by Jake Hjort, Contributing Writer
In Season One of Schmigadoon!, we are introduced to Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key), a quarreling couple from New York City who find themselves stuck in Schmigadoon, a town taken straight out of the golden age musicals of the 1940s and ‘50s. Here, among random outbursts of song and dance, and characters paying homage to The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!,and The Music Man, Melissa and Josh must find true love in order to escape the town and return to their regular lives.
In Season Two, we catch up with the couple, now married but struggling to find happiness amidst the mundanity of suburban life and difficulty of starting a family. Eager for a spark, they go out to try and return to Schmigadoon, but instead find themselves in the darker, sultrier city of Schmicago, inspired by musicals of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Now, while wading through crime and cultural revolution, the two must reach a happy ending in order to leave.
By and large, I think that the second season of Schmigadoon! is an improvement on the first. Melissa and Josh, now a unified front, aren’t bogged down by all the clichéd relationship melodrama that plagues their story arcs in the first season. Rather than rewinding their prior character arcs and rekindling old issues like some series do, our two protagonists have learned from their journey in Schmigadoon and face new struggles, both in their more mature relationship and as they travers Schmicago. Strong and Key are both fantastic in their roles, driving not only the humor in the show, as you would expect given their comedy chops, but also giving great performances in the more emotional moments.
Outside the two leads, Schmigadoon! is held up by an impressive ensemble filled with Broadway alumni portraying homages to characters of musical theater legend. Returning from Season One, we have up-and-comer Dove Cameron, Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, and Tony Award winners Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Jane Krakowski, and Aaron Tveit, playing tribute to characters from the likes of Cabaret, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, Annie,and Pippin.Joining the cast, we also get Tituss Burgess as our in-universe narrator and Patrick Page playing the primary antagonist.
In both seasons of Schmigadoon!, a lot of the charm comes from the fish-out-of-water nature of the central conceit — two ordinary people from the real world finding themselves stuck in the fantastical, over-the-top world of musical theater. How do two 30-something doctors react when townsfolk dressed in pastels burst into a choreographed number about corn pudding? In the second season, this sense is heightened, not only by the changed setting to the jazz and liquor filled Schmicago, but also by placing its cast (outside of Strong and Key) in entirely new roles. Just like seeing a new show on Broadway, some of the faces in the cast may be familiar, but the characters are all different. Schmigadoon’s mayor (Cumming) is now Dooley Blight, an amoral butcher who’s essentially Sweeney Todd with a hint of Jean Valjean, and the innocent farmer’s daughter (Cameron) now plays Jenny Banks, a flirtatious night club performer akin to Sally Bowles in Cabaret. These shifts make for plenty of interesting moments early in the season, as Melissa and Josh struggle to reconcile the people the knew from Schmigadoon with the vastly different characters they interact with now.
Like any musical, Schmigadoon! lives and dies by its songs, and it doesn’t just live; it thrives. Each episodes packs a big punch, with more songs than Season One, and with more references in the lyrics and composition contained within. There are also more big, showstopping numbers than before, such as Krakowski’s “Bells and Whistles,” in which her character Bobby Flanagan lampoons the theatrics of a legal trial in direct reference to Chicago’s Billy Flynn, and his songs “Razzle Dazzle” and “We Both Reached For The Gun.” The songs are all cleverly written and full of charm, bringing real life to each and every episode.
All in all, Schmigadoon! is an incredibly fun romp, effortlessly waltzing through Broadway history, taking classic plots and characters to tell new, modern stories. It’s well-written and brilliantly acted, full to the brim with both comedy and heart. The first season set the groundwork for a great foundation, and using that, Season Two is really able to soar.
Score: 8/10
Schmigadoon! is currently streaming on Apple TV+
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