Two Minutes' Traffic: Schmigadoon!, The Kennedy Center

 When Apple TV premiered the series Schmigadoon!, created and written by Cinco Paul, it had an uphill battle. On a streamer few people actually watched, here was a six episode series that spoofed the golden age of American musical theatre. Sure, it had big names with Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong that normies might recognize, but how many non-Broadway nerds would get excited to see Aaron Tveit's name in the credits? The show had modest success, enough to spawn a richer second season, but it's run ended there. 

Ever since, Paul has been working on a stage adaptation of season one's story and songs, and which premiered last week at the Kennedy Center.  Here, the story has been streamlined from the television version, but the most radical change is simply in how much better momentum the story has when it has to be performed straight through by live performers. Watching actors pull off one big number after another feels different than knowing you're watching a final product of infinite takes; seeing the energy and watching the actors work is one of the pleasures of live performance that the television version of Schmigadoon! couldn't capture. 

It's anyone's guess what the future of this new version of Schmigadoon! will hold, but today it sure is nice to see something get a second chance and to revel in the delighted feedback from the audience right away.