Raza Jaffrey News

Megan Hilty, who plays Ivy on NBC's SMASH, where her character was recently cast in the leading role of Marilyn Monroe, has released a studio recorded cover of 'Breakaway.' The song aired during a recent episode, and Perez Hilton has released the full version online.

Next week on SMASH, Karen (Katharine McPhee) finds herself seduced by the glamorous life of new BFF Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman)- but can Rebecca be trusted? What will Karen's ascent mean to her relationship with Dev (Raza Jaffrey)? And will Rebecca drive Derek (Jack Davenport) insane? Eileen (Anjelica Huston) introduces new beau Nick (guest star Thorsten Kaye) to ex-husband Jerry (guest star Michael Cristofer), while Julia (Debra Messing) panics when her son Leo (Emory Cohen) goes missing. Check out a scene from the episode below, in wihich Derek gives Rebecca a piece of his mind.

New details for the upcoming April 23 episode of SMASH have been revealed on EW.com. According to the report, NBC's musical drama will be paying homage to 'Bollywood', the colorful movie genre of India.

Next week on SMASH, Karen (Katharine McPhee) finds herself seduced by the glamorous life of new BFF Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman)- but can Rebecca be trusted? What will Karen's ascent mean to her relationship with Dev (Raza Jaffrey)? And will Rebecca drive Derek (Jack Davenport) insane? Eileen (Anjelica Huston) introduces new beau Nick (guest star Thorsten Kaye) to ex-husband Jerry (guest star Michael Cristofer), while Julia (Debra Messing) panics when her son Leo (Emory Cohen) goes missing. Check out a sneak peek of the eppisode below!

"Now, there's a movie star!" quoth Eileen (Anjelica Huston) of Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman) following her breathy and spastic performance of a new Julia/Tom musical number for the Marilyn Monroe-based musical-within-the-show on SMASH - BOMBSHELL - titled "Dig Deep". While last night's "The Movie Star" episode of NBC's musical dramedy series SMASH was light on the musical numbers - only Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Rebecca managed a musical moment - the drama was dense and delectable, with the rapport between the motley crew of characters comprising the enterprise improving by the week (and it started strong). Yet, despite the best efforts of Eileen, Tom (Christian Borle), Julia (Debra Messing) and Derek (Jack Davenport) in attempting to create a new version of the Marilyn musical that showcases her best (and limited) abilities. Rebecca is a tentative talent who lacks a lot in the vocal and dance departments - to say the least - yet it is undeniable that she also possesses a certain air of a star - perhaps because she is one; on SMASH (as in real life, given Thurman's A-list status), a big one. Portraying the movie star trying out a Broadway show for the first - and, most likely, last - time, Thurman brings a caustic, nutsy vibe to the seemingly bipolar screen siren - "36-ish", meaning more like 40-ish in actuality - and gives gravitas to the cartoonishly written role. Just as the Marilyn musical has shown its astonishing, chameleon-like adaptability in its iterations starring Karen and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) - not only in its star, but also in its style, sound, mood, conception and musical arrangements - now BOMBSHELL is being retrofitted for Rebecca. But, at what cost? Stripping the show of its big Broadway leading lady musical potential and showing off the supporting cast to take the focus off of the shaky star at the center, BOMBSHELL's "Dig Deep" yet again gave the simply astounding songwriting duo responsible for the songs of the shows-within-the-shows on SMASH (including all of the BOMBSHELL songstack heard and seen so far, as well as the glimpses at the previous Tom/Julia collaborations, HEAVEN & EARTH and THREE ON A MATCH) "Dig Deep" was a WEST SIDE STORY-esque hot jazz song complete with the syncopation and stylization implicit in the best songs of the Actors Studio era which the 50s-set scene set out to depict (Lee Strasberg and all).

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.

The new featured song from last night'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.

Ending on a nod to Michael Bennett's heart-stopping coup de theatre Act One Finale to DREAMGIRLS - with the button of Karen (Katharine McPhee)'s exquisitely and evocatively emotional "Never Give All The Heart" giving way to a grand diva entrance for the highly anticipated debut of special SMASH guest star, Uma Thurman, who took the applause (and generated even more awe for the moment, in turn) - last night's "The Understudy" episode of NBC's hit musical dramedy series SMASH was one of the strongest episodes since the first few, with three new outstanding Marc Shaiman/Scott Wittman songs as well as Megan Hilty's sensitive cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway". In addition to the mega-wattage jolt of the final few moments provided by PULP FICTION and KILL BILL movie icon Thurman, we were also treated to another new multi-arc guest star in the guise of Tony Award-winning LES MIZ and CATS lead Terrence Mann. "The Understudy" had a central focus on many of the stronger dramatic, thematic and musical touchstones of the series so far and with even a cursory consideration of cumulative of content to date it is clear to witness that we are seeing major pay-offs for many story arcs and plot elements buried as far back as the stupendous pilot episode. Indeed, with Christian Borle, Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee all given a big musical moment, the plot and music were drawn together pleasingly and privatively - particularly in the aforementioned crowning achievement of "Never Give All The Heart"; perhaps the finest ballad from BOMBSHELL, the Marilyn Monroe show-within-the-series, yet presented on SMASH. Each week, the elements we enjoy most seem to be amplified while the lesser subject matter is strengthened by new plot developments and enhanced perspective due to the various circumstances concerning the cast of characters. Let's go one by one through the cast and see where we have ended up since the pilot as we had into the final third of SMASH Season One.

On the April 9th episode of NBC's musical drama series SMASH entitled 'Understudy', 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.

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz guest starred on the April 2 episode of NBC's SMASH. Watch his performance in the video below!

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.

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)'.

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.

Today we are continuing BroadwayWorld's extensive coverage of NBC's hit musical drama series SMASH with a new entry in our ever-expanding collection of interviews with the cast, creative team and guest stars of the Broadway-based show - don't forget to check out the previous InDepth InterView with songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, as well (available here) - by talking to the leading lady of the show-within-the-show on SMASH itself all about her role on the series; the blonde bombshell of BOMBSHELL, Megan Hilty. In this candid conversation, Hilty and I discuss portraying a musical Marilyn Monroe and the volatile Broadway star playing her, Ivy Lynn, as well as her own personal experiences working on SMASH as we look ahead to the upcoming episodes which will feature the biggest musical sequence on the series so far and will also include guest appearances by Norbert Leo Butz, Marc Kudisch, Uma Thurman and more as BOMBSHELL heads towards its long-awaited big Boston tryout for the season finale. Additionally, Hilty and I take a look back at her prior musical theatre appearances, winning hearts the country over in her starring roles in WICKED and 9-TO-5 on Broadway, in LA and on tour - both under the direction of master director Joe Mantello - and, also, take a look ahead to the forthcoming Encores! GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, which she will be headlining later this Spring. Plus, Hilty shares her experiences working with this week's SMASH guest star and Tony-winning legend Bernadette Peters and reflects on her forthcoming Disney animated film in the TINKER BELL series that features another dynamic diva, her SMASH co-star and fellow participant in this column, Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston (our interview coming up next week) - as well as touching on DOROTHY OF OZ (co-starring Lea Michele), her new animated TV project for Nickelodeon - ROBOTS & MONSTERS - and first news of a solo album coming soon. All of that and much, much more!

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. NBC also provides episode recaps, games, photos, videos, musical performance highlights and even fan challenges each week at http://www.nbc.com/smash/.