Following on from the initial success of the musical dramedy Glee on Fox, NBC in a surprisingly risky move developed its own more grown up version called Smash, based on the infamous world of New York's stage musicals. The show about bringing an original 'Marilyn Monroe' musical called 'Bombshell' to the dazzling lights of Broadway debuted in February 2012 and ran for two seasons.
Original costume worn by Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn in Smash
The series primarily saw experienced chorus girl 'Ivy Lynn' played by Megan Hilty vying for the starring role as Marilyn against newcomer 'Karen Cartwright' (Katherine McPhee), alongside an impressive cast which included Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing, Jack Davenport and Christian Borle.
In the second season Ivy landed her dream role as the lead in Bombshell and wore this sparkling starburst dress in the twelfth episode, 'Opening Night', at a party for the stage musical's debut. Joseph G. Aulisi was Costume Designer on season two of the show.
The show enjoyed mixed reviews and lower ratings as the seasons progressed, even with a bit of a season two reboot which removed most of the annoying characters and tried to fix the problems with the musical drama, but by that stage it was too late, which is a shame as I loved the show and its journey to Broadway storyline and original songs.
I hope we'll see more costumes from Smash, like this dazzling dress on display on April 15, 2014, at Universal Studios Hollywood's costume and prop archive exhibit in the future.
Smash season one TV billboard
If you're also a fan of musical theatre and their big screen adaptations, be sure to also check out these
costumes and props from Mamma Mia The Movie, original
Oscar-nominated film costumes from Les Miserables and more besides.
