I Saw 3 of Broadway's Buzziest Shows of the Year—2 Were Incredible and the Other Was...Oof

Whether you’re a fan of the hit TV show Smash that starred Megan Hilty and Kat McPhee or not, Smash the Broadway musical is a must-see. My one piece of advice before you go? If you have seen the TV show, forget everything you watched. While this new musical is inspired by the TV version, it is a wildly different story (and tone). Yes, they are both based on efforts to create a musical about Marilyn Monroe called Bombshell and, yes, the lead characters are named Ivy and Karen. But the similarities end there.

Smash on Broadway is so much fun—and genuinely funny. The writing is super smart and the plot twists and developments are quite clever. And, most importantly, the performances are top notch. While there are a number of Broadway vets up on the stage (like the fabulous Kristine Nielsen), the show is lacking in the “big name” department—which I think is a plus. In a season full of Audras and Idinas and Nicoles, this show delivers a slew of lesser-known faces with solid acting chops and incredible vocals.

The musical follows the creation (the writing, the rehearsals, the backstage drama) of a new show about Monroe. Robyn Hurder plays Ivy, the lead actress of the musical, who goes off the deep end when a book about Monroe inspires her to hire an acting coach and go 100% “Method.” Comedy and some really great songs ensue (yes, “Let Me Be Your Star” is in there…multiple times).

If you want a fun night out with guaranteed laughs and memorable tunes, Smash should be at the top of your list.

PureWow Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The most-talked-about show of the year has to be Oh, Mary! starring the comedic genius Cole Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln in a ridiculous reimagining of our country’s former first lady. And when I say talked about, I mean it. Every major star has been photographed attending the show (from Jennifer Aniston to Whoopi Goldberg) making it the hottest ticket in town.

But with all the hype, does the show deliver? Yes, and then some. Escola storms the stage as a foul-mouthed, over-the-top Mary who pines for the spotlight (she wants to be a cabaret star) while her famous husband Abe carries on a secret affair. The scenes are nonsensical, loud and downright hilarious (I don’t throw that word around lightly). Do you want to bring the kids to this show? Probably no. Do you want to bring your conservative aunt to the show? Well, why not? It’ll be fun to watch her squirm.

The energy, the writing and the performances (plus a digestible 80-minute runtime) make this “play” a must-see. (I put “play” in quotes here as Oh, Mary! lives more in the sketch comedy world than the serious play world, and I’m not mad about it.) Oh, and rush to see it with Escola while you can—they are back in the lead role for a limited time after a brief hiatus that gave us Betty Gilpin and Tituss Burgess as the unsinkable Mary Todd. And while I’m sure Gilpin and Burgess brought their own je ne sais quoi to the role, Escola’s Mary will haunt me / live rent free in my mind for years to come.

PureWow Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Oof, you guys. First of all, let me say that I love Idina Menzel. Sadly, I did not love her new musical, Redwood. The show runs a whopping 110 minutes without an intermission. (Something tells me this was a strategic move to avoid people leaving at intermission.)

The concept is tough to begin with: a grieving mother decides to live in a tree so she can process recent tragic events and battle her demons. So, yes, much of the show involves Menzel’s character living alone in a tree. Perhaps this all could have led to an interesting story, except for the fact that this protagonist is wildly selfish and unlikable from the jump. She abandons her wife and her job without even letting them know. She is purposely annoying, spoiled and nagging in book scenes as she tries to convince two environmentalists to let her climb the redwood. We’re somehow supposed to care about an awful person simply because she’s having a tough go of it. Sadly, I did not care, making it a painful (and long) journey to witness.

The music? It’s telling that there was only polite applause after each number until the actor who plays her son, Zachary Noah Piser, finally got a chance to deliver an incredible eleven o’clock number (though it felt like one in the morning by that point) that genuinely impressed and surprised the then-sleepy audience. Speaking of eleven o’clock numbers, Menzel had about fourteen of them. Every song she sang had the same over-the-top, soaring (yet somehow generic) message that had me thinking, Surely we’re close to the end… Alas, we were not.

Two positives besides Piser? Menzel should be commended for the physical feat of climbing that redwood. She swings across the stage impressively as she hoists herself to the canopy above. Also, the stage design and projections are truly incredible. The magic created visually with the tree and the woods really is something to behold. Sadly, neither Menzel’s tree climbing nor the visuals were enough to make this musical about a woman in a tree really bloom.

PureWow Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Smash is now playing at the Imperial Theatre. Oh, Mary! is now playing at the Lyceum Theatre. And Redwood is now playing at the Nederlander Theatre.

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