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All of the Musical Theatre References in SCHMIGADOON! Season Two

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By: Apr. 05, 2023
All of the Musical Theatre References in SCHMIGADOON! Season Two  Image
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Set in the world of musicals from the '60s and '70s, the season parodies musicals like Chicago, Cabaret, Annie, Oliver!, Sweeney Todd, Sweet Charity, Company, Pippin, Godspell, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Chorus Line, and more.

The second season of Apple's broadly acclaimed comedy inlucded new original musical numbers from co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Cinco Paul, as well as returning stars Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose, Martin Short, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, and Aaron Tveit with Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page joining the cast for season two.

As theatre fans venutre to Schmicago, see below for the musical theatre references featured in the second season of Schmigadoon.


Musical Theatre References in Schmigadoon! Season Two

Episode One:

Broadway vet Jessica Vosk makes a cameo in the grocery store.

While searching for Schmigadoon!, Josh and Melissa car gets a flat tire, resulting in them having to go search for a way to fix it in the rain. The storyline resembles the beginning of The Rocky Horror Show, in which Brad and Janet get lost in the woods while it's raining in "Over at the Frankenstein Place."

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Keegan Michael-Key and Cecily Strong

As Josh and Melissa arrive in Schmicago, they are greeted by the Narrator, played by Tituss Burgess, who sings "Welcome to Schmicago." The song is a send-up to "Magic to Do" from Pippin, complete with Fosse-style choreography.

Burgess' character also resembles to The Leading Player from Pippin. Some dancers in the number are dressed like characters in the style of Cabaret, Hair, Godspell, and Pippin.

The song also features a first look at some of the characters in the new season, including Dove Cameron as a Sally Bowles-type character, Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth referencing Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. The oprhans in the song also relate to musicals like Oliver! and Annie.

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Jane Krakowski, Jaime Camil, Dove Cameron, Alan Cumming, and the cast of Schmigadoon!

Upon arriving in Schmicago, Josh and Melissa walk down "Lloyd Street," named after legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote musicals in the era like Jesus Christ Superstar, which is later referenced in the season.

Ann Harada's character references Fräulein Schneider in Cabaret. The character runs a boarding house, which resembles Hotel Schmicago.

A woman who resembles Joanne from Stephen Sondheim's Company continuously exclaims, "I'll drink to that!" The line is a reference to the character's song "Ladies Who Lunch."

Dove Cameron's Jenny Banks is a reference to Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

As Josh and Melissa attend Jenny's performance, the club at their hotel, the Kratt Club, resembles the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret.

The dancers at the club parody "Hey Big Spender" from Sweet Charity.

Ariana DeBose's character references the Emcee from Cabaret. The dancers at the club are all named after the orphans in Annie, except for Elsie, who is named after a woman named in the title song from Cabaret, in which Sally Bowles sings, "I used to have a girlfriend known as Elsie."

Dove Cameron's song "Kaput" resembles the title song from "Cabaret," with the choreography referencing Sally Bowles' "Mein Herr," which Cameron sings in the lyrics.

As Martin Short returns as the Leprechaun, his song parodies "All That Jazz" from Chicago.

Episode Two:

Aaron Tveit's Topher character is a mix of the leading roles in Pippin, Godspell, and Hair.

A character named Conrad is also in the jail, who parodies Conrad Birdie from Bye, Bye Birdie.

Tveit's song "Doorway to Where" references "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin.

Jane Krakowski plays Bobbie Flanagan, a takeoff on Billy Flynn from Chicago. Since the role is gender-bent, naming the character "Bobbie" references the recent Company revival, which renamed the role of "Bobby" to "Bobbie."

Bobbie's monologue to Melissa resembles Roxie Hart's monologue before the song "Roxie" in Chicago, even referencing the "world full of 'no'" line.

The newspaper in Bobbie's office reads "Prosecution Frazzles, Bobbie Dazzles," a reference to Billy Flynn's "Razzle Dazzle" in Chicago.

The audition at the Krattt Club references the opening number from A Chorus Line, with a few moves of the choreography being the same. Melissa's section of the song parodies "Music in the Mirror" from A Chorus Line. At the end of the song, the dancers hold up headshots of their characters, which also happens in the musical.

As Flanagan arrives at the jail to visit Josh, his fellow prisoners sing a send-up to the beginning of "All I Care About" from Chicago and the title song from Company.

Flanagan continues to have Bobbie share a fictional story with the press about how he was overcome with jazz, which lead to Elsie's murder, which references what Billy Flynn told Roxie Hart to say to the press in Chicago's press conference scene, "We Both Reached For the Gun."

