Smash: Dramaturg- VOi

Just a reminder this blog is about the NBC Golden Globe nominated TV drama Smash which stars Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn. This blog is biasedly Team Ivy and contains spoilers! (It is a breakdown of the episode after all :))

We first see, or more precisely hear Ivy in an audition for a revival of a show called Liaisons. She is singing a not FAR above the staff, or in other words, a VERY VERY high note. The casting agent is clearly impressed by her audition for the ensemble. Taking a deep breath, as if to brace herself for whatever wrath may come from the question, she asks the casting agent if she can read for the part of Cecile. Cecile is an amazing part, wanted by every actress in New York City. He hints toward a no, but somehow Ivy convinces him. A huge grin immediately cracks across Ivy's face, and she assures him that she won't let him down. The way she says it, it is so easy to believe that she just might make it. 

Next, Bombshell is seen back in rehearsals with Ivy clearly missing. Karen is preparing to sing I Just Keep Moving The Line, which Ivy so brilliantly sang last week. Suddenly, Karen's voice fades into Ivy's. Ivy is on Tom's TV singing Moving The Line. Ivy bounces in, swinging around his wall, seeming happier than ever. She smiles even bigger when she sees herself on his screen, then immediately tries to hide it. He points at the TV, "Look how good you are! At the workshop last winter!" She tries to play it off cool, but is so clearly flattered. "I wanted to be reminded of our initial instincts before jumping back in," he explains. Tom invites Ivy to watch with him, but she ignores this question, still grinning hugely. She tells him she talked herself into an audition for Liaisons. When he registers that she means for the role of Cecile, he stands up and gasps, as her pursed smile opens up in a laugh, showing all of her teeth. Then, the self doubt kicks in and her smile slowly fades as she starts listing off all of the big names they are auditioning for it. "And then I'm just.." she trails off, "Perfect for the part!" Tom exclaims excitedly. "I never thought someone would give me the chance after..." her head turns toward the screen where she is still singing in what must now seem like a distant dream. 

Next, we see Derek giving Karen hell in rehearsal, Karen becoming a diva, rolling her eyes at him. Just as he's ordering to take it from the top, the door swings open and in walks Ivy. Derek asks invites her to stay and watch the number. She is shocked and reluctant, trying to tell him no, when he takes her bag, a gesture saying, It's probably best you stay. Her face has fallen, and her body is tense, arms crossed in defense as she watches Derek whisper into Karen's ear. She is remembering all of the times he whispered in her ear, back when she was Marilyn. We are transported, into a dream sequence. But not one like the Bollywood number from last season. Nope, this one is hauntingly beautiful. It is Ivy following Karen and Derek around a maze of statues while Ivy is quietly singing Robyn's Dancing On My Own. She is softly singing, almost a whisper, a very indulgent contrast to her typical Broadway belts. The song is vulnerable and her voice is raw, chilling, beautifully rising and falling. Her face is a well of emotion, pouring sadness, and hope, a memory of her fast, tumultuous, but strong love with Derek. She is now the outsider. With this realization, she apologizes for coming and heads out the door. 

Ivy is then seen rehearsing her lines with Tom, him yawning repeatedly. He tries to say its not her fault, but she then sits down, dejected by her performance, still searching for who Cecile is. They start listing off character traits, unbroken, innocent, untouched, when Ivy throws a jab in, saying, "Sounds like Karen Cartwright." Then, he continues, saying that Cecile is easily corroded, but learns to manipulate men. At this, Ivy's face lights up, saying, "Oh my god, she's Marilyn." Tom counters with, "You know who else she is, YOU! She knows how to fight back." A smile and giggle leap from Ivy's mouth, "See, you're already feeling it."

After a scene of a newly written Bombshell scene, Ivy pops through her apartment doorway, her face showing off a smile bigger than any she's worn yet this entire season. "Tom, guess what? I got the part! I am Cecile!" Tom bends over with glee, as Ivy jovially lays down on her bed, suddenly relaxed, strong, and back to the same Ivy. She was beaten down, and was able to rise up again.

