author: Leonard Taube
What do you get when you take an old classic musical from a bygone era, pepper it with a cast of Broadway stars, toss it in a sauce of catchy song and dance numbers and top it off with shavings of parody? What else but Schmigadoon!, a new musical which is holding its world premiere at The Kennedy Center in our nation’s capital. Loosely based on the 1947 Broadway musical Brigadoon (later to become a film version in 1954 starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse) about a fictitious village in the highlands of Scotland that only appears once a century, Schmigadoon was produced in 2021 as an Emmy Award Winning 6-part series on Apple TV written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Well, now it’s been turned into a major musical for the stage with the book, music, and lyrics by Mr. Paul. DC marks its maiden voyage into what hopes to become a Broadway smash hit. And judging by what I saw in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre, all bets on that happening are good.
The story follows a couple in relationship distress, Josh and Melissa, on a backpacking trip into the wilderness to hopefully repair their frayed union when they unwittingly cross a footbridge and find themselves in the magical village of Schmigadoon, a place where they find themselves stuck until they can fix themselves, and where every thought becomes a musical number where characters are based on well-known musicals. Song and dance reign supreme among the good people of Schmigadoon, and one gets the feeling that they don’t even know it’s happening. To them, it’s completely normal. Of course, Melissa gets caught up in the infectious musical romps while Josh, who wants nothing more than to get back home, refuses to sing (or dance), which must be a bit strange for a Broadway star known for his singing.
Josh is played by Alex Brightman (of Beetlejuice fame) and Melissa by Sara Chase (who recently was seen on Broadway in the new musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby). Rounding out the cast are a flock of uber talented folks straight from Broadway, and I was tickled to see Ann Harada (the original Christmas Eve in Avenue Q) live and in-person reprising her role of the Mayor’s wife, Florence Menlove, in the Apple TV series as well as Emily Skinner (one of the original Siamese twins in SideShow) as the uptight holier-than-thou Reverend’s wife, Mildred Layton.
Oh, the show has plots. And subplots. And Subtext. It’s sublime, sultry, sexy at times and downright hysterical. While nonmusical theatre folks may have a bit of a hard time getting all the intended parodies (but will still enjoy it nonetheless), those musical theatre nerds among us will guffaw at the hilarious send up of such shows as The Music Man, Oklahoma, Carousel and The Sound of Music. Kevin Del Aguila is The Reverend Layton, a high-pitched sounding minister who will make you laugh just by opening his mouth. Little boy Carson Tate is played by Ayaan Diop and had the audience emanating audible “awww’s” due to his inimitable cuteness. His parody of Winthrop (The Music Man) is to die for. McKenzie Kurtz is Betsy McDonough, the farmer’s daughter who has her sights set on Josh and oh my, does she pack a mean picnic basket! Her vibrato vocalizations are dizzyingly funny, and her signature song & dance number “Corn Puddin’” will set your toes a-tapping for sure.
Brad Oscar is the queer one…err, Mayor Menlove of Schmigadoon, with a penchant for rhubarb squares, and finds out that his love for the confection (as well as for other things) is shared by the good Reverend (“I thought I Was the Only One”). The town’s good doctor, Doc Lopez (played by Javier Munoz) is a straightlaced conservative doc whose wife has recently passed away until he’s tamed by and falls for Melissa. Speaking of being tamed, Ryan Vasquez gives Billy Bigelow (Carousel) a run for his money, although he’s renamed in the show to Danny Bailey. His Billy mannerisms are spot on, and his songs “Enjoy The Ride” and “You Done Tamed Me” will have you rolling in the aisles. Tall, handsome and with sufficiently high pants, he’s the carnival barker we all know, but the comedy comes from poking fun at the original character. In fact, that’s where much of the comedy in this show comes from. The characters seem oblivious to who they are modeled after, or of the plot of the show that they are known for. They just ramble on for the sake of perpetuating their individual story lines, at times to a fault. The concept is brilliant and makes for some show stopping comedy. Isabelle McCalla plays Emma Tate, mother of cutie Carson, and is the school Marm with a penchant for library books. She gets Josh caught up in the plot of The Music Man and it’s a total riot to witness. Interestingly, it’s her relationship with Josh and the good doctor’s relationship with Melissa that provides the catalyst for their ultimate reunification.
There is a well put together ensemble of singers/dancers, as every good musical needs, who comprise the good townsfolk of Schmigadoon, but kudos go out to The Countess Gabrielle Von Blerkom (Angel Reda) who takes the Baroness (The Sound of Music) on a twisted ride that will cause much clapping (“I Always Always Never Get My Man”). But despite numerous storylines that drive each of the character’s song and dance numbers, they all manage to weave a spell which, whether they are aware of it or not, ultimately helps the young couple find their way back to each other, and in so doing, out of Schmigadoon.
In a town where life is one great big musical, where everyone has a secret, and where the path to self-awareness and redemption are just a tap number away, this is one show that promises to amuse, entertain and have you laughing from the start to curtain. So, find your way through the forest to that magical footbridge and cross over into a town that will have you applauding, laughing and, well, leaving feeling awfully good and with a strange craving for corn puddin’.
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Schmigadoon! plays through February 9th 2025 as a part of the Broadway Center Stage series in the Eisenhower Theatre at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC. For tickets call the box office at (202) 467-4600 or purchase them online.
