April 28, 2026: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler.

When I began writing this column ten years ago and titled it "Theatre Yesterday and Today," the goal was to brand a way of shuttling back and forth between Broadway's past and present and how they intersect. I can't think of another show right now that that offers the best of both than the satiric musical Schmigadoon, which opened last week at the Nederlander Theatre. The book, music, and lyrics are by Cinco Paul who, alongside his usual partner Ken Daurio, has written such animated screenplays as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who, The Secret Life of Pets and Despicable Me (and its sequels). Paul goes solo this time, adapting this Broadway version of Schmigadoon from the first of its two-season run on Apple TV, which he co-created with Daurio. A loving homage to Golden Age musicals, particularly of the Rodgers and Hammerstein variety, it directly lifts character and plot points from Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The Sound of Music, with a dash of Meredith Willson's The Music Man thrown in. Hard to resist, right?

Of course, Schmigadoon's title is a take-off of Brigadoon, the Lerner and Loewe musical in which two American tourists stumble upon a mythical Scottish village that appears for only one day every one hundred years. Here, the pair are Josh (Alex Brightman) and Melissa (Sara Chase), an unmarried couple—New York City MD's, no less—who veer off from a group of hikers in the Adirondacks, get lost, and find themselves trapped in a musical. Literally. It's the sort of place where everyone sings and dances on a whim, which should always be puzzling when it occurs onstage or in a film, but never is. It's particularly irksome to Josh, who hates musicals, and sort of adorable to Melissa, who loves them. It's enough to provide plenty of dramatic conflict, especially since the only way the couple can get out of Schmigadoon is if they really are one another's "true love" (a point that's debatable with the two bickering like mad at the start of the evening). The delicious comedy that derives from their interactions with the denizens of this weirdly time-conflicted town include a Billy Bigelow-type carnival barker (Max Clayton), a Marian the Librarian-type schoolmarm (Isabelle McCalla) with a much younger brother (Ayaan Diop), a closeted Mayor (Brad Oscar) and his clueless wife (Ann Harada) and, since every musical needs a villain to hiss, the minister's wife Florence Menlove (Ana Gasteyer). Given some of the best lines, Florence refers to Clayton's Danny Bailey as the town's "known fornicator," condemning him further as “a scoundrel, a rapscallion and—pardon my Jewish—a nogoodnik!”

In the assured hands of director/choreographer Christopher Gattelli, particularly with regard to the comedy, there is a consistency of vision that keeps this lighter-than-air vehicle aloft. It's not an easy task, but the sterling contributions from such Broadway veterans as Music Supervisor and Arranger David Chase and Orchestrator Doug Besterman help immeasurably. We instantly recognize songs that begin by echoing the precise melody of something like the title tune from Oklahoma! or "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music, only for them to wittily veer off on their own. Stealing from the best creates some catchy tunes—ear worms, even—a rare thing to encounter at a musical these days (Beaches anybody?). Trust me, Schmigadoon's "Corn Puddin," a rip-off of The Music Man's "Shipoopi" and Carousel's "Real Nice Clambake," will stay with you for a while, whether you want it to or not (first introduced in the series, the song won Paul an Emmy in 2022 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics). Sadly, since most of the score on Broadway was written for the series, Paul will not be eligible for an Original Score Tony, though he will most certainly be nominated for Best Book.

In truth, this undertaking could have played disastrously. But there's such a sense of respectful fun to Schmigadoon that it comes off as a loving send-up as opposed to a satiric take-down. In a cast filled with wonderfully eccentric portrayals, the stand outs include McKenzie Kurtz, who killed it in Heathers earlier this season, and who I also got to see in 2023 as a splendid Glinda the night of Wicked's 20th anniversary performance. Her version of Ado Annie, with the maniacal laugh mixed in of "that Cummings Girl," also from Oklahoma!, is downright hilarious. Kurtz really knows where the funny is! As the town's resident bad boy, Max Clayton is a revelation. A wonderful singer and dancer, he cuts quite a figure in both his athleticism and sense of good-natured cool. Isabelle McCalla shines as the schoolmarm; superbly leading the showstopping production number "With All of Your Heart," one of the best Act Two openers I've seen in many a season. There are also excellent contributions from the always reliable Brad Oscar and Ann Harada. Ana Gasteyer, onstage last season in similarly wicked garb as the Queen in the Once Upon a Mattress revival, essaying her role here with far less effort is a hoot and a half.

As for the show's two leads, Sara Chase times her comedy with expert precision and sings gloriously. Warm, charming, and game for anything, her Melissa is a gem of a performance. Alex Brightman, saddled with the less effervescent Josh, manages to make his curmudgeonliness sort of cuddly. Having created the roles of Dewey in School of Rock and the title role of Beetlejuice, Brightman can usually be found in over-the-top mode, which he does just about better than anybody. Here, without the ability to sing until the very end, when the character finds his voice, he delivers with admirable restraint. I only wish that Paul composed a song that showed Brightman's voice off better than the one we get. It would have been magnificent if he wailed when he finally expresses himself in song.

Sets by Scott Pask expertly convey whimsey, Linda Cho's costumes are colorful and vividly executed, and Donald Holder's lighting cannot be faulted. And a special shout out to the ensemble, who each deserve mention by name: Afra Hines (especially winning when spoofing Eleanor Parker's Baroness from Sound of Music), Becca Peterson, Clyde Alves, Jess LeProtto, Joshua Burrage, Kaleigh Cronin, Kimberly Immanuel, Lyrica Woodruff, Nathan Lucrezio, Richard Riaz Yoder, Shina Ann Morris, and Zachary Downer.

Coming in as it has at the tail end of an insufficiently satisfying season of original musicals, Schmigadoon is like a breath of fresh air. Yes, it has to rely on familiarity to score its points, but take a whiff and smell the corn puddin'! There's no better sniffing than one that whets your appetite and then delivers.

Ron Fassler is the author of The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings and Replacements. For news and “Theatre Yesterday and Today”columns when they break, please subscribe.

Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.