That is why I'm writing this to you
JULIA: Previously on Smash...
Just tell him how bad it is and we can make it better.
Please.
We said we'd go with whatever Eileen chose.
And I did. And I agree.
You want to direct this show so much?
Well, now's your chance. I quit.
Jerry was paying Ellis for information so that then he could take Bombshell over.
Caught in the storm You can't do it.
But it isn't interfering with rehearsals.
And it's not going to either.
I'm still a part of the show. I just can't be in it right now.
Yeah, we need to find a replacement.
SCOTT: I'm the artistic director at Manhattan Theater Workshop.
It's just the kind of project that I look for.
Who's the director? We don't have one.
Yeah, you do.
WOMAN AND JIMMY: We can start over Better
Both of us know
If we just let the broken pieces
Let the broken pieces
BOTH: Let the broken pieces
Go
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS QUIETLY)
Thank you. That was lovely.
Yeah. Not too shabby.
You, too.
I think I saw Scott smile. But it could have been a pity smile.
Thanks for coming and running it for us.
Okay, what's the verdict?
We got a slot this season?
Let me talk about it with my team. My office, 10 minutes?
Sure.
Okay, I'm gonna need someone to come upstairs and take notes.
Can I get a decent cup of coffee?
'Cause this one tastes like soap.
I'm Blake, the lighting designer?
Mmm. Well done.
We sort of get our own coffee around here.
Right.
Loved the show, BTW.
Thank you so much.
I will gladly get you coffee anytime.
(CHUCKLES)
You might want to wait outside.
We have an educational outreach program in here every Tuesday.
Of course you do.
You want some of this?
I'd love a skim cappuccino with an extra shot and two Splendas, thank you.
Okay, here she is.
Marilyn the star, showing up for work on Some Like It Hot.
Walking onto the set for the first time.
Very Jayne Mansfield in The Girl Can't Help It.
Really? I don't see it that way at all.
You don't see...
Never mind. Anyway, what I'm going for is,
"To hell with all of you, I'm here!"
But isn't this when things are going terribly wrong for her? Everyone on set hated her.
She was hiding out in her trailer, popping pills.
Yeah, but we don't want to telegraph that.
So she's putting on a brave face.
So when she says,
"Here she is, boys, Marilyn Monroe in the flesh," she's up?
Trying to be. Like... (INHALES DEEPLY)
"Here she is, boys, Marilyn Monroe in the flesh!"
Did he just give her a line reading?
Derek used to say... Derek isn't here anymore.
Yeah. I know.
Tom, the new choreographer has a question.
Let's set up for National Pastime.
(GIGGLES)
(ALL WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
Are you sure you want to hire a new choreographer while we're waiting?
It's been three weeks.
You really think Derek's gonna grant me permission to use his choreography?
'Cause I don't.
So I have to move forward.
Derek is going to sign the contract.
He's petty and sadistic, it'll never happen.
Ooh, maybe that's how I should connect with Karen?
Or talk with a British accent?
I've seen it. Don't do that.
(EXHALES) It's like we're speaking different languages.
We need a translator.
You know what, don't focus on that right now.
Think of the show. It's fantastic.
And the best part of it?
(IN NEW YORK CITY ACCENT) You're the director. (BOTH LAUGHING)
It is fun, right?
Oh, my God. So fun.
And you don't miss that stuff with Marilyn and her mother, right?
It's working great without it.
They're ready for you.
Karen! (CLEARS THROAT) One last thing.
I want you to just think about...
Okay, Terry, in act two, in the garden scene,
when you approach Tourvel, don't turn upstage. I lose your face.
Timothy, a thought. Hear me out.
What if, in that scene, Valmont had smallpox?
Now, I know that sounds crazy, but it is 100% historically accurate.
No.
Maybe just the early stages. Just a few pocks?
Too much?
Yeah, okay.
TIMOTHY: Okay, moving on.
It's incredible. You're like the Terry whisperer.
We owe you big time, Ivy. This thing might run.
TIMOTHY: Third act. The beginning of third needs a real punch. Yes?
One pock.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
Peanuts!
Hot dogs!
Crackerjack!
I don't care I don't care if I ever get back!
What the hell am I watching?
Isn't this great? It's got so much energy. It's like they're levitating.
I feel like I'm being shot by a firing squad. What happened to the sex?
