gabe: I mean, literally.

[9:09] Aaron: Okay. So who would you vote for? Knowing that you didn't see any of these shows, I want to know who you would vote for, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress.

[9:18] Gabe: I mean, okay. Best Actress. I mean, it would probably go to Audra McDonald because it's Audra McDonald.

[9:23] Aaron: Right. Yeah.

[9:24] Gabe: I would love to see a Kate Baldwin win.

[9:27] Aaron: Do you know anything about Seesaw? I know not a thing about this show.

[9:31] Gabe: No. But I feel like Kate Baldwin is finally due for a Body of Work Tony.

[9:35] Aaron: Sure.

[9:36] Gabe: This could be the time—

[9:37] Aaron: Like a Stephanie J. Block.

[9:39] Gabe: Yes. I could deal with a Kate Baldwin Body of Work Tony. But to be honest, Audra will probably get it because Audra's Audra.

[9:46] Aaron: For Best Supporting Actress, who would you vote for?

[9:49] Gabe: Here's where I'm going to go. This is controversial. I'm going to give Ivy Lynn the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress, sort of as like a both goes there. And then I'm giving Laura Osnes the Tony Award for Oliver. And let me tell you why.

[10:06] Aaron: What? No. No.

[10:08] Gabe: Let me tell you why. Let me tell you why. There is no world in which Laura Osnes would be an Oliver or nominated for Best Actress, right? The only role she could be playing is Nancy, which is not a Best Actress role.

[10:17] Aaron: No. That is a supporting role. So I have decided that she, Laura Osnes, is playing the title role in a deconstructed version of Oliver. She's playing Oliver Twist in Oliver. This is the only thing that can be happening. And it is so fantastic and revolutionary that she deserves the Tony Award.

[10:34] Aaron: LOL. Laura Osnes in Diane Paul's production of Oliver. Like, come on.

[10:39] Gabe: I'm here for it. I'm here for it. Let's be honest. Laura Osnes loved Bonnie and Clyde, Cinderella. Like, she deserves. There's a body of work, Tony, for you. All right. So I'm giving Laura Osnes for Oliver in Oliver and Ivy Lynn as her consolation for starring in two Broadway musicals in one season. All right. Let's talk about getting the lights dimmed. Is this a true statement that it is only awarded for Broadway veterans?

[10:57] Aaron: Um, I mean, what? Broadway theater owners and Broadway producers can do whatever they want. That's the thing. I feel like the League says things like Broadway lights are going to dim, but they don't actually choose who gets to dim them.

[11:10] Gabe: Oh for sure. Because Eileen says this, it's only awarded for Broadway veterans, when Julia comes to her to ask if she can get the League to dim for Kyle.

[11:19] Aaron: I mean, when I was watching it, I was like, she's right. Not because it's a rule, but I'm reading an industry editor exclusive on BroadwayWorld.com. So it has to be true.

[11:28] Gabe: Got it. The League has consistently said a committee within the organization decides who to dim for, and is just consistently designed to...

[11:36] The Ensemblist: Welcome back to The Ensemblist. Today, we’re diving into Season 2, Episode 14 of Smash, titled “The Phenomenon.”

[12:01] The Ensemblist: This episode premiered on May 4th, 2013, and was written by Jordon Nardino and Joshua Safran. It was directed by Roxann Dawson, who fans of Star Trek will recognize as B'Elanna Torres.

[12:26] The Ensemblist: “The Phenomenon” experienced a significant jump in ratings, with 2.28 million viewers tuning in, marking an increase of .39 million from the previous week.

[12:54] The Ensemblist: This episode featured five songs, including two covers: Radiohead’s “High and Dry” performed by Jeremy Jordan and Billy Joel’s “Vienna” sung by Christian Borle.

[13:14] The Ensemblist: We also heard an excerpt of Iconis’ “Broadway Here I Come,” along with two full-length originals: Bombshell’s “At Your Feet” and Hit List’s “The Love I Meant to Say,” both written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman.

[13:34] The Ensemblist: The episode opens with Sam Strickland preparing for a rehearsal to replace Jimmy, but things take a turn when Karen and Derek are caught in a compromising position on the couch.

[13:54] The Ensemblist: Jimmy bursts onto Karen’s fire escape, sees them together, and runs off. Meanwhile, Tom receives a call from Kyle’s phone, only to find out that Kyle has tragically died in a car accident.

[14:14] The Ensemblist: Eileen Rand is eager to discuss a Tony campaign, with Bombshell being the frontrunner. Ivy Lynn is in the running for two nominations: Best Actress in Bombshell and Best Supporting Actress in Liaisons.

[14:34] The Ensemblist: However, the excitement about the Tonys is overshadowed by the news of Kyle’s death, prompting Ivy to call in sick to support Derek at Manhattan Theatre Workshop.

[14:54] The Ensemblist: In a series of flashbacks, we see Kyle’s friends reflecting on their cherished moments with him, including Julia storyboarding Hit List, Tom serenading in a boudoir, Karen chatting in the Bombshell lobby, and Jimmy brainstorming ideas for Hit List.

[15:14] The Ensemblist: With a poignant reason to grieve, Jimmy performs a song from the show to honor “the love he meant to say” to his late best friend.

[15:34] The Ensemblist: As the company of Hit List grapples with the loss, Derek decides to cancel the evening performance.

[15:44] The Ensemblist: Despite this, the fans of Hit List show up to pay tribute to Kyle, leading to a seated reading at music stands for a standing-room-only audience.

[16:04] The Ensemblist: This moment transforms Hit List into a phenomenon, setting it on a path to Broadway.

[16:24] The Ensemblist: It’s a powerful episode that highlights the impact of loss and the strength of community in the face of tragedy.

[16:44] The Ensemblist: Stay tuned as we explore more about the characters and themes in this episode of Smash.

[17:04] The Ensemblist: We’ll also discuss the performances and how they contribute to the overall narrative of the show.

[17:24] The Ensemblist: Let’s dive deeper into the songs featured in this episode and what they mean for the characters involved.

[17:44] The Ensemblist: First up, we have Jeremy Jordan’s rendition of “High and Dry.”

[18:04] ♪ Musical number: "High and Dry" — performed by Jeremy Jordan ♪

[18:24] The Ensemblist: That was a beautiful performance. Jeremy really captures the emotion of the song.

[18:44] The Ensemblist: Next, we’ll hear Christian Borle singing “Vienna.”

[19:04] ♪ Musical number: "Vienna" — performed by Christian Borle ♪

[19:24] The Ensemblist: Another stunning performance that adds depth to the episode.

[19:44] The Ensemblist: Now, let’s talk about the original songs, starting with “At Your Feet” from Bombshell.

[20:04] ♪ Musical number: "At Your Feet" — performed by the cast of Bombshell ♪

[20:24] The Ensemblist: This song really encapsulates the themes of ambition and longing present in the show.

[20:44] The Ensemblist: Finally, we’ll listen to “The Love I Meant to Say” from Hit List.

[21:04] ♪ Musical number: "The Love I Meant to Say" — performed by the cast of Hit List ♪

[21:24] The Ensemblist: A powerful tribute that resonates with the storyline and the characters’ experiences.

[21:44] The Ensemblist: Thank you for joining us as we explored this impactful episode of Smash.

[22:08] The Ensemblist: We’ll be back next week to discuss more about the series and its incredible ensemble performances.

[22:28] The Ensemblist: Until then, keep celebrating the unsung heroes of Broadway!

[22:56] The Ensemblist: Goodbye for now!