Smash: The Fallout-VOi

Just a reminder this blog is about the Smash character Ivy, and focusses on only Ivy's storyline. So, now I present to you, Voice of Ivy review of The Fallout. The Fallout, refers to the broken state of Bombshell, but also runs parallel to Ivy's storyline. She is in the place in her career where she has been in the ensemble for ten years and doesn't know when enough is enough. 

Ivy(Megan Hilty) and Sam(Leslie Odom Jr.) are in the midst of a conversation about Sam going on tour for The Book of Morman, when they run into an old friend. They duck into a shop window to avoid the blonde actress whom Ivy says has been plugging along even longer than she had, which is a very long time. Suddenly the blonde (played by Legally Blonde: the Musical actress, Annaleigh Ashford) recognizes the two of them and all suddenly becomes very fake and huggy. Ivy asks what she's been up to, hoping for something worse than what Ivy has at the moment. The blonde says, "Stationary!" and then goes on to explain how much better her life is now that she's finally out of the theatre business, oh, and she can't forget to show them her HUGE guest house! Ivy is at such a low place, she looks ready to quit on the spot.

Next, Julia (Debra Messing) is laying on the couch at Tom's house alone when the doorbell rings. "Julia? You there?" Ivy whimpers. Clearly dejected, Ivy explains she has come to vent to Tom, but Julia offers instead. At this point, I was hoping for a repeat of the first episode's Ivy/Julia moment. It was a similar situation, only this time both of them were down and vulnerable, and two women talking on equal levels, not Ivy asking someone above her for help. Julia is the mother that Ivy desperately needs in her life! Her mother, Lee Conroy (Bernadatte Peters), is already a star, who seemed to have instant success and is verbally abusive to Ivy. "Just when I'd want to throw the towel in, something would happen to remind me of why I fell in love with this business. And thus the dysfunctional cycle continues." They then proceed to both eat marshmallow fluff with a spoon, a sweet, seemingly unscripted moment that I'm sure never would've happened with Ivy's mom.

Derek is waaaaay down in the public eye, when he gets so drunk he asks a girl if she is a dancer, when her boyfriend shoves him to the ground. While on the ground, Derek sees a pair of neon pink heels walk by, and thus, an indulgent dream sequence begins with Derek hallucinating Ivy in a sexy, fitted black dress, then sees Karen in the same dress. Both are staring him down with anger. Suddenly more girls in the identical dresses appear, all grabbing his neck and chest, and getting close to his face in a steamy matter. Then they all put their hands on their hips and circle him, singing, "Would I lie to you, would I lie to you, honey?" Ivy and Karen grab him and lead him to a couch, Ivy showing off to him what he's missing since he's left her. All of the girls are have the same chestnut hair and skinny bodies, while Ivy sits on his lap, flinging around her blond ponytail, then shoving him into the wall. She then yells, "Now, I'm leaving YOOOUUUU!!" Tell him Ivy! 

And my favorite part of the episode is when Ivy is walking down the street, talking to Sam on the phone, when she comes across a disheveled, drunk Derek sitting the steps of his building. He puts his hand out and she joins him on the steps. After two more scenes and a commercial break (I could barely stand the waiting), we are finally back to the Derek/Ivy scene. Derek slurredly tells Ivy about all of the lying dancers. At this point, I wanted Ivy to cockily tell Derek that he's drunk, just as Derek did to Ivy last season, but that unfortunately didn't happen. She shakes her head, as if to say, well, you are a bit of an arrogant, greedy, power-hungry man, with high levels of testosterone. Then, Derek proceeds to...wait for it....APOLOGIZE! Ivy still says nothing, but her face says she accepts it, but won't fall for him again. He tries to make himself seem nicer, changed, and she just replies, with "Why do you care what I think, all of a sudden?" He backpedals, telling Ivy she's his friend, and who cares about Karen, on and on. She just gives him a sideways look, and he rolls his eyes. Suddenly Ivy starts spilling to him, saying, "I was a lot of things, Derek, and now I don't even know who I am, or if I even want to be in this business anymore." He says she's got too much talent to give up, then Ivy throws the "I couldn't have been that good, I'm not Marilyn" card at him. "Prove me wrong! make me look stupid!" he tells her. There are tears streaming down Ivy's face and their faces get very close. Derek begins to lean in for a kiss, and Ivy just watches him, then SNAP, her head turns the other way and she matter-of-factly says, "Nope, not gonna happen." YES, YES, YES IVY!!! Finally, she gets it!