That thing they did with the bats?
I had to avoid Derek's choreography. For legal reasons.
But if you get Derek to sign the contracts you gave him, we could go back to it.
Yes, my style and my fashion will
Elevate the national pastime
TOM: Really well done, Karen. Uh...
I'm still not getting that "come hither" thing we talked about,
but it's close.
Well, maybe you'd see it more if I wasn't
jumping up and down the whole time?
Well, it's a state of mind, not a look.
Let me be you. Great.
So how is everyone today?
I gotta be honest, not good.
You said Tom was the right choice to direct,
but I don't like what I'm seeing.
You've only been here 10 minutes.
In that time, he has demonstrated bad judgment
and made our star uncomfortable.
I thought you said he was good with actors.
He's just nervous, he's trying to impress you. Give him a little time.
We don't have time.
We're going into tech soon.
Without the right person at the helm, this ship will go down.
Tom will pull it together.
You'll see.
He better.
I'm not encouraged.
(SIGHS) What a vile human being. I feel filthy just talking to him.
How long till we're rid of him?
Katie and I are going to go see the lawyers later today.
What do I do if Jerry fires Tom before you get back?
Tom needs Karen to respect him.
If Karen respects him, everyone else will.
And if she doesn't?
Punch, punch.
Give me till the end of the day.
I have a feeling everything's going to change.
KAREN: So, it's punch, punch, punch?
Yeah, yeah. But it's just kind of like if you're up and you're down...
And it's like, before you even know it...
Oh, dear.
I still love the show, of course, and now my team does as well.
But after talking about it, we think it might play better in our underground space.
What, you mean that 80-seat hovel we were just in?
It's where we run new work for our younger subscribers
alongside the main stage productions.
Great. Hit List is fresh. It's smart, it's vibrant.
But it doesn't have much in the way of an overriding theme.
We like our main stage pieces to be more universal.
Uh-huh. I get it. Totally.
I don't. I don't.
Our research has proven that if our older members can't relate to the subject matter,
we have a hard time getting them to renew.
As a nonprofit, we need them around.
I would've thought a good show might keep them around. Just a thought.
I know it may not feel like this,
but I'm actually trying to protect what you have.
Maybe move it upstairs next season.
Yeah, that doesn't work for me, Scott.
I might have left Broadway, but I did not do it for 80 seats.
Look, I meet with the board at the end of the week
to let them know which way we're going.
I hope inspiration strikes before that.
Okay, so you understand what the man's looking for, right?
Oh, yeah. Us starting from scratch.
No, he just wants you to articulate your theme more clearly.
It can be small.
Rent added a narrator after its workshop, and they got to Broadway.
So we'll add a narrator. Oh, wait, no, we won't,
because that is a terrible idea.
We don't need to spell out our theme.
Don't listen to him. He's not good with feedback.
We'll do whatever you want.
Seriously, if you nod your head any harder,
it is gonna pop off of your body.
Do you think this is a joke?
No, I think this should be a conversation,
not just you telling us what to do.
Well, I'm a director. So I think this is exactly how it should go.
I don't see what is so bad about
putting up a show in an 80-seat theater and seeing how it goes.
You have just come from the Fringe. All right?
This is supposed to be a step up, not sideways.
This show is too good for 80 seats.
What, the show is, or you are?
Well, funny enough, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
I can tell you right now, the only reason the show seemed small today
was 'cause Karen wasn't there.
Ana's good, but she doesn't have what Karen has.
Thank you, Derek, we'll think it all over.
Good. You can give me your answer tomorrow night.
I've got comps for the opening night of Liaisons.
And since that's a small chamber piece,
that apparently completely reinvented itself as a big musical,
without changing a word,
I would say it's mandatory viewing. Wouldn't you?
The Broadway Theater, 7:00.
EILEEN: Damn lawyers.
Can't believe they've come up with nothing after all this time.
I know you don't want to hear it, but I could talk to him.
We've been through this, Katie.
He's never been able to say no to me.
I never wanted you to know all this had happened.
I don't want to put you in the middle of it.
I'm already in the middle of it. I'm your child.
Listen, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life.
Somehow I've managed not to screw you up, and I'm not gonna start now.
So that's it? He just gets away with it?
(SIGHS) Well, I do have one last idea.
Although I didn't want to have to resort to it.
