Debra Messing News

The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University announced today a distinguished list of alumni will attend their annual gala, Ordinary Miraculous: Celebrating Vision, on April 19th at the New York Marriott Marquis. Those scheduled to participate so far include Martin Scorsese and Alec Baldwin. For the past two decades, Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell has served as a pioneer in arts education. This year's gala event will applaud her transformational leadership and celebrate the school's faculty, students and alumni.

Next week on SMASH, the show has landed a star, the mercurial Rebecca Duvall (guest star Uma Thurman), but Eileen (Anjelica Huston) is thrown into a panic when Rebecca gets stuck in Cuba. Derek (Jack Davenport) puts Karen (Katharine McPhee) in as understudy, but she must learn to perform under extreme pressure as he threatens to break her will. Tom and Julia (Christian Borle and Debra Messing) celebrate their anniversary with a ritual - and face some hard truths about what show business can do to relationships. Check out a sneak peek below!

Last night on SMASH, The team began their pursuit of a marquee star, as Eileen (Anjelica Huston) charged Tom and Julia (Christian Borle and Debra Messing) with finding a title for the newly reinvigorated musical. Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) found themselves in competition again -- this time for an orange juice commercial. Relationship troubles were abound, as Frank (Brian d'Arcy James) made an unwelcome discovery. Miss the epiosde? Catch up below!

"What we did together exploded my whole life like a bombshell," a rain-soaked Julia related to former paramour with whom she recently rekindled a romance, Michael (Broadway notable Will Chase; the former Joe DiMaggio of the Marilyn Monroe musical at the core), qualified by saying, "but I'm not letting anyone say it was not my fault." And so goes the trajectory of SMASH so far - trepidatious and unsure as often as rhapsodically exhilarating and exuberantly entertaining, at almost equal turns; falling short more often than not in many of the melodramatic subplots, excelling with the effortless ease of a surefire hit in the musical sequences and rehearsal scenes of the gestating musical central to the series as a whole. Recently revealed in this very column late last month by SMASH stars Megan Hilty and Anjelica Huston, the confirmed title of the show-within-the-show on SMASH is BOMBSHELL, which is all too an apt a title for a musical arising amidst the war-torn landscape of Broadway in the soapy bathtub stew with everything but the kitchen sink itself that is the universe of SMASH, for better and worse - particularly insofar this group of drama queens and kings is concerned. Such is the nature of SMASH itself - in embracing its flaws it may find its ultimate salvation. Amp up the camp and dial down the drama; pump up the music and pull the shade on secondary subplots; and, please, evict Ellis. Sometimes it takes a few shots to hit the target and every at bat cannot be a home run, but Episode 9 gave us some pleasing development to plotlines that could have fallen by the wayside on a lesser series.

BC and Columbia Records announced that the soundtrack from the first season of NBC's musical hit SMASH (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) will be released on May 1.

Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN opened last night, Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre for a strictly limited 18 week engagement is directed by Drama Desk Award winner Michael Wilson (The Orphans Home Cycle Part I, II and III, Dividing The Estate). Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN comes to Broadway in an all-star theatrical event with two time Tony Award winner James Earl Jones, Tony and Emmy Award winner John Larroquette, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Candice Bergen, Emmy Award winner Eric McCormack, Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays, Drama Desk Award winner Michael McKean and five time Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the arrivals and brings you photo coverage below!

On the April 2 episode of SMASH, Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) find themselves in competition again - this time for an orange juice commercial, but the two actresses let loose after a long, hard, work day in the middle of Times Square with their rendition of Rihanna's 'Cheers (Drink to That)'.

Former '90210' stars Shannen Doherty ('Shannen Says') and Tori Spelling (author, CelebraTORI), Rachel Dratch (author, Girl Walks Into A Bar), Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley (author, Can't Is Not an Option), Randy Jackson ('American Idol'), Christie Brinkley (Broadway's 'Chicago') are featured APRIL 2-6 on THE VIEW.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's extensive coverage of NBC's musical dramedy series SMASH by talking to an Oscar-winning actress known for her genre-spanning performances in CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS, THE WITCHES, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, PRIZZI'S HONOR and THE GRIFTERS - among many other notable performances - the simply divine Anjelica Huston. Sharing stories about her famous family - father, director and actor John Huston; grandfather, stage and screen actor Walter Huston - Huston opens up about her experiences preparing for the tailor-made role of Eileen Rand on SMASH and drops some hints about the future for her character, in business and romance, as well as what we can expect her to sing in a future episode - the classic Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson gem originally written for her grandfather in KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY, "September Song". Additionally, Huston recalls previously musically collaborating onscreen with stupendous SMASH songwriter Marc Shaiman on THE ADDAMS FAMILY (remember The Mamoushka?) and reflects on her unforgettable role in the Stephen Frears modern classic THE GRIFTERS. Plus, Huston's memories of performing Shakespeare on Broadway, her reaction to Stephen Sondheim's insights on her father in his recent book, and much, much more!

