Grab your corn puddin’ because the Apple TV series Schmigadoon! has made the leap from streaming to Broadway. Cinco Paul‘s loving send-up of ’40s and ’50s-era musical theater raised the curtain on its stage version on Monday night, adapting Season 1 of its two-year run.
On the small screen, at least, Schmigadoon! found a small, but loyal audience who flipped for its spot-on homages to and parodies of shows like Carousel, Oklahoma! and, of course, Brigadoon. But Broadway critics are a tougher lot, which means not all of their takes are something to sing about. Here’s a sampling of how the reviews are trending.
The good
Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman slaps Schmigadoon! with four stars, raving: “Schmigadoon!’s love for classic musical theater may not be 100% true — everything about it is in quotation marks — but good gosh, is it enjoyable. …Under the protective cover of parody, Schmigadoon! is free to deliver real pleasures of old-school American musical comedy: catchy melodies with clever lyrics, laughs on the regular, a little romance and a large cast of seasoned pros in big, joyous production numbers.”
Over in Variety, Naveen Kumar praises stars Sara Chase and Alex Brightman, taking over from their TV counterparts, Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. “Chase is a warm and wry powerhouse as a musical-theater geek still happy to drag her beloved artform’s dated faults. And Brightman, who’s built a reputation playing wilder roles, shows his range by going straightfaced as the sourpuss fish out of water. Not just in contrast to the hijinks around them, the two feel grounded and worth rooting for.”
And in Entertainment Weekly, Patrick Gomez admits to not having seen the show’s Apple TV incarnation, but it enjoyed it all the same. “While story elements were instantly familiar because of my decades enjoying the classics of the genre, the jokes and songs were all fresh to me. That said, there’s plenty new for the superfan to enjoy as well (four new musical numbers, tweaked lyrics and plotlines). If my audience’s reaction was any indication, the mere appearance of the Schmigadoon town sign and the simple utterance of the words ‘corn puddin’ are enough to send them into rapturous laughter and applause.”
The meh
The Guardian‘s Jesse Hassenger is a bit more mixed in his three-star take: “It’s entirely possible that those who haven’t seen the TV show will receive Schmigadoon! as an uncomplicated good time, both an affectionate send-up of shows still performed at American high schools everywhere and a tribute to why they endure despite outdated elements. But even without watching the original version, some viewers will probably anticipate certain jokes and turns — at this point, revelations of chaste queerness are practically obligatory in a Broadway showstopper, and even the friendly brand of satire on offer here ultimately feels a little soft.”
Over in amNY, Matt Windman thinks: “There was a certain giddy novelty to Schmigadoon! when it premiered on Apple TV. …It felt like a clever inside joke that somehow slipped onto a mainstream streaming platform. On Broadway, that joke proves harder to sustain. It is a very faithful translation of the television series. Maybe too faithful. What played as a nimble, episodic satire on screen feels stretched thin as a full-length Broadway musical.”
The New York Daily News‘ Chris Jones agrees, noting: “Frankly, I think this Broadway Schmigadoon! would have better advised to condense Season 1 of the TV show… and move to Season 2 after intermission. That’s when the TV Schmigadoon! took on darker, more cynical musicals…Gattelli and this crew would have all kinds of fun there and the central Act One gag would not have felt a little stretched beyond its natural thickness.”