TERRY: (SINGING POORLY) The pantry was the place
A serving wench, Suzette
Taught me a brand-new recipe
Then had me serve it to her on brochette
And so I say to all the crying cuckolds
My God, this is boring.
IVY: Didn't have to be.
And ce n'est pas ma faute
(AUDIENCE MEMBERS COUGHING)
Was it really that bad? It's not bad.
It's just not you.
And Tom and I aren't connecting.
He's trying to be respectful of the work you and I did together.
And at the same time, putting his own mark on it. But it's just confusing.
Wouldn't be confusing if you'd left with me.
Gwen Verdon would have bailed if Fosse quit.
Oh, so now you're Fosse, huh?
(SIGHS) I saw Hit List so clearly, but it's all out of focus now.
The boys will figure it out.
Yeah, the boys need to grow up.
I've hit a wall with those little bastards.
I'll see what I can do.
Thank you.
We're at a dead end.
Oh!
Eileen, I'm so sorry.
I know.
What do we do now?
We're going to have to pull the plug on the show.
I'm sorry?
You and Tom control the material.
You can walk away, threaten to shut down the show.
It's the only thing that's gonna force Jerry's hand.
What if it doesn't work? We'd have no show.
Well, it's not ours anyway.
It's not your show. It's still mine.
It's not the version you wanted.
This is a choreography contract that Jerry was supposed to send to Derek.
He didn't send it 'cause he wants Derek back.
He's betting against Tom.
Mmm-hmm.
I can't let that happen.
That's why you have to shut down the show.
No.
Not yet.
What if we make it more clearly about fame,
about how people will do anything to get it?
Wait, so the song about fame and what people do to get it doesn't do that?
If you're not going to help me, you can at least stop mocking me.
(SCOFFS) (KNOCKING AT DOOR)
I'm not mocking you, I just think this is pointless.
Hi.
What are you doing here?
I was just gonna lie and say I was in the neighborhood.
Yeah, I always tell people I'm going to lie before I do it.
Really catches them off guard.
(CHUCKLES) So how's everything going? Caffeine?
Uh, with the show? It's...
Great, great. Ana's killing it.
I know. She's amazing.
But Derek said you guys were...
Ah, of course. He sent you here to come check up on us.
I just want to help.
Then where have you been the past three weeks?
Okay.
It's been really intense at Bombshell with Derek gone.
Yeah, well, I wish I could say we're all the better for having him, but...
Did you really think you weren't going to have to rewrite anything?
People do it all the time. They've been rewriting Bombshell,
it's been over a year. Yeah, exactly.
Sometimes the work gets better.
And sometimes it doesn't. You know what?
As nice as it is to see you, this isn't your problem.
Maybe it would be if you were still in the show, but...
You're right. Sorry.
The theme you're looking for? It's already there. It's about reinvention.
Changing who you are, your destiny.
Mmm. Unfortunately, that isn't universal,
'cause people don't really do that, do they?
The board told me I could have one slot of my own to show my point of view.
But it has to be a home run.
If I fail, it's right back to regional theater.
The last artistic director only lasted a year.
Oh, I saw his season.
Trust me, it was the right call. (CELL PHONE CHIMES)
Oh, I'll be right back. All right, mate.
Oh! Sorry.
Scott.
Julia.
What are you doing here?
I heard that you moved back to New York. Congrats on the job.
Thanks.
I meant to call.
Listen, I... Oh, no, no, no. Go, go, go.
I'll get in touch. Maybe we can have coffee?
Sure. Try my office. They'll set that up.
Okay.
Julia. To what do I owe this honor?
Well, since you've ignored our calls,
I thought I might bring these contracts to you in person.
Tom too frightened to come himself?
Too busy. You can sign right there.
Oh, I don't think so.
Oh, no, I'll have to read this over. Think about it.
It's my reputation that's on the line.
I've got no idea what direction Tom is taking the show in.
Everyone is very happy with it.
Oh, yeah? Mmm-hmm.
Are you? Of course.
So that work you did with Peter, the best work of your career,
you're totally okay that Tom and Eileen are just tossing that out?
Stop trying to be so provocative.
Since you've left, he's incorporated a lot of my version.
Not Marilyn's mother, though.
I have my spies.
I know how much you wanted her in.
You chose to leave.
Yeah, well, they left me no other option, okay?