Next week on SMASH, The team begins their pursuit of a marquee star, as Eileen (Anjelica Huston) charges Tom and Julia (Christian Borle and Debra Messing) with finding a title for the newly reinvigorated musical. Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) find themselves in competition again -- this time for an orange juice commercial. Relationship troubles abound, as Frank (Brian d'Arcy James) makes an unwelcome discovery.

Last night on SMASH, the team dealt with the aftermath of the workshop. Ivy (Megan Hilty) remained in the dark about her fate, while Derek (Jack Davenport) recruited Karen (Katharine McPhee) to help him steal the musical from Tom and Julia (Christian Borle and Debra Messing). Eileen (Anjelica Huston) had to face up to her ex-husband, Jerry (guest star Michael Cristofer), when their daughter Katie (guest star Grace Gummer) payed a surprise visit from India. Miss the episode? Catch up beow!

Sporadically shedding its former skin as a mainly musical endeavor, last night's "The Coup" episode of NBC's musical dramedy series SMASH stepped outside the box and presented a drama-focused show heavy on the plot and light on the musical numbers - with surprisingly strong results, believe it or not. As has become abundantly apparent, in the seven episodes up until this point, SMASH seems to have excelled in its musical sequences which floated high, flying, adored (like Eva Peron in EVITA) above everything else; enlivening the proceedings where the story fell short - usually, with Ivy (Megan Hilty) dominating the Marilyn Monroe show-within-the-show songs and Karen (Katharine McPhee) making the very most of an impressive melange of pop covers - but, as penned by Scott Burkhardt and directed by GLEE veteran Paris Barclay, "The Coup" showed that SMASH has legs and can sustain a character/plot-focused story from time to time, too. And, anyway, it's hard to complain too much about a lack of songs when we were presented with perhaps the most unique and stylized pop musical number to date in the form of the Top 40-ready Ryan Tedder-written potential Marilyn burlesque routine - that is, if Derek (Jack Davenport) takes the show-within-the-show in an entirely new direction and leaves Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) by the wayside. That potential prospect seems highly unlikely, though - to say the very, very least. Speaking of high, "The Coup" flew the coop as far as daring to do what many may have thought unlikely or impossible - namely, weaving in almost seamless, fully-integrated musical sequences such as Ivy & company's down and dirty bowling alley cover song set to the funky 60s sounds of Sly & The Family Stone's "Dance To The Music", or, (almost) effortlessly managing to make a contemporary song in a musical theatre milieu actually function (more or less) and come alive in the form of the sexy and titillating 'Touch Me'. Yes, "The Coup" stylistically diverged from what has come before on SMASH, but the more risks taken, the more rewards reaped. Definitely don't count all the eggs in the SMASH basket before they're hatched!

The new featured song from tonight's episode of NBC's musical drama series SMASH (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) is now available from NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products and Columbia Records on the iTunes store at http://www.itunes.com/NBCSmash.

On the March 26th episode of the NBC musical drama series SMASH entitled 'The Coup' Eileen (Anjelica Huston) finds time to settle into her new hip Lower East Side apartment with the help of her new best friend, Ellis and her daughter Katie (actress Grace Gummer) who pays a surprise visit from India.

Next week on SMASH, the team deals with what happens after the workshop of Marilyn, Karen becomes an accomplice in Derek's shady strategy, Frank does his best to put Juliet at ease and Eileen receives a surprise visitor. Watch the preview clips of the episode below!

On the March 26th episode of the NBC musical drama series SMASH entitled 'The Coup' Eileen (Anjelica Huston) finds time to settle into her new hip Lower East Side apartment with the help of her new best friend, Ellis and her daughter Katie (actress Grace Gummer) who pays a surprise visit from India.

Deadline reports that SMASH creator and executive producer Theresa Rebeck will step down as showrunner for the television show before it returns for its recently announced second season. Rebeck will remain an executive producer of the show, but will not be as extensively involved in the day-to-day production of the series.

NBC has renewed its critically acclaimed musical drama "Smash" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) for a second season, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of NBC Entertainment.

Next week on SMASH, the team deals with the aftermath of the workshop. Ivy (Megan Hilty) remains in the dark about her fate, while Derek (Jack Davenport) recruits Karen (Katharine McPhee) to help him steal the musical from Tom and Julia (Christian Borle and Debra Messing). Eileen (Anjelica Huston) must face up to her ex-husband, Jerry (guest star Michael Cristofer), when their daughter Katie (guest star Grace Gummer) pays a surprise visit from India. Check out a sneak peek of the upcoming episode below! This upcoming episode marks the first time that we hear Tony nominee Brain d'Arcy James sing on the series, and you can check out a preview below!

Tensions are rising between Smash's Karen Cartwright and Ivy Lynn after Karen was asked to preview a new vision for MARILYN The Musical and Ivy was informed that her replacement was inevitable. In this week's upcoming episode, it seems the tables will start to turn, as Karen and Ivy bond in Times Square. BroadwayWorld visited the Times Square set back in December when the episode was filmed to get some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the team. Check out a preview of what's to come below!