Where do you go once you have cast Marilyn Monroe?
Monday night's "Smash" answered that, by casting Joe DiMaggio, in the show's musical-within-a-musical.
At first, Michael seems perfect for the part (he absolutely kills while singing Bruno Mars' "Grenade" onstage). But Julia isn't so sure.
In fact, she thinks the show could work without DiMaggio, to which Tom sarcastically replied that maybe there shouldn't be an Arthur Miller or JFK either – hey, no men at all, for that matter!
The reason she's hesitant about Michael, she ended up revealing, is that the two of them had an affair on a previous project.
This coincides with Ivy's relationship with Derek. Kudos to the writers for attacking the issue head-on: did she get the role because she slept with him?
Ivy worried about the relationship, but Derek seemed to have a reasonable explanation as to why she has never gone to his apartment, and promised that they could meet just to rehearse for the show sometime. Even so, Ivy's friend calling him "the evil director" may not be completely out of line.
As for Karen, she is set to be in the "ensemble" (a.k.a. the chorus), but in the meantime, went home to Iowa for a baby shower, where her friends treated her like the big Broadway star she isn't. Of course, we had to get at least one Katharine McPhee performance in, and it was a pretty good country karaoke performance of "Redneck Woman."
Despite Julia's misgivings, Michael got the part (obviously), and his duet with Ivy's Marilyn was very sweet, in a "Sound of Music" kind of way.
I have to say, though, it's a bit early on in the show for an episode like this, with only one performance from the actual musical. I guess they have to pace themselves.
Are you looking forward to seeing who gets to play Miller and JFK? Wondering where all this is going with Ellis' constant eavesdropping on Julia and Tom? Curious to see what Nick Jonas will bring to "Smash" next week? Share your iReport or comment below.