Stop playing games, okay?
If you want to come back, just say that. But if you don't...
Sign the papers, and let go.
Forgot your pen.
KAREN: I guess I really let him down.
There was nothing to let him down over. You have a job.
You were never gonna leave Broadway for some East Village basement.
No, of course not.
And I'm sure you're better in their show than I was anyway.
Well, maybe a little bit. (BOTH LAUGH)
But they haven't even officially offered it to me yet, so...
Right now, we need to figure out a way to get you to fall back in love with Bombshell,
before it's too late.
I've come to grovel.
I'll leave you two alone.
Hi.
(CLEARS THROAT)
I know we got off on the wrong foot.
I've never done this before, I'm still learning.
And I'm sorry.
No, I'm sorry.
I'm really not trying to be difficult.
And I know you just want your show to be the best.
And I want to do whatever I can to make it the best with you.
Don't you wish everyone could see us right now,
looking like we actually get along?
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Which we do.
Hey. You want to show them?
Be my date tonight at the Liaisons opening.
It'll be sort of like our coming-out party.
Don't you think that might make Ivy upset?
Ivy will be fine. She understands the situation.
Thanks. I'd love to.
Yeah? Okay. Yeah. Okay.
Oh. Ooh! See you tonight.
Ivy. I've been on the boards all afternoon.
Broadway World, All That Chat, TheaterMania.
Did you know our show is "meh"? I'm sorry?
Yeah, I've been called a lot of things in my career, but "meh"?
Is there anything worse?
The only thing they seemed to like is you.
You said we'd made this better.
We did make it better. Better from terrible.
Oh, man. I need a Klonopin.
Except I don't.
Do you think they're right? Tell me the truth. That's what you do.
I don't know what this show is anymore.
(SIGHS)
I guess we didn't have enough time to fix it.
Can I make a confession?
Is it about you and me? No.
Oh. Kind of.
(SIGHS)
I wish I could get out of this show. I really hate it.
(SIGHING) Oh, I hate you in it.
I'm sorry, I do. You're too good. It's annoying.
There's just something better for me out there. For you, too.
I don't know.
This dud's never gonna turn my career around.
Maybe it can.
Let's have some fun.
You know, like in the old days, when you first went off your meds.
Except maybe a couple days after it, you know, when you stabilized.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You mean with the mirrors? And the sheep? And the full-frontal nudity?
Yes! Almost like that.
Hey, if we're going to go down, we may as well go down in a blaze of glory.
Let's give them a show they'll never forget!
Tom! Tom!
Hi, Seth!
Meet Karen Cartwright.
Pleasure.
I'm really looking forward to Bombshell 2.0.
Will you guys give me some scoop?
Is it amazing? How high do you belt? Go!
It shows the edge and sadness...
It's a big old-fashioned musical...
Go ahead. Big number... No, after you.
Which one is it? Old-fashioned, or edgy?
Can't really be both, can it?
Yep. No. No. Yeah.
Oh, my God, that's John Cameron Mitchell.
And there's Karen with Seth Rudetsky.
JIMMY: Look at her. She fits right in.
Of course she does. She's a star.
Maybe if you did what Scott asked you to do, you could be one, too.
You mean change my work because of one person's opinion? No, thank you.
I like the show the way it is. I don't think we need
to scream what it's about in every scene.
No one said "scream it."
It could be as simple as one new song up top
that lets everyone know what they're about to see.
When the curtain rises on Bombshell,
and Norma Jean sings Let Me Be Your Star, you understand everything.
So then why'd you leave Bombshell,
if its themes are so clearly articulated?
Why did I indeed?
Hey, where are you going?
There's got to be something in one of these.
Some union rule he broke. Someone he forgot to pay.
Oh, my God, press clippings from Carousel.
(CHUCKLES) That was the first show I did with your dad.
Oh, look.
He saved a picture of the two of you in front of the marquee.
Hmm.
You really loved him, didn't you?
Of course I did.
He loved you, too.
Yeah, he still does. That's why he's doing what he's doing.
He couldn't believe I had the courage to walk away.
Kind of makes sense now, doesn't it?
Hmm.
God, how did we get here?
Three grown women, digging through an office, looking for a silver bullet.
EILEEN: Desperate times.
Well, I hope it's worth it.
Of course it's worth it. What you and Tom have done is worth protecting.
