Review Roundup: SCHMIGADOON! World Premiere at the Kennedy Center

The reviews are rolling in for the world premiere of Schmigadoon! at the Kennedy Center.  Schmigadoon! is based on the Emmy® Award–winning Apple Original series from Broadway Video, executive produced by Saturday Night Live creator, executive producer, and 2021 Kennedy Center Honoree Lorne Michaels.

Tony Award® winner Christopher Gattelli (Death Becomes Her, Newsies) directs and choreographs the new musical with book, music, and lyrics by Emmy® winner and Grammy Award® nominee Cinco Paul.

Schmigadoon! stars two-time Tony® nominee Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice, The Kennedy Center’s Spamalot) as Josh Skinner and Sara Chase (The Great Gatsby, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Melissa Gimble, New York doctors who go backpacking in a last-ditch attempt to save their failing relationship, but instead get lost in the woods and end up trapped in Schmigadoon, a magical town that’s a classic Golden Age musical come to life. They are joined by Emmy® winner and Tony® nominee Kevin Del Aguila (Yellow Face, Some Like it Hot) as the Reverend Layton, Ann Harada (Cinderella, Avenue Q) reprising her role from the Apple Original series as Florence Menlove, McKenzie Kurtz (The Heart of Rock and Roll, Wicked) as Betsy McDonough, Isabelle McCalla (Water for Elephants, The Kennedy Center’s Footloose) as Emma Tate, Javier Muñoz (Hamilton, In the Heights) as Doc Lopez, Tony® nominee Brad Oscar (Something Rotten!, Mrs. Doubtfire) as Mayor Menlove, Tony® nominee Emily Skinner (Suffs, The Cher Show) as Mildred Layton, and Ryan Vasquez (The Notebook, Hamilton) as Danny Bailey.

The Schmigadoon cast also includes Ayaan Diop as Carson Tate, Phillip Attmore as Freddy, Brandon Block as Buford Riggs, Holly Ann Butler as Helen Pritt, Max Clayton as Larry the Fireman, Kimberly Immanuel as Zaneeta, Eloise Kropp as Nancy, Jess LeProtto as Pete, Nathan Lucrezio as Farmer McDonough, Lauralyn Mcclelland as Ruth O’Reilly, Shina Ann Morris as Norma Nelson, Angel Reda as the Countess Gabrielle Von Blerkom, and Richard Riaz Yoder as Harvey the Innkeeper.

The musical features hits from the Grammy®-nominated score—including the Emmy®-winning “Corn Puddin’”—plus exciting new songs. The production includes musical direction by Steven Malone, orchestrations by Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, musical supervision and arrangements by David Chase, scenic design by Scott Pask, lighting design by Jen Schriever, costume design by Linda Cho, wig design by Tom Watson, and sound design by Haley Parcher. Matt Lacey is the production stage manager. Casting is by The Telsey Office. Jeffrey Finn is the artistic director and executive producer of Broadway Center Stage. Schmigadoon! is produced by special arrangement with Broadway Video and No Guarantees Productions.

Jesse Green, New York Times: Neither onscreen nor onstage was I ever very interested in the on-the-outs couple, Josh and Melissa, for the simple reason that as characters they are skeletally thin. He’s the repressed, flat-affect guy; she’s in touch with her ambivalence to the point of annoyance. Though very smartly and appealingly performed here, by Alex Brightman and especially Sara Chase, neither would have lasted two scenes as protagonists of any of the musicals “Schmigadoon” models itself on. But, oh, those musicals! They are classics for a reason, whether for pure delight or complex feeling, and never as normative as they appear on the surface. “Oklahoma!” asks us to accept the inevitable harshness of life but not buckle under it; “Carousel” questions the possibility of redemption. “The Music Man” suggests that, in River City as elsewhere, even the truest love is a bit of a scam.

Rhoda Feng, Vulture: In a world that often feels more like a Sondheim second act than a sunny Rodgers and Hammerstein opening number, Schmigadoon! offers a heady dose of Golden Age escapism. Maybe too heady at times. As much as I enjoyed many of the songs, at the end of two and half hours, I found myself thinking wistfully of the original Schmigadoon!. Perhaps another incarnation will someday emerge that restores — even adds to — what this one elides. I hope it doesn’t take 100 years.

Naveen Kumar, Washington Post: What we don’t see are the specifics of the relationship between Josh and Melissa, or the friction that drove them into the wilderness on a couples retreat — and ultimately, to Schmigadoon — to repair it. The series details that history in frequent flashbacks to their real-life ups and downs, which may be a cumbersome device to replicate onstage. But the absence of that context means that the show often feels mired in surface-level cleverness. Melissa explains to Josh that “romance in musicals isn’t always logical,” which is why they “usually let the songs do the heavy lifting.” As a songwriter Paul takes that maxim to extremes, and for good reason. His score — including the Emmy-winning “Corn Puddin’,” an ode to the form’s joyful goofiness, plus memorable numbers from the series and several new ones — is as infectious as the source material it’s designed to emulate.

Elliot Lanes, BroadwayWorld: Despite my quibbles about some of the casting, I thoroughly recommend Schmigadoon to all lovers of musical theatre and theatre in general. With all that’s going on right now, it’s the perfect escape.

Aidan O'Connor, MD Theatre Guide: Schmigadoon is a gloriously delightful night of escape at the theatre that leaves audiences wanting to come back night after night. What it lacks in technical perfection, it makes up for in witty one-liners and all-too-familiar songs. It executes musical parody as never seen before on stage and brings all the joy of live theatre. Yee-Honk!

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

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