TORONTO - "Smash" star Debra Messing knows all too well the nerve-wracking anxiety that comes with auditioning for musical theatre.
Before she became known as one half of "Will and Grace," before she earned acclaim as "The Starter Wife" and before she nabbed one of the lead roles in the hotly anticipated musical drama "Smash," Messing says she was a Rhode Island kid who took dance lessons, sang and dreamed of stardom.
As a teen, she threw herself into large cattle call auditions, a stressful experience that has stayed with her.
"I remember just waiting my turn and getting the number and trying to stay calm and having to walk in and knowing I had 30 seconds to make an impression," Messing says of her days as a 17-year-old ingenue seeking the bright lights of the stage.
"And then them saying, 'Thank you.' And just knowing, in that moment, 'It's not going to happen.' And trying to keep the smile on (my) face and walking out and trying to second-guess (my)self -- 'Why didn't they like me? Was my throat drier than normal today? Am I tired? Should I give it up? And is this for me? Am I strong enough to continue persevering?"'
Show business is a tough and twisted game.
Now that Messing has made it, she says she took special delight in sitting on the other side of that audition table to portray a veteran lyricist auditioning young talent for a musical in "Smash," even if it is all make-believe.
"Literally I was levitating with joy -- just sitting there, being able to sit behind the table and be the one to judge instead of (being) the vulnerable lamb out there just singing (her) heart out," Messing says during a stop in Toronto last June to preview the Broadway-themed TV series.
"And it does bring me back to the very beginning of my love of theatre and my desire to become an actress. It was musical theatre that set me off and that was the world I wanted to be a part of."
Even if that world might actually feature more drama offstage than onstage, at least according to "Smash."
Executive produced by film giant Steven Spielberg, the musical serial purports to display the best and the worst of the scheming and dreaming that fuels big Broadway spectacles.
Messing stars as longtime lyricist Julia Houston, who, along with composing partner Tom Levitt, played by Tony nominee Christian Borle ("Spamalot," "Legally Blonde: The Musical"), is on a mission to mount "Marilyn: The Musical," based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
The duo is backed by fierce Broadway producer Eileen Rand, played by Anjelica Huston, who is simultaneously embarking on divorce proceedings with a powerhouse ex that could torpedo her career.
"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee is the aforementioned lamb struggling to land her big break, while real-life Broadway star Megan Hilty ("9 to 5," "Wicked") plays her biggest rival, an ambitious chorus girl eager to make the leap to leading lady.
The show is packed with actual Great White Way references (the early "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" trials get a mention in the pilot), while the Broadway connections of show creator Theresa Rebeck ("Seminar"), casting director Bernard Telsey ("Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Legally Blonde," "Talk Radio") and director Michael Mayer ("American Idiot," "Spring Awakening") give the behind-the-scenes premise some serious cred.
There's lots of the attention to detail, but Mayer acknowledged that clever inside jokes could fly over the heads of viewers not immersed in the New York scene.
He said he's hoping average Joes can relate to storylines told from various Broadway viewpoints: its impoverished artists, creative geniuses, sidelined wannabes and high-flying bigwigs.
"The key for 'Smash' is that as fun as the musical numbers are and as dynamic as the whole backstage story of Broadway is, the characters and the writing and the dramatic situations ... are the thing that's going to get people to tune in each week," Mayer said during a recent stop in Toronto to bring "American Idiot" north of the border.
Messing's career-driven character also struggles to meet the demands of her family, while her school-teacher husband, played by theatre star Brian D'Arcy James ("Shrek the Musical," "Next to Normal"), grumbles over the all-consuming demands Broadway puts on his wife.
Messing gushes over the sheer talent of the show's core cast, noting she was floored by performances from the pilot episode.
"I can't even put into words how exciting it is," says Messing, who notes she's a longtime fan of McPhee and even voted for the crooner after her finale performance on "Idol."
"It's like they have other chromosomes or something. When you witness what they can do in front of you on stage with the singing and the dancing and the acting, it is literally like you're watching God coming through them."
Messing says the show business storyline leaves lots of room for big-name cameos.
She lists Nathan Lane, Hugh Jackman, Donna Murphy and Kelli O'Hara as some of the triple threats she'd love to do scenes with.
Guest stars already booked for upcoming episodes include film siren Uma Thurman, teen heart-throb Nick Jonas and stage legend Bernadette Peters.
"Smash" arrives on the dial as that other musical series -- the campy high school dramedy "Glee" -- appears to be on the wane with viewers and critics. Messing dismisses any comparisons between the shows, insisting that her adult serial is a completely different animal.
"The only thing that really ties them together is that there's singing in both of them," she says at a press conference earlier in the day when the issue is raised.
"'Smash' is a completely naturalistic world. 'Glee,' part of the joyousness of watching it (is) it's sort of elevated reality. It has a tone, it has a universe that is elevated and they sort of wink at the audience. They make fun of themselves.... 'Smash' is earnest."
And while "Glee" largely celebrates pop music covers and Broadway standards, "Smash" includes original tunes specifically written for the fictional Marilyn Monroe show, courtesy of "Hairspray" composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
Like "Glee," two to three songs from each episode will be available for digital download each week.
Messing admits she couldn't help but think of her old pal Eric McCormack when she first read the script, thinking "Smash" could be a great fit for her former "Will and Grace" co-star.
But Messing says their partnership is behind her now, adding that McCormack has moved on to his upcoming crime series "Perception," bound for the U.S. specialty channel TNT.
"I think it's a fantasy that I've definitely had, you know," she says of an onscreen reunion.
"When I read the pilot for the very first time ... I thought, 'Oh, wouldn't it have been fun if Eric and I could have done it together?' But I don't think that people would accept that. I think that we will forever be 'Will and Grace.' Fifty years ago there were comic teams that would go from show to show and play different characters but I think those days are over."
An advance digital screening of "Smash" begins Friday and runs until midnight Monday at CTV.ca.
"Smash" debuts Monday on CTV and NBC. The series also airs on Bravo! beginning Fri., Feb. 10.
