Schmigadoon! Season Two Review

In my review of season one of Schmigadoon!, I worried that the series might not appeal to those who weren’t, like me, big time musical theatre fans. After all, if you can’t tell your Lerner and Loewe from your Rogers and Hammerstein, would you really care about a television series parodying their biggest hits and turning their stories on their heads by dropping a modern couple on the rocks into musicals from the 1940s and 50s? Well, it appears my fears were unfounded (or, at least not founded enough to warrant a cancellation for the delightful musical comedy), as it returns this week for a second season. However, gone are the lovely ballads, the love stories, and the need for our central couple Melissa and Josh (a great Cecily Strong – who also boasts a gorgeous voice – and Keegan-Michael Key, who is used much better this time around) to reconnect. Instead, things are much darker, sexier, and, perhaps surprisingly, funnier, as Schmigadoon morphs into Schmicago.

This time around, Melissa and Josh go looking for Schmigadoon after realizing they’ve hit a rut in their lives. Sure, they’re in love and happy together – that’s not a problem this time around – but the monotony of day-to-day life has zapped them of their joie de vivre. So, they head into the woods (don’t worry – that’s an ‘80s musical, so it doesn’t make a parody appearance here) in search of Schmigadoon once more. Of course, they find it, but it’s not quite the paradise of happy endings they remember. Instead, it’s a seedy town full of seedy denizens all dealing with existential crisis, painful personal loss, and various potentially deadly schemes. You see, Schmigadoon has morphed into Schmicago, home of musical theatre from the 1960s and 70s. If you aren’t as familiar with this period in the musical theatre oeuvre as I am, let me enlighten you. You have your Sweeney Todd, your Gypsy, your Chicago (where the series snags its name), your Cabaret, your Pippin (the opening number of the season pulls from the incredible opening number of that show, “Magic to Do”), your Company. All stories of complex personal journeys that rarely end in true happy endings – and some that end in death and bloodshed. Of course, that period also brought with it some funky, if odd, musicals, including Hair, Godspell, and Jesus Christ Superstar, all of which are represented throughout the season, lending a bit of fun to some of the dire circumstances we encounter. There’s also a number that appears to be parodying Dreamgirls, but that one didn’t arrive until the early ‘80s, so I’m not 100% certain I clocked it correctly, but it’s still a great song.

So, the theme this time around isn’t finding your true love. Instead, its more along the lines of finding your passion – what makes you tick – and trying to accomplish that while staring down the barrel of some truly terrifying circumstances. The cast is back from season one, all playing different characters – although Josh and Melissa certainly recognize them from the previous appearances. Dove Cameron is our Sally Bowles stand-in, singing and dancing at a night club but wanting to escape that life. She’s an absolute stand-out in the series this time around and had me hoping that the next Cabaret revival allows her the chance to play the real role. Alan Cumming is taking on Sweeney Todd – again, I wouldn’t say no to him taking on the role for real. Kristin Chenoweth is a Mrs. Lovett/Miss Hannigan hybrid (and yes, there are orphans, and yes they are in close proximity to Sweeney Todd, and yes you are thinking correctly where this might end up). Aaron Tveit isn’t quite used as well here as he was in season one, but his Pippin/Claude from Hair mash-up is suitably charming and his singing is excellent. Newly minted Oscar winner Ariana Debose appears briefly in the series, but only gets a couple numbers and isn’t all that connected to the main story, and Jamie Camil is back but also doesn’t get much to do this time around compared to the rest of the cast. Joining the cast this time around are Patrick Page (Hadestown) as the rich magnate who owns most everything in the town and the always delightful Tituss Burgess, who acts as a narrator of sorts.

So, once again, the cast is a murderer’s row of talent and those that get a lot to tackle do so with aplomb. But is the music – the lifeblood of a show like this – up to snuff? I’m happy to report that this time around, it’s even better than in season one (although that might just be my bias toward this era of musical theatre talking). The songs are sharper in their parody while still sounding like songs that could appear on Broadway today. They also help advance the story and characters in meaningful ways, which wasn’t necessarily the case in season one. The use of Burgess as the narrator helps in this regard, as his various interjections are crucial for keeping the loose ties of the story tied together (seriously, it’s not easy to keep a band of hippies connected with some of the darker elements in the tale, but the narrator helps it along nicely at points).

Again, I have some worries that the series might not work as well for viewers who aren’t all that versed in their Sondheim and Kander and Ebb, but since I was proven wrong in season one, there’s every chance I will be wrong this time (and I so hope I am – this was such a joy to watch from start to finish). Is there a chance a third season will appear, covering the big Broadway hits of the 80s and 90s? (Do we need a Cats parody after that film? Discuss.) I hold out hope to see just what Cinco Paul might come up with to poke fun at some of those shows (and viewers will likely clock one big reference to one of the “Big Three” of the ‘80s this season), but I would be perfectly happy if this was our last installment. Because this season is pretty darn perfect.

Schmigadoon’s second season premieres April 5 on AppleTV+. The entire season was provided for review.