There is a scramble when Eileen, Tom, and Julia are thrown out of a Broadway big-wig party. They call for Karen, but when she doesn't pick up, they look to Ivy. Finally, something to pick her up. She races there, and as they thank her, says, "I'm just glad someone still wants to hear me sing!" She says it in an upbeat, excited tone, but the statement is so heartbreaking. She steps in front of the mic and belts out They Just Keep Moving the Line, a very emotional song about how you can work hard, and once you get your goal in your grasp, it is moved further away. This is SUCH an Ivy song!

And finally, Ivy shows up at Derek's house to talk to him, when she senses someone being in his room. As she backs away to the elevator, she hears Karen say, "What was that about?" "Oh, nothing important." Way to go Derek, build her up, then kick her down harder.

And a video of Ivy singing They Just Keep Moving The Line.

First Megan Hilty Single: No Cure!

As many of you know, Megan Hilty has an album coming out on March 9th called It Happens All The Time. (See previous post for more on the whole album) Today, Megan tweeted,

"I have a single!!! You can check it out on my        brand spankin new website meganhilty.com"

Upon further investigation, I found out the new single is called No Cure and is a duet. The sound is almost contemporary pop and has been called country by some fans. This could be the song co-written by Carrie Underwood. The beat is catchy and the singing soft. Very different from the Broadway belts we are used to hearing. 

The story told by the lyrics seem to run parallel to that of Ivy Lynn, Megan's character on the NBC hit, Smash. "All of this medicine that I keep taking, it ain't workin', I keep hurtin'," says the song. Ivy Lynn tried to overdose last season on Smash, due to many things including her tumultuous relationship with on-and-off boyfriend Derek. And my favorite lyric, "I keep trying' to pull out of this spiral that I'm in," describes Ivy Lynn's journey heading into season two. She is drowning in relationship and career woes, trying to pick herself up. 

But enough about Ivy, the song is about trying to use medicine to numb the pain of a very hard fall out of a relationship. The chorus repeats "What if there's no cure?" The song shows the helplessness that is felt when trying to distance yourself from someone you truly loved and thought you knew. 

This song makes me excited for the entire album, but judge for yourself at Megan's new website meganhilty.com. Tell me what you think in the comments! And also follow us on Twitter @VoiceOfIvy

 

Smash: On Broadway-VOi

The first hour of the two hour season premiere was released online yesterday. The two hour premiere will air on NBC on February 5th. Megan Hilty plays the role Ivy Lynn. Megan describes her as "deeply flawed." For a recap and breakdown of Season One of Smash, see the previous post. This blog being about Megan, I am going to just talk about Ivy's major plot moments. I am calling this series of posts the "Voice of Ivy" (VOi) as many sources portray her as a villain, although she really is not. Especially this season. Here it goes...

Ivy

Last season ended with a cliff-hanger for Ivy. As Karen went onstage to close Bombshell as Marilyn, Ivy is seen with a handful of pills ready to gulp down. We never see her actually swallow the pills, nor are we positive why she has them, although the most common theory was suicide. During the opening song the first episode, On Broadway, Ivy is in her bathroom, clearing her shelves of the pills. This is the symbol of a new and improved Ivy who will remain in control and aware of herself and her emotions. That said, I still don't believe that Ivy is in any place personally to be in a relationship, whether with Derek or a great guy. 

One of my favorite parts of this episode was the talk between Julia and Ivy. Karen has just exchanged a few less than savory words with Ivy about singing that night. Karen feels that Ivy is trying to take her spotlight. We all know that Julia has had an affair with Michael Swift last season. Her marriage with Frank has improved although we're not sure why. When Ivy asks what she can do to keep her spot in the ensemble, Julia tells her to apologize. We have seen Ivy apologize once last season and try to a few times this episode. But what for? Julia further explains, in a rather motherly fashion, that she apologized to Frank numerous times for cheating, but that was easy. The hard part, the part of an apology that means something is apologizing for why she cheated. Ivy needed to tell Karen why she slept with Dev. This moment was very eye-opening to Ivy as well as to Julia, who seems to feel for Ivy and is SHOCKINGLY able to relate to her struggle.

