"The Star of the Backstage" is the thirty-third season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 707th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on September 26, 2021.[3] The episode was directed by Rob Oliver, and written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick.
At the memorial of a recently-deceased theater director, Marge is given her old production manual from the widow about her high school play "Y2K: The Millennium Bug". Now filled with thoughtful memories of being the stage manager, Marge is encouraged to reunite her old classmates to restage the play.
At the theater, the group realizes that they are missing one of the cast members, Sasha Reed, who apparently has gone to New York after graduation and was accepted into Juilliard. Sasha arrives from above, and sings of how she has become a success during adulthood and having met various celebrities. Marge then realizes that, due to being unseen by the audience in the backstage, Sasha was the real star of the show.
Now desperate to take over the spotlight of the play (and even being further frustrated by the gang's recollection of high school memories that she wasn't part of), Marge finds out that Sasha is an impostor, having lied about having an amazing career, and had only became a saleswoman. Sasha breaks into tears and leaves the rehearsal, which affects the restaging of the play.
Homer convinces Marge in front of Bart and Lisa to bring Sasha back into the play, in a "delicate approach". Marge then realizes that Sasha's voice was one of the greatest elements of the play, and finds her at Moe's Tavern to apologize for letting jealousy and their old rivalry get in the way. Sasha agrees to join the play again, and with the rest of the gang, they perform once more. Bart and Lisa, meanwhile, end up shocked and dismayed that the play, both the original and restaged versions, ended abruptly.
During the credits, there are photos of the play's cast in different activities.
Reception
Viewing figures
The episode was the highest-rated scripted program of the night (and the week), scoring a 1.2 demo rating and 3.48 million viewers.[4] This is down from the previous season premiere, which aired with a substantially higher football lead-in,[5] but the most-watched episode of the show since "A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas" in December 2020, which also had a football lead-in.[6]
Critical response
Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating "All this being said, this is a great experiment which works enough to happen again. The musical numbers have been outshining much of the scripted gags in the past few seasons of The Simpsons, and this is an encouraging outgrowth of it. But, we need more than this. It feels like a retread of something they haven’t done before, when it should feel like a whole new experience. Maybe I expect too much, or am hoping that, at 33 seasons and counting, The Simpsons will recapture the magic Marge is looking for in this episode. 1999 was the last time we partied like it was 1999."[7]
Marcus Gibson of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7 out of 10 stating, "Overall, the season 33 premiere of The Simpsons sang and danced its way to amusement rather than annoyance. It’s not a perfect way to start the season in terms of its humor and execution. However, as someone who enjoys watching musicals, it’s entertaining enough just to hear Marge sing like Princess Anna."[8]
Audience rating
According to IMDb audience rating this episode is second from bottom. Only season 23 episode 22 - Lisa Goes Gaga has a lower ratting
References
^"Entertainment Weekly - The Simpsons to do first-ever all-musical episode in season 33 premiere". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
^"Broadway World - BWW Interview: Hear From Matt Selman and Elisabeth Kiernan Averick about THE SIMPSONS' Broadway-Musical-Worthy Season Premiere!". Broadway World. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^"(SI-3217) "The Star of the Backstage"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
star, backstage, thirty, third, season, premiere, american, animated, television, series, simpsons, 707th, episode, overall, aired, united, states, september, 2021, episode, directed, oliver, written, elisabeth, kiernan, averick, simpsons, episodeone, promotio. The Star of the Backstage is the thirty third season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 707th episode overall It aired in the United States on Fox on September 26 2021 3 The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick The Star of the Backstage The Simpsons episodeOne of the promotional posters released for the episodeEpisode no Season 33Episode 1Directed byRob OliverWritten byElisabeth Kiernan AverickProduction codeQABF17Original air dateSeptember 26 2021 2021 09 26 Guest appearancesKristen Bell as Marge Simpson singing voice 1 Sara Chase as Sasha Reed 2 Episode chronology Previous The Last Barfighter Next Bart s in Jail The Simpsons season 33 