Rating: 5 out of 5 Jazz Hands
Julia McGrath ’23
Staff Writer
When the first season of Apple TV’s Schmigadoon premiered in the summer of 2021, the homage to the happy-go-lucky musicals of the 1940s and ’50s, the show was exactly what audiences needed to brighten up their days inside due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pastel gingham costumes, vintage setting, and folksy songs inspired by classics like The Music Man and Carousel made for a charming watch. Even the usually stereotypical characters found in that genre felt new again thanks to experienced Broadway performers Kristen Chenoweth, Dove Cameron, Alan Cumming, and Aaron Tveit. Once our “average Joe” main characters, two doctors named Josh and Melissa, (played by Keegan Michael-Key and Cecily Strong respectively), found a way to escape this song-and-dance world, this viewer did not want them to leave.
Much has changed for Josh and Melissa since they left Schmigadoon. They got married and bought a house, but after struggling to conceive and feeling unfulfilled at work, they decide to try and find it again as a last-ditch attempt to solve their problems. After getting a flat tire in their search for Schmigadoon, however, they end up in a darker musical theatre land called Schmicago.
Based on 1960s and ’70s musicals like Cabaret, Sweeney Todd and, well, Chicago, Schmicago’s only similarity to its predecessor is the fact that people break into song. Those aforementioned actors from the previous season are back, though they are now playing different characters. It’s a fun way for the show to explore the vastly different Broadway shows that premiered during this time period. For example, Dove Cameron’s turn as a spunky, “Sally Bowles”-inspired character, while the polar opposite of her girl-next-door type from last season, feels like an upgrade that fits the actress just as well, if not better. Her song in the middle of the episode, while not adding much to the plot, is a fun break from all the exposition.
Despite all the new personas attached to familiar faces, the time period Schmicago is inspired by is thankfully flexible enough for new characters to make an entrance. The narrator, a new addition played by Titus Burgess, is flashy and fun. He serves as the audience’s introduction to Schmicago with a song clearly inspired by the opening number of Pippin. He also concludes the episode with a reprise during a particularly stressful moment for Josh and Melissa, but to keep this review devoid of spoilers, let’s change the subject.
This episode still leaves the viewer with a lot of questions surrounding the mysterious Schmicago, as well as how Josh and Melissa are supposed to escape. If anything, the couple is more entrenched in the world of Schmicago than they were in Schmigadoon, where they were branded as outsiders. The narrator explicitly says he’s telling “The Tale of Josh and Melissa”, making them characters in a show they didn’t ask to be a part of. Though the attention is now on them instead of the performers, Josh and Melissa have no idea what they’re getting into. They have a vague clue to go off of—in order to leave Schmicago, Josh and Melissa must find a “happy end”. Here’s to hoping they do, otherwise that third season inspired by Les Miz and Phantom that this writer has been fantasizing about might be awhile.
The first two episodes of Schmigadoon’s second season are available on Apple TV for $6.99 a month.
