Musical 'Marilyn' may not sing in 'Smash'

The big cast is appealing, especially Christian Borle and Debra Messing as the big-time songwriting team and Angelica Huston as a producer in a bad divorce. And the show looks great, except for a ludicrously airbrushed Times Square that could have been shot in a mall or a Toronto soundstage.

Does no one know that, aside from "Gypsy," biographical musicals are almost always terrible? The old-fashioned songs (by the creators of "Hairspray," yes, but also this season's flop "Catch Me If You Can") honor the '50s Marilyn without an original voice. The lyrics are larded with lyrics about "dreams" and "stars." The choreography is generic. And it strains credibility that, from the theater's amazing talent pool, one of the two competitors for this iconic role is played by Katharine McPhee, the wholesome ingénue with the pop voice who was runner-up on the 2006 "American Idol."