Hey. Look at this.
It's a contract with the Marilyn Monroe estate, in your name.
Yeah, they licensed me some of her early journals and poetry.
I showed you all that material.
(EXHALES)
EILEEN: Why are you smiling?
Because I used it.
I think I just found our silver bullet.
Hey, I didn't know you were coming.
I could say the same.
Tom and I are on a date.
Though I'm not quite sure it's going so well.
I'm not gonna lie.
Seeing the two of you together makes my heart beat faster.
Jerry!
Last person in the world I wanted to see tonight.
And yet, here I am. Mmm-hmm.
Things happened awfully fast the other week. Maybe a little too fast.
Care to talk?
Jimmy, Kyle.
What are you doing here?
I was just asking myself the same thing.
We came with Derek, but we lost him.
No, we didn't, he's standing right there talking to Karen.
And some other guy.
That's Jerry Rand. Producer of Bombshell.
Oh, so Derek's going back to Bombshell. Shocker.
Looks like you're out of a job.
Karen, we should take our seats, the show's about to start.
You don't have to sit with him if you don't want.
A couple of seats have opened up next to me.
Unless you've changed your mind.
No, we're still sitting there. You're the one that's leaving.
Okay, no one's going anywhere.
We're just having a friendly conversation.
Great! And now it's over. So if you'll excuse us...
There's nothing to be threatened by, Tom.
I'm not threatened. Just incredibly frustrated
that once again, you're trying to get in the way of me and my show.
I'm not getting in the way of anything.
You don't return my calls. You won't sign the contract.
You're undermining me at every turn.
You're doing that all on your own.
(LAUGHS) Really? How? Please tell me.
You know how much I love to hear what you have to say.
No, don't listen to me, Tom. Listen to Julia.
She wrote some of the best stuff of her life with Marilyn and her mother,
and you just threw it out. Or listen to Karen.
She's one of the brightest young actresses around, she knows what's going on.
If I had either of them on the show I'm working on now,
there'd be no stopping it.
Instead, you've got what I want, and you are wasting it.
And you!
You're wasting your chance.
If you want to come back, Derek,
Bombshell is still yours.
Folks, it's time to take your seats for the show.
Oh, Valmont, you libertine.
A morning such as this
is made for natural-born hunter such as yourself.
My dear lady, I can hardly take credit for my victories,
for it seems as long as I have lived, the prey comes to me.
Ce n'est pas ma faute.
What do you mean, "It's not your fault"?
Let me explain it to you.
In song.
Some men are born with money
Some men are born with looks
Some men are born with knowledge you won't find in Descartes' books
One man is given talent
(SCREAMS)
While one is born with strength
Some men are born with shoulders wide while some endowed with length
But once in every century there comes a blessed morn
A man like moi with all the gifts I've listed here is born
So this has been my credo
Since I was very young
I say, "It's not my fault"
(AUDIENCE GASPS) Or to put it in my tongue
Ce n'est pas ma faute
I'm really not to blame
I fear you'll have to ask the Lord above why men do not come out the same
The day that I was born I crowned just like a prince
It's true.
A nursemaid pinched my derriere and ladies have been pinching ever since
Ooh! (AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
My mother heard me cry
She offered up her breast (SIGHS)
Then as a man I learned to use that sad routine to sample all the rest
(MOTORBOATING)
But when I list my conquests
It's certainly not meant to gloat (BARKS)
It's to remind you all that ce n'est pas ma faute
Ce n'est pas ma faute
I've caused so many rifts
It's truly both a blessing and a curse that I must always share these gifts
A tutor named Claudine
Once taught me all she knew
And when I had exhausted all she had
Then I taught her a thing or two
Get off me!
(ALL LAUGHING) The pantry was the place
A serving wench, Suzette
Nice crepes.
Taught me a brand-new recipe Then had me serve it to her on brochette
And so I say to all the crying cuckolds
With their hands around my throat
I'll have her home by 10:00 And ce n'est pas ma faute
En garde, coupé and coup d'arrêt The pesky duels won't go away
It's simply not my fault that I'm adored
Touché, seconde, arrête, riposte
It's just a fact, I do not boast
I'm blessed with something mightier than either pen or sword!
Now dance, wenches, dance!
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
(ALL LAUGHING)
(EXCLAIMS)
ALL: Oh! Oh! Oh!
