Get to Know the Cast of SCHMIGADOON!
The company includes Broadway favorites like Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, and Aaron Tveit- just to name a few.
By: Team BWW Jul. 16, 2021
Today is the the day! Live the musical fantasy of your dreams with Apple TV+'s new series, Schmigadoon!- a parody of iconic Golden Age musicals.
Schmigadoon! stars Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship who discover a magical town living in a 1940s musical. They then learn that they can't leave until they find "true love." The first two episodes are available today (followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday).
Wondering how you know the cast? Study up on their roles on stage and screen below!
Cecily Strong (Melissa)
How you know her: Best known for her nine seasons of work on Saturday Night Live (for which she has also been nominated for an Emmy Award) Strong has appeared in Ghostbusters, The Boss, and The Female Brain. Next month she will release her first book, a memoir titled 'This Will All Be Over Soon'.
On Schmigadoon!: "I hope audiences walk away having smiled for six episodes and maybe laughed and cried when they didn't think they would. I hope we made them feel good for six episodes."
Keegan-Michael Key (Josh)
How you know him: Perhaps best known for his work on alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series Key & Peele, Keegan also spent six seasons as a cast member on Mad TV and has made appearances on Fargo, Parks and Recreation, and Game On! His film credits include Pitch Perfect 2, Don't Think Twice, The Lego Movie, Hotel Transylvania 2, Storks, The Angry Birds Movie, The Lion King and Toy Story 4. In 2017, Key made his Broadway debut in Steve Martin's Meteor Shower and just last year he made his musical debut in Netflix's adaptation of The Prom.
Alan Cumming (Mayor Menlove)
How you know him: A beloved star of the stage and screen, Alan's best-known film roles include his performances in Emma, GoldenEye, the Spy Kids trilogy, Son of the Mask, and X2. Cumming also appeared on The Good Wife, for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Satellite Award. On Broadway, he has appeared in The Threepenny Opera, as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret (for which he won a Tony Award), Design for Living, and a one-man adaptation of Macbeth.
Fred Armisen (Reverend Layton)
How you know him: Best known for his decade of work on Saturday Night Live, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia. He also co-created and stars in the mockumentary IFC series Documentary Now!, as well as the Showtime comedy series Moonbase 8. He has a recurring voice role in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth. Some of his television guest appearances include: 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, Broad City, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Difficult People, The Last Man on Earth, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Since 2019, he co-stars and acts as writer and executive producer on the Spanish-language series Los Espookys, which he co-created.
Kristin Chenoweth (Mildred Layton)
How you know her: Chenoweth won a Tony Award for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, Chenoweth received wide notice for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked, including a nomination for another Tony. Her television roles have included Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also starred in the ABC TV series GCB in 2012. Her other Broadway credits include: The Apple Tree in 2006, Promises, Promises, On the Twentieth Century, and her solo show- For the Girls.
Aaron Tveit (Danny Bailey)
How you know him: Tveit was recently nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. He is known for originating the musical theatre roles of Gabe in Next to Normal, Frank Abagnale Jr. in the stage musical version of Catch Me If You Can, and playing Enjolras in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables. Tveit is also known for his work in television, including the role as Tripp van der Bilt on The CW's series Gossip Girl, Mike Warren on the USA Network series Graceland, Danny Zuko in Grease: Live, and Gareth Ritter in the CBS series BrainDead.
On Schmigadoon!: "We started this in September/October and I think we quickly realized once we got through the protocols that we were probably some of the only people getting to exist in a musical... anywhere. That made it even more meaningful to tell the story the right way."
Dove Cameron (Betsy)
How you know her: Dove is perhaps best known for playing the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series Liv and Maddie, for which she won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming. She has also portrayed Mal in the Descendants film series. Dove played Amber Von Tussle in 2016's Hairspray Live! and in 2019, Cameron starred alongside Renée Fleming in The Light in the Piazza in London. Her debut EP, Bloodshot / Waste, was released in 2019.
On Schmigadoon!: "I think the best part of our jobs is entering into a world where you get to suspend disbelief. I always say it's like reading your favorite book and then being able to jump inside. Reading a script and then being able to put all of the clothes on... especially these days when nothing is really on a practical set! Not only were these sets practical, but they were grand and huge! To walk from a world that is masked up and isolated to [Schmigadoon]... it was like walking into Willy Wonka's set!"
Ariana DeBose (Emma Tate)
How you know her: Ariana earned a Tony nomination for her performance as Disco Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical in 2018. She originated the role of The Bullet in the Broadway cast of Hamilton and also appeared in such shows as Motown, A Bronx Tale, Pippin, and Bring It On. Most recently, she played Alyssa Greene in Netflix's The Prom, directed by Ryan Murphy, and next up she plays Anita in Steven Spielberg's much-anticipated remake of West Side Story.
Jaime Camil (Doc Lopez)
How you know him: Camil is best known for best known for his roles as Fernando Mendiola in La Fea Más Bella and Rogelio de la Vega in Jane the Virgin, the latter of which brought him two nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. A veteran of the stage, he has appeared in Mexican productions of West Side Story, Peter Pan, Aladdin, and El diluvio que viene. He made his Broadway debut in 2016 as Billy Flynn in Chicago.
Jane Krakowski (The Countess)
How you know her: Jane is perhaps best know for her role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series 30 Rock, for which she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Her other notable television roles include Ally McBeal and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Krakowski won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Broadway revival of Nine, as well as receiving Tony Award nominations for Grand Hotel and She Loves Me. She received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End revival of Guys and Dolls.
Ann Harada (Florence Menlove)
How you know her: Harada is perhaps best known for originating the role of Christmas Eve in Avenue Q on Broadway. Her other numerous stage credits include Les Miserables, 9 to 5, Seussical, and Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella.
On Schmigadoon!: "I'm so proud to be a part of [Schmigadoon!]. Obviously, we shot this in the middle of the pandemic. None of us were able to perform at all... but to suddenly find myself in a world where I got to hang out with Kristin [Chenoweth] and Alan [Cumming] and Aaron [Tveit] and Ariana [DeBose] and doing something super fun with your own people who get you... that was thrilling."
Videos