Then, it is Eileen's actual party. Derek has called Ivy, presumably to drop her contract. But Ivy doesn't know yet. All she knows is that Derek wants to talk to her, and being Ivy, she jumps at the chance. When she walks in, she sees Derek with one arm on Karen's back, and he is holding her cheek. Derek sees Ivy and jerks away from Karen, chasing after Ivy. When Ivy realizes that he is letting her go, she drops her head and walks away, making my heart break for her. Here is this man that she has trusted, and loved, maybe even still does, and he is pushing her out. he is leaving her jobless, boyfriendless, and he originally CALLED HER!!! He was probably going to do all of that over the phone, knowing him. 

Still at the party, the news has just been announced that Bombshell is frozen, and Karen is in an out-of-the-way room freaking out. Ivy comes in, making Karen give out a sigh. Life sucks for both of them in this moment, and they are both vulnerable. This scene is my favorite. Ivy sits down, while Karen remains standing. This is almost symbolic, in that Ivy always seems to be lower than Karen, despite how hard she works. So here Ivy is, below Karen again, and she is at Karen's mercy. The fate of her future is in Karen's hands. The drama builds with Ivy's pure, sincere, honesty. Then she tells Karen probably one of the darkest, most personal things ever. She admits to almost killing herself on opening night. Looking back, she can see it was stupid, but in the moment she was in such despair, that she almost did. By this point, there were tears streaming down my face, as my heart just wrenched for Ivy! Poor girl, she is finally in a good place, when her world comes crashing down. She can never seem to get anything, but she always comes so close, then falls. 

What are your thoughts on Ivy? Why is she so interesting? Do you like her? Respond in the comments.

And a bonus video of Megan singing Don't Dream It's Over on part one of episode one. Enjoy! :)

It Happens All The Time

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been in a show and then I got sick! But enough about me, because It Happens All The Time was released this week!!! Megan Hilty has talked about delaying making an album because she simply had nothing important to say. She finally has a statement to make, and it's about Loooooove! (I intended for you to say Looove  with a Southern Belle Accent)

As many of her fans know, Megan broke off her six year relationship with actor Steve Kazee early last year. She was able to maintain a strong exterior in public, but six years is a LONG time to be with someone! It must have been devastating. She has said in interviews that  she didn't intend for her album to become a collection of breakup anthems, but she related to those songs the most. 

Now, we all know that Megan could belt the heck out of any song, shredding the likes of all that her ex did wrong with powerhouse delivery. But she did just the opposite. She sang softly, but with power and pain behind every note. The result? An accumulation of intimate easy rock ballads that leave listeners begging for more. 

The title song, It Happens All The Time, poses the question, "If people fall in love all the time, why am I still alone?" It is a bluesy pop song that is sung in a toned down Hilty belt. Is it the sound of someone who knows them self, but is in a lonely state. Someone who is justifying the actions of a breakup. Megan's voice takes a break from her typically smooth velvety sound and becomes almost raspy. Some parts are sung forcefully, some nearly in a whisper.

Be A Man, Megan's self proclaimed favorite, starts with drawn out phrases, almost like sighs. Then, it transitions into lines of questions and statements that take pauses, as if waiting for a response. Despite its staunch name, Be A Man is a ballad that helplessly prods the former lover to, "Don't try to dance around it, just be a man about it," leading us to wonder....was this an unfair feeling Megan has experienced?

Walk Away is Megan's most radio ready song, which is probably a result of Carrie Underwood and Ne-Yo being cowriter of it. It is a powerful women's solo about not putting up with the guilt and constant annoyances from the dumpee. 

Next, Megan covers Taylor Swift's made-for-the-movies Hunger Games composition Safe and Sound. Instead of taking the lyrics such as "The war outside our door keeps raging on," in a literal way, as intended, Megan puts them in a romantic context. This added to her clear, forward delivery and sound of tears in her voice amplifies the well-written song to a level that was never reached by its original songstress.

Megan also covers the heartbreaking song, originally by Damien Rice, Blower's Daughter. Another ballad, however the theme isn't becoming tired as it should. Megan expresses the melody and lyrics in a straight forward way that respects the original, but adds another haunting level.

