UPLIFTING: Katharine McPhee as the leading-lady-wannabe in “Smash” secretly stumbles on a major talent. (Craig Blankenhorn/NBC)
‘Smash,’ the Broadway musical TV show, wasn’t the first season. A smash, I mean.
Annoying characters, a pat story line and the whole “I gotta sing! I gotta dance! I gotta be a star!” aspect was as annoying as being trapped in a high-school theater club meeting.
The producers sensed that fans were getting ready to close this show and have come back this season with a newer, more modern version of the old show.
Getting a lion’s share of TV face time is The Post’s own Broadway columnist Michael Riedel playing The Post’s Broadway columnist Michael Riedel.
In fact, Riedel and Broadway powerhouse producer Jordan Roth, also playing himself, tend to steal the spotlight when they’re on-screen.
This year, the musical that consumed all of last season, “Bombshell,” is still taking longer to mount than “Spider Man Turn Off the Dark.
The show’s producer, Eileen Rand (played by Anjelica Huston, as opposed to Debra Messing, who plays Julia Houston ), has gotten into trouble because some of the angels for her show are devils of the broken-nose kind.
But that doesn’t stop her — even if it means she has to let the hated ex-husband in on the action, and let him cash in with dough.
Meantime, Derek (Jack Davenport) is being accused of sexual harassment, so he’s also persona non grata around the snippy Broadway types.
Competing wannabe-Marilyns — Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) — are still battling, although Karen did score the role for the out-of-town tryouts last season.
Speaking of which, the out-of-town critics loved the music written by Tom (Christian Borle), but hated Julia’s writing, which has left her bereft. But not nearly as bereft as her troubled marriage has.
Into the show-within-a-show comes angry bartender Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan), who happens to be the greatest undiscovered Broadway composer in the world.
Jimmy is writing a musical with his roommate Kyle (Andy Mientus), but doesn’t want anyone to know.
Whoops. While drowning her sorrows with water at the bar where they work, Karen mistakenly hears Jimmy at the piano after closing time singing his songs and is blown away.
But he’s always angry and so gets furious with Karen. Why? I can’t say. The needless argument just doesn’t work.
I must confess that as someone whose least favorite night on the town is to take in a Broadway musical, I decided to once again defer to the Love Interest/musical lover on this and he really loves the changes in “Smash” this year. As do my friends at work.
Lots of big names this season including the great Jennifer Hudson who is always better than anyone has the right to be.
Ditto Megan Hilty whose killer voice can make you love musicals — even if seeing one makes you want to kill yourself. She’s that good.
New season, more promise. Good start. But seriously? Fewer plot-lines would be even better.