Dove Cameron, Cecily Strong, and Ariana DeBose's "Bustin' Out" song resembles "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from Company and also features musically references parts of the Chicago overture.

"Quick Street" at the end of the episode references the song "Easy Street" from Annie.

Episode Three:

In the opening of the episode, different buildings in Schmicago are named after famous composers, including Sondheim's Children's Place (Stephen Sondheim), Schwartz Happy Family Portraits (Stephen Schwartz), Herman's Hummable Tunes (Jerry Herman), and Ebb & Co. Apothecary (Fred Ebb).

Topher's commune references tribes in musicals like Hair and Godspell.

Before his song begins, Topher says they are celebrating "Being Alive," a reference to the iconic song from Company.

"Gotta Get Naked" is heavily inspired by Hair, which features similar lyrics and a famous scene with nudity.

The Kander Abinsthe Cafe is a reference to composer John Kander.

Kristin Chenoweth's Miss Codwell is inspired by Miss Hannigan from Annie and Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd.

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Kristin Chenoweth

Codwell's "The Worst Brats in Town" references "Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd.

"The Lamb Without a Flock" sequence references the parables that the group in Godspell tells and performs.

Alan Cumming's Dooley Blight is a parody of the title character in Sweeney Todd. His song is also a reference to "The Worst Pies" in London.

Blight's storyline of no longer seeing his daughter resembles Todd's relationship with his daughter, Johanna Barker in Sweeney Todd. This implies that Page's Kratt character is inspired by Judge Turpin.

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Alan CUmming

Bobbie Flanagan's "Bells and Whistles" musical number utilizes Bob Fosse-style choreography, referencing "Razzle Dazzle" from the musical Chicago. Choreography from the number is taken directly from "Hot Honey Rag" in Chicago.

The music in the song is inspired by "Dance: 10; Looks: 3" from A Chorus Line, "I'm Not Getting Married Today" from Company, and "I Can't Do It Alone" from Chicago.

Krakowski skates through the court room on rollerskates, signaling back to her Broadway debut in Starlight Express.

Josh sitting on Flanagan's lap while lipsyncing to her song and pretending to be a puppet is a reference to "We Both Reached For the Gun" from Chicago.

The woman yelling "I'll Drink to That" continues to reference "Ladies Who Lunch" in Company.

Kratt's song is inspired by "This Jesus Must Die," sung by Ciaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Episode Four:

In the first frame of the episode, a marquee saying "Roxie" can be seen in the distance, referencing Roxie Hart from Chicago.

As Josh, Melissa, and Jenny arrive at Topher's commune, Topher says "The Prodigal Son has returned," in reference to Josh. The Prodigal Son is a parable that is performed in the musical Godspell.

The song that Topher sings resembles a section of "The Last Supper" in Jesus Christ Superstar.

A portion of "Talk to Daddy" references "Rhythm of Life" and "The Rich Man's Frug" from Sweet Charity. The use of telephones in the number are also reminiscent of "Telephone Hour" in Bye, Bye Birdie.

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Keegan-Michael Key, Dove Cameron, and Cecily Strong

Topher and Jenny's song references "Love Song" from Pippin.

Blight and Cowell continue to reference Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd. Their song at the end of the episode parodies "A Little Priest" from the musical.

"Good Enough to Eat" at the end of the episode resembles "Put On a Happy Face" from Bye, Bye Birdie and "Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" from Annie. A section of the song also takes notes from "Hard Knock Life" in Annie.

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Kristin Chenoweth

Episode Five:

The music at the beginning of the episode is reminiscent of Into the Woods.

The musical intro to Melissa's song references music from A Chorus Line.

Melissa's "Maybe It's My Turn Now" is inspired by "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret.

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Cecily Strong

Tituss Burgess' song is reminiscent of "Heaven on Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

Topher and Jenny's song to Josh and Melissa musically references "The Last Supper" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

The three backup singers in Madam Frau and Sergeant Rivera's song are a send-up to Little Shop of Horrors and Promises, Promises. The song also resembles parts of "Ladies Who Lunch" from Company.

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Jaime Camil and Ann Harada

Episode Six:

Parts of Ariana DeBose's song, "Over and Done," are inspired by Dreamgirls.

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Ariana DeBose

Blight saying "God, that was good," to Miss Codweel is a reference to the song "God, That's Good" in Sweeney Todd.

The chandelier falling on Kratt is a sendup of the chandelier in The Phantom of the Opera, including the organ music playing with it.

Sergeant Rivera's performance is inspired by The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Stay Here in Schmicago" and "A Happy Beginning" have references to the finale in Pippin and "Being Alive" from Company.

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The cast of Schmigadoon

Check back next week to find out the musical references in the third episode of Schmigadoon!

Watch the trailer for the new season here:







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