Suddenly, we are dropped into a repetitive pop song that hardly uses any of Megan's talent called Hopin'. It's a fine ditty, but does no justice to the wealth of talent who sings it. She gives it as much as the song allows. Needless to say, it's not my favorite.

After we conclude hearing 'Hopin' repeated what seems like trillions of times, we hear a single piano begin and Hilty's fresh voice begin to deliver Wise Up. It is a scolding song telling her lover who is on the edge how to make a decision about their seemingly one-sided relationship.

Just to show her class, Megan throws in a Don Henley cover of The Heart Of The Matter. She slows down the recognizable melody and dials back the manly power to turn it into a raw, regretful anthem of mistakes that are made when falling in and out of love.

Megan then moves onto to a cover of the Switchfoot song Dare You To Move. I've never heard the original, but Megan sings it with competence and dominance. The beat makes it a shoo-in for a Dance Party Remix to fist pump to on the dance floors of classy New York bars. 

For a final cover, Hilty accesses the Elvis-style artist Bruno Mars as she takes on It Will Rain. She maintains the original beat and lyrics, but they way she sings it makes more sense than the original. By adding male vocals underneath parts of the chorus, she packs more emotion in the song than has ever been achieved on that song previously. 

*This post is from when the song list was released. For the review go here.

New details have been released about Megan Hilty's first solo album titled It Happens All The Time. A break-up theme and renowned song writers in the mix? "Stylistically these aren't the type of songs that I'm used to singing." 

It Happens All The Time
Be A Man
No Cure
Walk Away
Safe And Sound
Blower's Daughter
Hopin
Wise Up

Dare You To Move
It Will Rain
The Heart Of The Matter

Gravity

For this album, Megan has stepped out of her past recording history of Broadway and the occasional pop hit cover. Although some of the songs above are recognizable pop songs, Megan has assuredly rearranged and made them her own.  The majority of the songs are originals written by the likes of Ne-Yo, Carrie Underwood, Glenn Ballard, and Wayne Hector (best known for writing One Direction songs). 

"I want to show a different side of me because it's the first thing I've ever done that's just me and not attached to any character or story line."

The album takes on the unintended shape of a break-up album. The past year has been a year of falling in, and out, of love for Hilty. Megan split from boyfriend Steve Kazee, this year, and is now in a serious relationship with Broadway performer Brian Gallagher. Megan says she chose the songs based on lyrics she could connect with. As for the title,"It Happens All The Time is about the frustration of trying to find true love. If it happens all the time then why hasn't it happened to me?"

Based on the strong cover art and intriguing song list, March 12th can't come fast enough! What song are you most looking forward to hearing Megan Hilty sing? Comment below. My picks are No Cure and Be A Man. 

For more from the interviews the above quotes came from, go to broadwayworld.com

Let Me Be Your SMASH

"Fade in on a girl, with a hunger for fame." The new anthem of fame-searchers, and Broadway wannabes. The original song from the Emmy-nominated NBC hit Smash,  that can sum up Megan Hilty's rise to fame.

SPOILER ALERT! Contains Smash spoilers from Season 1

Smash

Summary

Nbc's Smash is a fairly new show that follows the a new musical's path to Broadway. The new musical just happens to be about the life of Marilyn Monroe. It starts with an idea and a song called Let Me Be Your Star written by the openly gay song-writer Tom Levitt and his writing partner Julia Houston. (played by Christian Borle and Debra Messing) After their original song is accidentally released on the internet, a recently divorced producer by the name of Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) takes on the project as well as a homophobic slime-bag director named Derek Wills (Jack Davenport). Auditions for the role of Marilyn are held and two girls are called back, Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty). Karen is a young girl from Iowa, her only previous experience being in local midwest theaters. Ivy is a seasoned veteran who we can assume to have a BFA in theatre. Ivy has spent 10 years in the chorus of various musicals. 

When pilot season came around, Megan got a script about a television show about a Broadway musical. "I thought it was too good to be true," she says. But she almost didn't try out. In the description for the character of Ivy Lynn, it mentioned dance skills. Megan has notoriously botched many dance auditions. (At one, she just waved repeated an arm motions because she couldn't remember the rest) Her agent told her to just try it, and THANK GOODNESS she did! 

