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| WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| The Wall Street Journal has a rave for “Schmigadoon.” I don’t have Apple TV. Is there another way to see it? | |
| Link | “Schmigadoon" |
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| I'm really in tune with 'Schmigadoon!' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 03:55 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:47 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| I'm loving this Apple+ show, created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, it lovingly celebrates and satirizes musicals at the same time. The parodies, the production values and the performers are pitch perfect. Aaron Tveit is especially stealing the show as a faux Billy Bigelow. It's so gratifying to see Broadway pros do what that they love - sing and dance - and get the wider TV exposure they deserve. That's why I'll happily plunk down $4.99 a month to Apple TV to support a new series like ''Schmigadoon!'' But what I really enjoy most is the show's ethnically diverse cast. ''Schmigadoon!'' makes no attempt to explain it. It simply exists in the same way its citizens burst into song. Traditionally, the classic musicals of '40s and '50s have been all-white affairs. ''Schmigadoon's'' Ann Harada, an Asian-American actress, pointedly and poignantly told the Daily Beast: ''I love all those shows, and I grew up on those movies. But I have not found it—I don’t know how to put this—it hasn’t been so easy, necessarily, for someone that looks like me to be in some of those Golden Age shows.” Anyway, what a show ''this has been, what a rare mood I'm in.'' Can't wait to return real soon to ''Schmigadoon!'' |
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| Link | The Daily Beast: Welcome to 'Schmigadoon,' SNL's Homage to Musicals ... (Warning: Full of Spoilers!) |
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| I loved it! | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 02:20 am EDT 07/19/21 | |
| In reply to: I'm really in tune with 'Schmigadoon!' - WaymanWong 03:47 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
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| Can’t wait for the next episode. And I would buy the costume designer a beer for Aaron Tveit’s pants alone! Now that’s a Bench Scene! Laura |
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| One more 'Ride' on the merry-go-round | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 04:06 am EDT 07/19/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:55 am EDT 07/19/21 | |
| In reply to: I loved it! - showtunetrivia 02:20 am EDT 07/19/21 | |
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| In Cecily Strong's flirty duet with Aaron Tveit, she sings: ''Ready to taste the things I've never tasted. Wow, your pants are really high-waisted!'' (Cinco Paul wrote the sly songs in ''Schmigadoon!'' and 3-time Tony winner Doug Besterman did the orchestrations.) |
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| Link | Cecily Strong and Aaron Tveit sing 'Enjoy the Ride' from 'Schmigadoon!' (audio) |
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| Hilarious 2-paragraph review the Guardian's weekly TV wrap-up | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 10:00 am EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| MY EYES! After watching the musical miniseries Schmigadoon!, I now believe that jazz hands can be weaponised. The US six-parter is executive produced by Lorne Michaels and features Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple struggling in their relationship who end up in the fantasy town of Schmigadoon! (“Where life’s a musical every day”) – with the snag that you can’t leave unless you’re in love. The cast includes Alan Cumming as a closeted mayor and Kristin Chenoweth as a baddie with Joan Crawford cheekbones, with Jane Krakowski due to appear as the countess later on. Schmigadoon! (as in Brigadoon) is deadly serious about being a musical: it’s all full-on song-and-dance routines, with rustling petticoats, tipped hats, original music from co-creator Cinco Paul and thematic grand larceny from the likes of The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music. It becomes a teensy-weensy bit tiring (at one point, a leprechaun appears in a puff of green smoke), but it’s all done with a giggle and a gigantic wink. One for those who miss musical theatre and who find RuPaul’s Drag Race not quite camp enough. |
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| Link | This Week in TV |
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| I watched the first two episodes (minor spoilers like those found in a review); and link to NYT review | |
| Last Edit: mikem 11:20 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:15 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
| In reply to: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| I watched the first two episodes already (minor spoilers like those found in a review follow). The show is certainly fun and enjoyable, but I have a slightly different viewpoint than the WSJ reviewer, who is looking at the show purely on whether it is funny (which it is). I get that it's a parody, but there is a lot of self-awareness and winking at the audience. The acting is a bit too exaggerated and feels like that found in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. The emphasis is on the laugh rather than on development of character. But it's one thing not to care about the characters in a five-minute sketch. Here, we've got 6 episodes of thirty minutes each. It doesn't help that the show wants to contrast the two modern characters to the seemingly happy-happy-happy townspeople, so the two modern characters are both a bit negative and not that much fun to be around. I wish the show had more sincerity. You can have outlandish characters and situations in a parody and still have some degree of sincerity. Barry Sonnenfeld, the director, did both The Addams Family and the first two episodes of Pushing Daisies and was able to create characters we care about within an outlandish, artificial framework. I don't feel he was as successful here. But it's great to see so many Broadway names and the song parodies are great fun. I'm linking the NY Times review, which is positive but not as much of a rave as the WSJ one. |
