Schmigadoon! Review: Schmigadoon!/Lover’s Spat (Season 1 Episodes 1-2)

I maintain that there are two types of people in this world.

There are Melissas (Cecily Strong) who long for and lean into romance, musicals, and a little corniness (maybe some corn puddin’ while they’re at it) and then there are the Joshes (Keegan-Michael Key) of the world, who are pragmatic, cynical, and far too grounded to be so footloose and fancy free.

Schmigadoon! is for the Melissas of the world.

Furthermore, it seems mostly designed for musical super-fans, built to reward those who know the ins and outs of musicals, particularly those from the Golden Age, and can reference the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Gene Kelly without so much as a thought, all while picking out the top Broadway stars of today that are scattered throughout the cast in leading and supporting roles.

Even the titular town, Schmigadoon, is a coy inside-baseball reference, a callback to Brigadoon, a lesser known Broadway show and film about a town that magically only appears every 100 years.

So to sum up, if you’re a Broadway and musical fanatic, you’ll find layers upon layers of references to dig through: a choreographic flourish here, a song parody there.

Even some of the casting feels meta (Aaron Tveit, for example, plays a Billy Bigelow-esque character from Carousel. Tveit has a history of playing charismatic romantic leads on stage and has his share of fangirls in the NYC community, so naturally, he’s the perfect person to try to woo away Melissa.)

But if you’re not a musical fan? I’m afraid you won’t get much out of this.

Schmigadoon!‘s pilot, Season 1 Episode 1 “Schmigadoon!” is mostly exposition as is its follow up Season 1 Episode 2 “Lover’s Spat.” That’s not altogether unreasonable, but the season reportedly only has six episodes.

It stands to reason that the show will be about Melissa and Josh rekindling and strengthening their bond (and knowing how these stories often go, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a major revelation on the way for some of the townspeople as well).

Personally, I’d love a switcheroo a la Pleasantville and see them end up with a townsperson or single and not back with each other but that seems unlikely.

Regardless, it’s not entirely clear how the show can get to a satisfying conclusion in four episodes, or why we should care, or what else the show is even trying to say.

Part of the problem lies in the writing. The production numbers are magnificent. The lyrics are clever, and the dance numbers are filmed in long, extended takes. It’s clear a lot of care was put into the music and tropes the show is spoofing.

However, less care is put on the portions between, particularly Melissa and Josh. It seems counterintuitive to build a show around characters that are fleshed out so little (though Cecily Strong is making the most of everything she’s given, bless her) but this is a common flaw in musicals so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising.

However, if we’re going to care at all about Melissa and Josh’s journey to understand themselves and their relationship better, the show is going to have to work a little harder. 

Schmigadoon! gives us glimpses into their relationship at the top of each episode, but these are never quite enough to reveal much new information nor do they do much in the way of making us care more about the characters.

It’s particularly a problem with Josh, who seems to be half-hearted about almost everything in his life except his medical practice. At this point, there’s nothing stopping me from hoping Melissa stays in Schmigadoon and dances off into the sunset with one of its townspeople (even the guy who does weird things with pigs might be a better option than blah Josh at this point).

It’s also not clear yet what the show is trying to convey to us.

Is it that life would be better if we all approached life with more of the exuberance and delight of a character in a musical? Is it that underneath all the goofiness and tropes, musicals reveal a greater truth about all of our internal desires?

Hopefully, that becomes more clear over time.

What works in the show’s favor though, is that all the actors and actresses in leading and supporting roles, including Keegan-Michael Key, are well cast and watchable, and reason enough to tune in. They bring a lot more to the screen than what’s on the page, but hopefully the material catches up with the caliber of people they’ve assembled.

In the meantime, enjoy the goofy romp and taking turns with your friends catching each reference and let’s hope that a greater message and character development is on the way. (I’ll be generous and consider this the overture where things are just getting started, but I expect to be fed next episode).

Stray observations: 

• Blink and you’ll miss drag queen Peppermint’s cameo in the pilot. Given the archaic and restrictive views on gender and sexuality that are ever-present in classic musicals, her inclusion was a nice, tongue in cheek touch. And who doesn’t love Peppermint?
• MVP of the first two episodes: Cecily Strong, with a very strong Dove Cameron right behind her. Cameron’s spoofing the over-sexualized, generic young female character that popped up in so many of these properties, and while she’s the youngest of the core cast, my, does she understand the assignment, hitting all the right comedic beats.
• While it seems a certainty that Kristin Chenoweth is going to get a big number, Ann Harada better have one earmarked for her as well. No one puts Christmas Eve in the corner.
• Ariana DeBose, of The Prom, Hamilton, and soon to be West Side Story, gets painfully little screen time on these first two episodes. Please please please let her be a big part of the third episode.

What did you think of the premiere episodes of Schmigadoon!? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Schmigadoon! is available to stream on AppleTV+. New episodes premiere on Fridays.

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