I can't even imagine the overwhelming emotions that Megan felt when she go the part. I can't even begin to describe how it felt, so I'll leave that to Megan; "I literally cried all night. I called my parents, I was sobbing uncontrollably and they thought something was wrong, and I said, 

'No it's a good thing, I'm just really emotional!'"

Megan's character is very complex, and very relatable. Ivy Lynn is definitely my favorite. She sleeps with the Derek, but it's not a one night stand sort of thing. She also gets her hands on some dangerous drugs when her voice becomes overworked and stressed, but she begins to abuse them. Ivy's mother could be one of the roots of her problems. Her mother, Lee Conroy (Bernadatte Peters) is a Broadway star and Ivy can't seem to get out of her shadow. Her mother can't seem to find a single encouraging thing to say to Ivy and I get the sense that Ivy was raised by nannies. When her character is called manipulative and conniving, this is Megan's response, " I can't judge the character like that. I can't think that she's manipulative or conniving. I have to look at it a different way, because i have to love her. In my mind I had to kind of rationalize [Ivy's] behavior as something along the lines of her being a victim of circumstance. She's backed into a corner because of these certain things and that's why she's behaving this way."

Comment Prompter: What is your favorite thing about Megan's "deeply flawed" character Ivy Lynn?

*Direct quotes came from PR and Cambio

 

Broadway Barbie: 9 to 5

"What would Dolly do?" When spending nearly two years remaking the movie character made famous by none other than Dolly Parton, Megan found herself thinking of the country sensation when making decisions. 

9 to 5

         After dropping into the starring role of a Broadway show made a hit by previous women, Megan ventured into the more exciting-and sometimes excruciatingly long- Broadway process. When Megan was in Toronto on tour with Wicked, her then-boyfriend asked her why she wasn't auditioning for the role of Doralee. The following day, the director, Joe Mantello, called asking if she would be a part of the first readings. That was two and a half years before the show hit Broadway. To add to the pressure of playing the oh-so iconic role, Dolly Parton was there throughout the entire process."It was extremely daunting in the beginning when I just got a phone call to be at one of the first readings...then I realized that Dolly was going to be in the room and I would have to do her role in front of her." But, Megan has been heard many times talking about how kind and generous Dolly was. 
        Dolly wrote all of score herself, and she had a very unique way of teaching the music. Typically, the cast is grouped around a piano and sight reads the music that is handed out in the form of a score. But Dolly sat down with her cast and sang with them. So, Dolly would sing a phrase, then Megan would sing it back to her. They would repeat this until Dolly felt that Megan had retained the song. Different, but to me that sounds better. On Dolly's work ethic, Megan says, "She was so supportive of just letting me do my thing and never telling me I was doing anything wrong. She was just like, 'Oh Honey, you're doin' fiiiiine.'"       

"She was just like, 'Oh Honey, you're doin' 

fiiiiine."

      

          All shows go through workshops and revisions, but Megan had never been a part of the traditional Broadway process before."There is something about being a part of the process from day one that you feel like the show is your child because you were there for its conception. You've put your handprint on a show." The famous song "Backwoods Barbie" was almost left out due to its extreme parallels to Dolly herself, but in the end it was decided that Doralee was a role written about Dolly, so the similarity wouldn't be a bad thing for Megan. 
         And of course, in playing the role originated by the curvy Dolly Parton, we knew the costuming would have to be fun! I mean, the D-cups, the hair, the tiny waist! But Megan said that the nails helped her get into character the best. "People think that's weird because the audience can't see them, but you act differently with those long nail on. You use your hands in a totally different way," says Megan. She even got to wear a waist cincher that made her waist 4 inches smaller, "As soon as I put it on I hold myself differently and breathe differently."
        Megan absolutely kills it on the 9 to 5 soundtrack. My dad actually thought Megan's "Backwoods Barbie" was Dolly Parton! Is there any role that Megan can't play?

Comment Prompter: If you could work with any celebrity on a Broadway show, who would it be?

*The direct quotes for this post came from interviews with GuestOfAGuest and NewYorkPost