Darlings, THIS Is The Show Of The Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Three weeks from today are The TONY Awards.  Now, "Schmigadoon" has already picked up some minor prizes, like the Outer Critics Circle choice for "Best Musical."  But here's the thing.  The TONYS, like the Oscars, are so damned political and corporate--isn't everything, girls? --that, much as I want and think it should win "Best Musical," it probably will not.  My advice to you out there is to keep an eye on "The Lost Boys" and "Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)."

                                        But "Schmigadoon" is the show everyone should see.  A play on the Golden Age Of Musical Theater, even the title suggests "Brigadoon," and so do aspects of the plot.

                                         For show aficionados and Theater Queens like me, the references and in jokes fly, and I caught every one.  For those not in these groups, its colorful staging and knowledgeable direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli recall the Technicolor musicals of Vincente Minnelli in the 1940s (like "Brigadoon!").  Anyone looking for a 2.5-hour getaway from the current travails of this world are encouraged to see this show.

                                            Besides Gattelli's staging, it also has some Broadway stalwarts like Alex Brightman, Brad Oscar, and Ana Gasteyer, whose performance as the mayor's wife, is a hilarious combination of Hermione Gingold in "The Music Man" and Margaret Hamilton as Almira Gulch in "The Wizard Oz."  By the way, since that film--my favorite--I bet no parent has dared to name their daughter or daughters Almira.  Brad Oscar is the mayor, hilariously dressed as the Mayor Of Munchkin City--another 'Oz' reference--and the reveal between he and Max Clayton, as the Reverend, is hilarious and great for today's times.

                                               The score by Cinco Paul, who also did the book, is wonderfully evocative of musical melodies without plagiarism.    Throughout, one can hear recollections of "Oklahoma!" "Carousel," "The Music Man" and Gilbert And Sullivan Patter that also suggests Stephen Sondheim.  This is American Musical Theater, so no Andrew Lloyd Webber here!  I loved how the score was handled.

                                                I also loved maintaining the methods of entrance and departure from "Schimgadoon."  The duo here are Josh Skinner (Alex Brightman) and Melissa Gimble (Sara Chase), an unmarried couple, one of which is that Skinner is one of the worst kinds of straight guy--someone who dislikes musicals.  It is a pity because, anyone who saw the opening of "Beetlejuice" on Broadway knows Brightman is a more than a capable musical performer, and it is a pity he gets only one song.  He plays his role well, but I wish he had been given more to do.

                                                   Sara Chase, thankfully, is given more and it is when she and the chorus step forward to sing and dance that the show is at its best.  Michael Bennett would be proud, because, beside the stalwarts mentioned--- including McKenzie Kurtz, who plays Betsy, a sort of stand-in for Ado Annie--the show's chorus is actually the star, with its blend of jazz tap, and ballet seldom seen in today's present-day musicals.

                                                      Credit for the Vincente Minnelli color style must be given to set designer, Scott Pask, costume designer Linda Cho, and lighting designer Donald Holder.

                                                     Will "Schmigadoon" stand Time's test, like the shows it references????? Only Time itself will tell.  But right now, darlings, I am telling you, it is the show of the moment, and an avenue of escape for those who need it.

                                                        And all of us do, from time to time. So go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!