We skip to the end of "The 20th Century Fox Mambo." Dull Leo and Shrek applaud. Karen checks her phone again, fruitlessly. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is still kind of, you know, bland, livened up by Rebecca screwing up her blocking (or Michael making an error that forces her to screw it up) and moving out of the light. Back in the dressing room, she's bitching to her makeup lady about Michael while the boys sing "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking" with Actual Darryl Zanuck (instead of Tom, who made a fine Substitute Zanuck). I am pleased to say the chorus boys are now wearing just towels. They look like the cast of 300 and it's quite nice. Because it's about time this show threw a bone to the straight ladies and gay men.
And then the number continues into a coda we didn't see before, with Ivy singing a verse about how she's quite happy to jump on that casting couch right there. Then Karen gets her own verse, which includes the lyric "In a two-piece I make quite a splash/Because I want to be a smash." Title of show, everybody drink! The choreography of this number -- all writhing and straddling and climbing on Zanuck, looks very, very Derek -- so points to actual choreographer M. David Mullen for the character's smarm coming through in the girls' dancing.
In the dressing room Karen is still obsessively poking at her phone and Ivy tells her to give it a rest. Karen's hurt-bunny radar pings and she asks Ivy if she's okay and when Ivy insists she's fine, says, "You're not." Ivy relents and tells Karen she was really good in the number. Karen returns the compliment and it's interesting to see the two of them operating on completely different levels.
Rebecca is whisper-singing her way through "Second Hand White Baby Grand" (I think), although some of the difficulty might be because she's sprawled on her back on Marilyn's bed, which isn't the best position for projecting one's voice. Oh and then she dies. Huh.
Everyone backstage holds their breath and Tom frets, "They're not applauding," but then orchestra goes into the main theme and the audience begins clapping -- kind of anemically -- as the company comes out to take their bows. One audience member next to Eileen and Nick is making a hilarious "Oh, honey, NO" face.













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