Sheep, I need the sheep.
(LAUGHS)
(ALL EXCLAIMING IN TURN)
Ce n'est pas ma faute He's really not to blame
The problem is the moth that's always circling the flame
(LAUGHING) Ce n'est pas ma faute It's really not his fault
I'm gifted with a treasure so why keep it in the vault?
Ce n'est pas ma faute Please don't castrate the bull
I beg you, don't demagnetize the magnet for its pull
Pull, pull (WOMEN EXCLAIMING)
So if you want to find me I'll be pitching tents beneath your petticoat
I see what keeps this lass afloat
I choose this wench to motorboat
No sheep is safe from this old goat
I'll need some help on this last note
Yes, ce n'est pas ma faute
Oh, are we finished?
(GRUNTS) (ALL GASPING)
(TERRY GROANS)
Call my psychiatrist.
TOM: How is the poor guy?
I think he's gonna be okay, but he's surrounded by doctors right now.
Well, at the very least, you were wonderful.
He's right, you were.
Thank you.
Your number was the only thing in the whole show that made any sense. (CHUCKLES)
It was very Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth.
You mean when she does the recital?
That's totally what I was going for.
When you ran upstage and tossed your head back? (BOTH LAUGH)
I am so glad you caught that.
How could I not?
Well, I should get back.
Of course. Call me later.
Bye. Bye.
Is the show going to close?
One would think. Or hope, for all involved.
Then Ivy would be free.
Free for what?
I'm sure you and I could make this work,
but we'd always know something wasn't right.
I'm not your Marilyn. She is.
Karen... It's... It's okay.
We tried.
You're a class act, you know that? I'll talk to Eileen.
Thanks for everything.
I admit my cunning plan backfired.
I just wish he hadn't gone crazy before the end of the show.
I would have killed to see that death scene. (LAUGHS)
So that's it, huh? You're just gonna go back to Bombshell now.
No.
I was never going back.
Just having a bit of trouble letting go.
Really? Yes.
For some inexplicable reason, I still believe in you two.
Enough to stick around anyway, even if it does mean directing your completely unaltered show
in a space not much larger than my bathroom.
That's where you want it to be, then I want to be there with it.
Me too.
Karen.
I just quit Bombshell.
You're joking.
I'm not.
I did. (GIGGLING)
I did.
Ever since you left, and ever since I left you, I haven't felt right.
And I'd understand if you don't want me back, but...
Did you really just give up a Broadway show for us?
I guess I did.
I mean, I'll have to see if they'll let me out of my contract, but...
Here's hoping.
You proved me wrong.
I just got an idea.
I know it sounds like a problem.
A huge problem.
But I may have a solution.
Okay, you're gonna have to tell us about it later, because, um... (CLEARS THROAT)
Jerry. Hi. Sit down, have a drink.
Katie.
When did you get back in town?
I've been home for days.
And you didn't call me?
What's going on?
You know exactly what's going on.
You paid Ellis Boyd for information on Nick
so that you could turn him in and get the show back.
You've been drinking a little too much, Eileen.
On the contrary, Jerry, I am stone-cold sober.
When we first brought the idea to Eileen,
she made an agreement with Marilyn Monroe's estate
for the rights to some journals written by Marilyn herself.
Who cares?
Well, you probably should. Because they formed almost 20% of the lyrics for the show.
If you plan on using any of those songs, you'd be in violation of the estate's
exclusive agreement with Eileen,
and they'd have no choice but to shut us down.
Or you could just sign the show over to Mom right now.
Hmm. That's not gonna happen.
You know, I can forgive the years of infidelity,
the unscrupulous behavior, the total lack of a moral compass.
But what I will never forgive you for is what you did to Nick.
He was a criminal.
He deserved it.
I'm done here.
Katie. Katie, wait. I hope you're proud of yourself.
Look. Come, sit down, talk to me.
You haven't heard my side of this.
This whole time I was hoping maybe this wasn't true.
That you couldn't possibly stoop so low just to hurt Mom.
Is this really what you wanted?
It's not that simple.
It should be. I'm your daughter.
You hurt her, you hurt me, too.
And you've hurt us both for the last time.
Wait!
I knew that'd get him.
It is with heavy heart
that I must announce my departure from Liaisons.
