What if Sally Bowles was in Hair? What if Sweeney Todd got with Miss Hannigan?
These are the scenarios on Schmigadoon! Season 2 Episode 4.
Written by Raina Morris and directed by Alice Matthias, it’s the darkest of anything we’ve seen in the Schmigaverse.
It gets heavy and melancholy but also gives us some truly tender and real moments. Life (and times) is hard, after all — it’s not all just song and dance. Even musicals aren’t all happy anymore.
The scene between Melissa and Jenny was quite moving. It was just a traumatized girl with a friend trying to help her. There were no laughs, just a reminder of how broken and unhappy these characters are.
We haven’t given costume designer Angus Strathie as much acknowledgment as he deserves.
Across the board, his costumes have been outstanding, but this episode had some fantastic pieces, namely Melissa’s tangerine dream and Miss Codwell’s yellow floral frock.
Another thing that could easily be overlooked that is such a nice touch is Schmigadoon!’s consistency. It’s wonderful to recognize a swath of familiar faces in the ensemble reappearing from Schmigadoon! Season 1 to Season 2, taking on new roles.
“Talk To Daddy” is an upbeat joy. How wonderful to have Josh and Melisssa fully embracing their musical theatre sides together.
This perfectly emulates “The Rhythm Of Life” from Cy Coleman’s Sweet Charity with plenty of elements from Fosse’s iconic “Rich Man’s Frug” choreography, courtesy of Christopher Gattelli, who has, again, done his homework.
Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, and Dove Cameron are clearly having a ball with this, and it’s a rainbowgasm of fun.
Aaron Tveit and Dove Cameron do some of their best work in the series here. Tveit’s Topher has a tantrum in the style of Jesus and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, proving that it’s impossible for him to go one scene without singing.
Cameron found some genuine pathos in her scene with Cecily Strong, but when Topher and Jenny get together, the rest of Schmicago falls away.
The perfect follow-up to “Talk To Daddy” is the sweet duet “Something Real.” It’s a homage, but there’s no making fun here.
It’s two people making a genuine connection — two people who exist in a strange magical world they (and we) don’t fully understand, but they are doing their best to get by.
Only by the song’s end did I realize I’d been holding my breath the whole time. Their chemistry is off the charts, too, and the blend of their voices is exquisite.
This is one of those songs that catches you off-guard. It’s reminiscent of “Love Song” from Pippin but also feels like its own thing.
It’s layered with extra meaning, though — are Topher and Jenny actually real people? They were once Danny and Betsy. Who are they now? Who were they before? Are they becoming self-aware? I need my Schmigadoon lore!
Melissa: What year do you think this would even be?
Josh: I don’t know. It’s very unclear.
How much more can I say about Tituss Burgess? The only issue with the Narrator is his lack of screen time. When he’s there, though, it’s glorious. And he can control the time of day? Exactly how powerful is he?
Mel, please do not engage with the narrator.
Josh
This episode also brought us the Sweeney Todd/Annie crossover fanfiction we didn’t know we needed, friends.
It starts sweet, if awkward, with Miss Codwell cleaving Mr. Blight’s meat at dinner (with some saucy repartee) and then him gifting her the cleaver.
We even got an offscreen but very audible “I’ll drink to that!” courtesy of the ever-present Karin Konoval.
The Dooley-Codwell flirtations are stiff but endearing, and he agrees to go into her place for a nightcap.
Melissa and Josh are feeling pretty good about how they’ve managed to swing two love stories (not to mention their own) and don’t realize they’ve set a diabolical turn of events into motion.
Finally, it dawns on us, the viewers, what is transpiring. This surely can’t be going where we think this is going. Then, we realize with horror that the double meaning of “The Worst Brats In Town” was foreshadowing!
It feels like Cinco Paul is having the most fun when he’s paying homage to Sondheim. The puns and rhymes for his “A Little Priest” spoof are morbidly ridiculous, precisely as they should be.
Dooley Blight: I’d love some ground beef!
Miss Codwell: Why, then, sir, you’re in luck/Which do you prefer? We’ve got Patty or Chuck!
Sweeney Todd is a dark show, but the prospect of butchering children… well, I don’t know if you could actually make a musical about that.
Even Sweeney had his limits!
These characters are veering close to irredeemable. It’s that grim uneasiness of “Should I be laughing at this? But the rhymes are so clever! But they’re talking about murdering children! But the puns!”
Your mileage may vary depending on how sick your sense of humor is.
Ask, and ye shall receive, Melissa!
In the opening scene, Melissa mentioned that Schmigadoon had tap-dancing children and how fun that was, so here we got a finale with tap-dancing children, all seemingly overjoyed at the prospect of being killed and eaten.
Chenoweth and Cumming seamlessly segue from cannibalism puns into “Good Enough To Eat.”
The recipe for this song consists of “Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile” (Annie) with an “All For The Best” (Godspell) base, glazed with “Food Glorious Food” (Oliver!), a sprinkle of “It’s A Hard-Knock Life” (Annie) and a dash of “Ain’t Got No” (Hair).
Did I get them all, Cinco?
Easter Eggs
- A Suzanne Charney — star of the original Broadway and film versions of Sweet Charity — lookalike in “Talk To Daddy” (that’s the lady with the massive ponytail)
- Was that a visual homage to the 1964 French musical film “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” (The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg) when Josh and Melissa went on their double date with Dooley and Miss Codwell?
- The orphan names weren’t just clever meat rhymes – there was Sutton (for Broadway leading lady Sutton Foster), Tony (for the Tony awards), and Tommy (for The Who’s iconic rock opera), among others!
- “Something Real” and “Good Enough To Eat” had counterparts in Schmigadoon! Season 1 Episode 4 — “Suddenly,” the love song played completely straight, and “With All of Your Heart,” featuring tap-dancing children.
Sadly, the half-hour format means, once again, we miss out on a good chunk of the cast.
Jane Krakowski, Jaime Camil, Patrick Page, Ariana DeBose, and Ann Harada were absent from this episode.
It’s such a stacked selection of stars, though; we can’t get greedy when there’s consistently such fine talent on display.
It just proves that Schmigadoon! works so well as one big linear story that just happens to be split into six parts. Schmicago, like its predecessor, would work beautifully live on stage as a full-length musical.
The world is crawling with the maggots of humanity’s failure. No light can shine through the layers of evil. Weather’s pretty good.
Dooley Blight
The focus was on darker fare this week, but there was still plenty of fun!
What was your favorite musical number from this episode? Do you think Dooley and Codwell will achieve their nefarious goals, or will Melissa and Josh figure it out before it’s too late?
When will we see more of Kratt, Madame Frau, and Sergeant Rivera?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She loves television, cinema, and theatre (especially musicals!), particularly when it champions inclusivity, diversity, and social justice. Follow her on Twitter.
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