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| Link | https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/15/arts/television/review-schmigadoon.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage |
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| re: I watched the first two episodes (minor spoilers like those found in a review); and link to NYT review | |
| Last Edit: AnyaS 03:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| Posted by: AnyaS 03:44 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: I watched the first two episodes (minor spoilers like those found in a review); and link to NYT review - mikem 11:15 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| That was my problem too. I laughed a lot but I didn't care about the two leads...not one bit. Not sure if you're even supposed to be cheering for them to get back together. If you are, that's a shame because they have zero chemistry. I thought Aaron Tveit was the best thing about it. | |
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| spoilers | |
| Posted by: mikem 07:03 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: I watched the first two episodes (minor spoilers like those found in a review); and link to NYT review - AnyaS 03:44 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Spoilers The lack of chemistry is notable. They say they love each other, but I don't sense any actual affection between the two. Keegan-Michael Key's character has been consistent throughout that he doesn't take the relationship as seriously as Cecily Strong's character does. Except for arranging for the candy cascade at their first-anniversary dinner three years earlier, I don't think he's done anything that would be considered to be a positive for their relationship (or frankly, at all - has he said anything positive for two episodes?). And she seems to be constantly pushing him to feel differently about their relationship than he does. Minor plot holes: Would they not have tried to call the modern-day retreat hosts shortly after arriving at the Inn the first time? Surely, they would realize that there would be a major search expedition for them by that point. But they are just hanging out the next morning, having a leisurely meal, seemingly not caring that hundreds of people are probably combing the woods looking for them. Also, when they try to cross the bridge in Episode 2, they aren't carrying their backpacks anymore. |
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| re: spoilers | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 04:15 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 04:13 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: spoilers - mikem 07:03 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| I've read that upcoming episodes will include flashbacks of Melissa and Josh that show more how they bonded and fell in love. Traditionally, in a musical, that relationship would be shown through song, usually a duet. But since the premise of ''Schmigadoon!'' involves Josh, a guy who hates musicals, you can't have him singing ... yet. I'm assuming his arc will involve how he comes around and literally finds harmony with Melissa. As for minor plot holes, musicals already expect you to take a leap of faith, especially if you believe people can suddenly burst into song. Looking back at ''Brigadoon,'' would modern-day Americans really be able to understand, let alone sing with, Scottish folk from a century ago? ;) |
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| Here is an idea!!! | |
| Posted by: Leon_W 09:56 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
| In reply to: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| You can watch online at tv.apple.com and you can get a free 7 day trial. So if they are releasing an episode a week wait till they are all available and watch online for free! | |
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| re: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! | |
| Posted by: Bwayguy 09:07 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
| In reply to: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - TheHarveyBoy 07:08 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| There is not. Apple TV or bust. | |
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| re: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 10:09 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
| In reply to: re: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - Bwayguy 09:07 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| The various streaming companies want us to keep chucking five bucks at them every month, forgetting we signed up for them. Given the hideous plumbing disaster of 2020 and the new air conditioner of 2021, counting pennies is all we do here. So if I can budget something, I will damn well make sure it’s not going to be an ongoing charge. I signed up for HBO Max so we could see IN THE HEIGHTS (still not going back to indoor movies). I figured the $15 was less than what we would have spent for movie tickets. I’ve already put in the cancel notice. I just signed up for $5 per month for Apple TV for SCHMIGADOON. I intend to keep it until the end of their series (debuting September) adapting Isaac Asimov’s FOUNDATION novels. (Jared Harris, Lee Pace!) Then, adieu. They have little else I want to see. I had a free year of Apple TV with my new iPad, and didn’t watch a thing. I did the same sign on, sign off with CBS Access and NBC Peacock when they had items I wanted to see. Would you pay $5 for SCHMIGADOON? Wait five weeks for the whole series (six episodes) to be out. Then sign up and binge it. Laura |
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| Also on Apple TV...makes it totally worth it | |
| Posted by: Hair 03:34 pm EDT 07/16/21 | |
| In reply to: re: WSJ: “Schmigadoon” Review, a Rave! - showtunetrivia 10:09 am EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| The great Ted Lasso. The BEST show. Season 2 coming soonm | |
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| re: Also on Apple TV...makes it totally worth it | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 12:48 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Also on Apple TV...makes it totally worth it - Hair 03:34 pm EDT 07/16/21 | |
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| I second that. The Morning Show was fantastic too. | |
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