(CLEARS THROAT) Terry's understudy will finish the week,
but unfortunately, Liaisons will close this Sunday.
WOMAN 1: Great. All that work.
WOMAN 2: Fantastic.
Should be any minute now, right?
God, I hope so.
Oh, no. What are you doing here?
Where's Eileen? (SHUSHING)
Calm down, dear.
Told you. Just had to read through it all.
You know how it is, you work on something you care about,
sometimes it's a bit difficult to let go.
Tom Levitt, I hereby bequeath my choreography and my blessing.
If you change one bloody chasse, I'll take them both away.
Derek. Hey. (KISSES)
Jerry broke down.
It took five lawyers, and someone from the ADA's office,
and my darling daughter, but Bombshell is finally mine.
There's just one little issue. Who's our star?
Well, you know what they say? When one door closes, another one opens.
(GIGGLES) Ivy is free now.
That's wonderful.
Whoo! Okay. To Eileen Rand.
Champion of the downtrodden. Arbiter of good taste.
(LAUGHS)
The only producer we have ever called our partner.
To my fabulous collaborators.
And to my new director.
May Bombshell be everything we ever hoped it would be.
All of us.
TOM: Hear, hear!
I love the version of the show we have now.
But as hard as I try, I cannot let go of Marilyn's mother.
The connection there is the heart and soul of the piece to me.
Everything else is in its proper place, everything.
But this.
(EXHALES)
If you can't live without it, neither can I.
End of conversation.
Thank you.
DEREK: Thank you for giving us another moment of your time.
This is a brand-new opening number, so it's a little bit rough,
but we're pretty happy with it.
(ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYING)
There's a block on the edge of this town no one talks about
Where the train doesn't stop and the kids know they're not getting out
You live in the loop Of smoke's on the stoop
Counting the coins you got
You work at a bar where all that you are
Is everything you're not
Someone tell me when I can start again
And rewrite this story
How long can I stay lost without a way
To rewrite I wish I could rewrite
This story
Pretty face, pretty voice Pretty much someone they forget
Hard to tell me apart from the 10 other girls they just met
We can't see the hook We can't sell the look
I hear it every day
You won't be a star If you're who you are
So I just fade away
Make me someone new
Tell me what I do
To rewrite this story
BOTH: How long can I stay
Lost without a way
To rewrite
I wish I could rewrite this story
Change every word of every line
Write any story but mine
Someone tell me when
BOTH: Can I start again
And rewrite this story
Yeah! Yeah!
How long can I stay
Lost without a way
To rewrite
Rewrite
I wish I could rewrite
This story
You found it. It wasn't me. It was them.
We realized the show is about transformation,
but we just hadn't actually said it yet.
It was a good note.
Thanks for giving it.
If this is the direction the show's going in, the main stage is yours.
Let me introduce your leads.
Jimmy Collins, Karen Cartwright.
If you want the show, it doesn't happen without them.
I can see why. It's great to meet you again, Karen.
Derek. Sure.
So I guess that's it for me, then?
Not at all. You just go back to being the sister. (CHUCKLES)
Oh, great. The sister.
Again.
So you're okay with where you landed?
No buyer's remorse?
None whatsoever. Isn't that strange?
Your hair is... Oh. (LAUGHS)
Thank you.
You want to go out after this and get a drink, maybe?
Sure. I'd love to.
Yeah. Let me get my stuff.
Congratulations.
Scott was very impressed. As am I.
Thanks, man. It's getting there, you know.
Hey, if you don't need me, I'm gonna... Jimmy.
Now Karen's on board and we're all going to be working together,
I think you need to understand something.
Okay.
Karen and I have a history.
You can call it a partnership.
Yeah, I know. She's (IN BRITISH ACCENT) Your muse.
Kyle makes fun of it all the time.
Oh, yeah. That's nice for him.
I'm directing this show.
And when I direct, I tend to get focused on something.
Or someone.
And if I get distracted from that,
I get short.
I act out.
Yeah, what are you saying? If you want me at the top of my game,
I suggest you focus on your work so I can focus on mine. Got it?
Karen.
I'm sending Jimmy and Kyle home with some notes on act two.
Do you fancy a drink?
Uh, sure, I guess.
If you really can't go out. No, he can't.
Come on.
Notes? What notes? I didn't get any notes. Did he give you notes?
Come on, man, let's get out of here.