Katharine McPhee Joins Musical Pilot

American Idol alum Katharine McPhee has joined the cast of the highly anticipated NBC pilot Smash, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As previously announced, former Will & Grace star Debra Messing will headline the ambitious drama, which depicts the struggle to mount a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe. FlashForward's Jack Davenport has been cast as a choreographer. Smash is based on an idea by Steven Spielberg, who will share executive producing credit with, among others, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are also producing the current Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Tony award-winning songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman will write original songs.