Isn’t it nice to have a reprieve from the heavy hitters and just enjoy the sentimental and schmaltzy for a change? If you don’t find that to be true, then don’t read any further. If you do, then heed my advice and head on down to “Schmigadoon”: a town where everyone breaks into golden age style musical numbers every millisecond.
If you’re a fan of the Apple TV series, this one’s for you as its creator, Cinco Paul, holds quite true to his original work while adding some new bits and pieces to the already lovable spoof. If you’re a classical musical theatre fan, this one’s for you as well (just try and count all the theatrical references and callbacks). If you’re looking for something on Broadway right now with a whole lotta laughs and a whole lotta heart, this one is definitely for you. Yes, it is as sappy as you would expect it to be, and there is no doubt those cliche romcom moments and a few pacing things the writer part of me just happened to pick out (but then remember this was a 2.5 hour musical made from 7 episodes). However, how can you not look past all that when you’re being utterly delighted with a balanced combination of musical theatre spectacle and silly-yet-cheesy-yet-wholesome romantic comedy?
Christopher Gattelli certainly leans into those aspects quite hard with his enthusiastic, smiley-faced choreography (a true mesmerizer to the eyes) and giving what could easily be seen as 2D characters a little flourish of 3-dimensionality even if they are pretty much caricatures of known golden age tropes. It may be a parody, but if he didn’t give these characters some meat and corn puddin’ (get it?!), it would definitely fall a bit flat. Thank goodness that’s not the case at all. With Gattelli at the helm, you certainly feel like you’ve been transported back to that golden time of musical theatre, and the design team he’s assembled hits all the right buttons in making this possible as well, with much of the praise going towards Scott Pask’s delightfully kitschy sets and Linda Cho’s voluptuous and detailed costuming.
The entire cast is a mighty who’s who of seasoned double-threats and triple-threats who are all equal and deserving of praise that singling any one of them out is impossible. But as a whole company, they are a testament to what musical theatre can do to an audience: to entertain and invoke that flood of emotions within. They do both those things within two and a half hours without any signs of failing.
You won’t have a more relaxing and enjoyable night at the theatre than at “Schmigadoon.” Let it dazzle your eyeballs and warm your heart with all that it’s got to throw at you, and may you be whisked away in a sea of belly laughs and joyful tears.
