Hello Beautiful People,
My head is still reeling from Season 2, Episode 4 of SMASH . If you weren’t watching, well, you missed out. And this isn’t going to be some sort of recap. There’s about a thousand articles that have already went live, discussing the truly outstanding talent of Jennifer Hudson, Any Mientus, and Jeremy Jordan.
So, perhaps the question that begs to be asked, is that if I’m not going to give you all a recap, well, then what am I writing about?
Well, this is what I like to call a gush piece. A piece that Spotlights and highlights something that I love, something that I believe supports what I (and my team) are doing at The Write Teacher(s), a piece that highlights…art.
Cause oh, haters be damned, this. Show. Is. Art.
They put on a full-fledged MUSICAL every week. They have one of the greatest comedic actresses of all time on their cast. They have REAL musical theater actors. Artists with musical theater credits that will make your head blow off your body. People who have shaped and sharpened some of the greatest soundtracks out there, soundtracks like Newsies, and Bonny and Clyde, and Rock of Ages, and The Adams Family, and In the Heights, and Spring Awakening, and Wicked, and 9 to 5, and Carrie, and Good Vibrations, and A Christmas Story, and Dogfight, and PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, and Legally Blonde, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and The Story of My Life, and High Fidelity, and Lennon.
They have not one, but two of the best things to happen to American Idol…like, ever. And I mean…EVER.
But don’t be fooled, this ‘aint no reality television show.
It’s a show about theater. About music. About friendship. About Love. About Life.
I was never an athlete. I was never a “popular” kid. I was never going to find myself working in a hospital or a police precinct. And I was way past high school when GLEE arrived, but, it would’ve been amazing to have been able to watch a show during those years that spoke to…me. My interests, My dreams, My hopes, my aspirations in life….and all those things revolve around a theater.
I was so very fortunate to interview one of the amazing cast members of SMASH for The Write Teacher(s). I’m not going to tell you who yet, because hey, what fun what that be. But, this person and I talked for a bit, about life, and theater, and education…and one of the best parts of the interview was how we both recalled that a theater, and ACTUAL theater, I’m not talking about movie theaters here…well, it just smells right. Perhaps it’s the gels burning, or the must & dust from the productions…I don’t know what to call it. But, the air is different. It smells like home.
SMASH, well, it allows all of us folks around the country to see our home on the silver screen. Is it true to real life and the daily ins and outs of Showbiz 24/7? NO. But, then again, who wants to watch a reality television show? I know I don’t. I know that it’s a beautiful thing to turn on the TV and forget about “reality” for a while. It’s a beautiful thing to watch a story, to hear music, to see AN ACTUAL PLOT that has been written and poured over by ACTUAL SCREENWRITERS. It. Is. A. Beautiful. Thing.
After this episode aired, the elven o’clock news came on. The events that the anchors spoke about were just…horrific. So it’s nice to be taken away for a bit. To be brought into a world of actors & singers & dreamers & doers & thinkers & lovers & writers.
SMASH, well, it’s the show for the adults who were never on the football team or cheerleading squad, but rather it’s for the people who spent hours of their high school years rehearsing in the school auditorium, long after the teams & clubs had left the building. It’s a show for the men & women who have spent hours practicing their monologues in front of their bedroom mirrors, who have perfected those sixteen bars to the best of their abilities, who have arrived at the EPA calls at six am and waited patiently till six pm with the hopes of being seen and heard. It’s a show for the theater historians. It’s a show for the aspiring directors. It’s a show for the people who wander around the theater district and marvel and the magic and power and beauty of it all. It’s a show for people who can appreciate all that, too.
Next week, we’re contemplating having a twitter party in honor of SMASH. (TOMORROW there’s a twitter party hosted by @BroadwaySpotted, so be sure to join the fun.)
Even if our twitter party doesn’t pan out, I urge you to tune in. Artists, you’ll love it. Athletes, perhaps you can learn to appreciate it. Everyone else? Well, give it a chance. I do believe you’ll enjoy it.
Live, Love, Learn,
Megan & The Write Teacher(s)