Broadway evaluation: Schmigadoon! is nice old school musical enjoyable

Broadway evaluation by Adam Feldman
Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Ticketing: Buy tickets to Schmigadoon!

Who right here needs some extra corn puddin’? The healthful townsfolk of Schmigadoon, first seen on Apple TV+’s spoofy musical collection, have relocated to Broadway, the place they’re serving a beneficiant second serving to of their corny and candy native specialty—and, in fact, singing and dancing its praises in a delightfully pointless musical quantity. That kind of factor comes naturally to the denizens of this particular place; they’re acquainted character varieties from musicals of the Forties and Fifties. But it’s a bit overwhelming for contemporary timers Melissa (Sara Chase) and Josh (Alex Brightman), a squabbling couple of docs who discover themselves in Schmigadoon after crossing a magical bridge. Only real love can break the spell that retains them there; in the meantime, they may as nicely get pleasure from what the city has to supply.  

Schmigadoon!’s love for traditional musical theater will not be 100% true—every little thing about it’s in citation marks—however good gosh, is it fulfilling. Writer-composer Cinco Paul, adapting the primary season of his collection for the stage, has retained most of its plot and songs: realizing and affectionate pastiches impressed primarily by The Music Man and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music. (Other reveals evoked embrace Finian’s Rainbow, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and, in fact, Brigadoon, whose premise Paul borrows.) Under the protecting cowl of parody, Schmigadoon! is free to ship actual pleasures of old-school American musical comedy: catchy melodies with intelligent lyrics, laughs on the common, a bit of romance and a big solid of seasoned professionals in large, joyous manufacturing numbers. 

Melissa, who loves musicals, has a neater time becoming in—she quickly discovers she will talk in tune like an actual Schmigadoonian—whereas Josh, who hates them, stubbornly refuses to sing. When the strain of their state of affairs drives them aside, they’ve ill-considered rebound flings. A drunk Melissa heads to the native carnival to hook up with the studly buck and would-be unhealthy boy who works there, the very Billy Bigelow-ish Danny (Max Clayton, dancing with winsome vigor), who teaches her a brand new expression of stunned appreciation: “Yee honk!” At an public sale for courting girls—“Somehow we’re okay with it!” sing the cheerful residents—Josh buys a picnic with the Ado Annie-esque Betsy (the hilariously dedicated McKenzie Kurtz, making a comedic meal of her half), a flirty farmer’s daughter of indeterminable age. Later, Melissa and Josh discover extra appropriate potential matches: she with a good-looking doctor (Ivan Hernandez), he with a spirited schoolteacher (Isabelle McCalla) who leads a Pennies from Heavenly classroom quantity and has a suspiciously youthful brother (a lisping and completely lovely Ayaan Diop). 

Meanwhile, two of the city’s most outstanding {couples} have troubles of their very own. The kindly Mayor Menlove (Brad Oscar) is saddened by romantic yearnings that he can’t fairly perceive. (Melissa, asking the apparent: “Mr. Mayor, are you gay?” Mayor, forlornly: “I try to be.”) His none-too-bright spouse (nationwide treasure Ann Harada, reprising her TV function) is devoted however understandably undersatisfied. And the city’s soft-spoken preacher (Maulik Pancholy) is saddled with a farbissiner spouse (Ana Gasteyer, pure starch), who leads a biddy committee referred to as Mothers Against the Future; within the second act, she provides some hustle to her bustle with “Tribulations,” a takeoff of “Ya Got Trouble” that Gasteyer hits clear. 

Christopher Gattelli choreographed the TV collection; now he serves as director, too, however dance performs a big function in his imaginative and prescient. He places the 12 members of Schmigadoon!’s ensemble by their paces in a single extremely dynamic quantity after one other, wittily full of kicks and lifts and spins and the twirling of frilly calico clothes and the occasional slapping of thighs. In addition to their glorious group work, many of those triple-threat performers—akin to Jess Leprotto, Kaleigh Cronin and Afra Hines (who performs an icy aristocratic rival of Melissa’s)—additionally get moments to face out as people. It looks like everyone seems to be having enjoyable, together with the designers: you’ll be able to really feel it in Scott Pask’s storybook units and Linda Cho’s busily patterned pastel costumes. 

If you’ve already watched the TV model of Schmigadoon!, you could marvel if you happen to ought to see the Broadway one as nicely. There are a number of causes to take action, I feel. There are a number of new songs; Kurtz has one among them, “Not That Kind of Gal,” and Harada now sings a duet with Melissa, “What’s the Matter with Men,” in lieu of her former solo. I loved seeing completely different actors put new stamps on their roles; it’s particularly good to see Sara Chase take heart stage in a task commensurate along with her skills. But most of all, this model has a top quality important to the joy of Broadway musicals that the TV collection might by no means have: It’s reside. Having appreciated the collection very a lot, I admit that I too was skeptical that I wanted to see one other Schmigadoon! But what can I say? Yee honk. 

Schmigadoon! Nederlander Theatre (Broadway). Book, music and lyrics by Cinco Paul. Directed by Christopher Gattelli. With Ana Gasteyer, Brad Oscar, Ann Harada, Max Clayton, Isabelle McCalla, McKenzie Kurtz, Ivan Hernandez, Maulik Pancholy, Ayaan Diop. Running time: 2hrs 20mins. One intermission. 

Buy tickets to Schmigadoon!: Broadway.com
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