Watch Uma Thurman Sing and Dance as Marilyn Monroe on Smash

I'm not sure if Uma Thurman's character Rebecca Duvall on NBC's Smash is supposed to be all that convincing as Marilyn Monroe -- the subject of the Broadway show-within-the-TV show, in case you've been living under a rock -- but a sneak peek at next week's episode offers a snippet of Thurman's singing chops and, well... let's just say, it's good to know she'll only be around for a five-episode arc. Watch Thurman in a musical scene from her upcoming guest turn, decked out in a platinum blonde wig and singing about Freud, after the jump.

That's not to say Thurman isn't good here -- she's a decent singer and luminous as always, but the "Dig Deep" number is a far, far cry from the Monroe performance executive producers/songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman say inspired the scene ("My Heart Belongs to Daddy," from 1960's Let's Make Love). Thurman appears as a Hollywood starlet who takes the lead in the developing Marilyn musical over rival wannabe stars Ivy (Megan Hilty) and Karen (Katherine McPhee) and will appear in episodes through April.

In fairness to Thurman, it is awfully hard to be a famous face in your own right and disappear into Monroe's iconic persona, though it can be done. (Michelle Williams knows what I'm talking about.) What do you think of her Marilyn?

[NBC via Huffington Post]