List of episodesThe episode was originally named No Day but Yesterday Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 2 1 Viewing figures 2 2 Critical response 2 3 Audience rating 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditAt the memorial of a recently deceased theater director Marge is given her old production manual from the widow about her high school play Y2K The Millennium Bug Now filled with thoughtful memories of being the stage manager Marge is encouraged to reunite her old classmates to restage the play At the theater the group realizes that they are missing one of the cast members Sasha Reed who apparently has gone to New York after graduation and was accepted into Juilliard Sasha arrives from above and sings of how she has become a success during adulthood and having met various celebrities Marge then realizes that due to being unseen by the audience in the backstage Sasha was the real star of the show Now desperate to take over the spotlight of the play and even being further frustrated by the gang s recollection of high school memories that she wasn t part of Marge finds out that Sasha is an impostor having lied about having an amazing career and had only became a saleswoman Sasha breaks into tears and leaves the rehearsal which affects the restaging of the play Homer convinces Marge in front of Bart and Lisa to bring Sasha back into the play in a delicate approach Marge then realizes that Sasha s voice was one of the greatest elements of the play and finds her at Moe s Tavern to apologize for letting jealousy and their old rivalry get in the way Sasha agrees to join the play again and with the rest of the gang they perform once more Bart and Lisa meanwhile end up shocked and dismayed that the play both the original and restaged versions ended abruptly During the credits there are photos of the play s cast in different activities Reception EditViewing figures Edit The episode was the highest rated scripted program of the night and the week scoring a 1 2 demo rating and 3 48 million viewers 4 This is down from the previous season premiere which aired with a substantially higher football lead in 5 but the most watched episode of the show since A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas in December 2020 which also had a football lead in 6 Critical response Edit Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 3 5 out of 5 stars stating All this being said this is a great experiment which works enough to happen again The musical numbers have been outshining much of the scripted gags in the past few seasons of The Simpsons and this is an encouraging outgrowth of it But we need more than this It feels like a retread of something they haven t done before when it should feel like a whole new experience Maybe I expect too much or am hoping that at 33 seasons and counting The Simpsons will recapture the magic Marge is looking for in this episode 1999 was the last time we partied like it was 1999 7 Marcus Gibson of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7 out of 10 stating Overall the season 33 premiere of The Simpsons sang and danced its way to amusement rather than annoyance It s not a perfect way to start the season in terms of its humor and execution However as someone who enjoys watching musicals it s entertaining enough just to hear Marge sing like Princess Anna 8 Audience rating Edit According to IMDb audience rating this episode is second from bottom Only season 23 episode 22 Lisa Goes Gaga has a lower rattingReferences Edit Entertainment Weekly The Simpsons to do first ever all musical episode in season 33 premiere Entertainment Weekly Retrieved July 24 2021 Broadway World BWW Interview Hear From Matt Selman and Elisabeth Kiernan Averick about THE SIMPSONS Broadway Musical Worthy Season Premiere Broadway World Retrieved September 20 2021 SI 3217 The Star of the Backstage The Futon Critic Retrieved September 26 2021 Metcalf Mitch September 28 2021 ShowBuzzDaily s Sunday 9 26 2021 Top 150 Cable Originals amp Network Finals Updated Showbuzz Daily Retrieved September 28 2021 Metcalf Mitch September 29 2020 Updated ShowBuzzDaily s Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals amp Network Finals 9 27 2020 Showbuzz Daily Archived from the original on September 29 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Metcalf Mitch December 15 2020 Updated ShowBuzzDaily s Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals amp Network Finals 12 13 2020 Showbuzz Daily Archived from the original on December 15 2020 Retrieved December 15 2020 The Simpsons Season 33 Episode 1 Review The Star of the Backstage Den of Geek September 27 2021 Retrieved September 27 2021 Gibson Marcus September 27 2021 Review The Simpsons The Star of the Backstage Bubbleblabber Retrieved April 11 2022 External links Edit The Star of the Backstage at IMDb Portal The Simpsons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Star of the Backstage amp oldid 1133753685, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
