This article was originally published at Shondaland.com
The two comedic powerhouses talk to Shondaland about singing and dancing their way into a new season of the Apple TV+ hit.
What happens when two comedic powerhouses play two people who, in the throes of trying to work out their relationship challenges, backpack their way into a world of literal musicals? Why, Schmigadoon!, of course!
A play on the 1947 musical Brigadoon, Apple TV+’s send-up of the great American musical saw Josh Skinner and Melissa Gimble — played by Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong — accidentally stumble upon a town where everyone sings and dances, and their only way out is to find true love.
Well, spoiler alert, Josh and Melissa did finally find that love, and in the second season, premiering April 5, of the hit series, they find themselves facing a new obstacle: fertility. And the couple decide to return to Schmigadoon to help them work out yet another life problem.
But there’s a catch: Schmigadoon, once reflective of saccharine Rodgers & Hammerstein-ified shows of the ’40s and ’50s, is now Schmicago, having taken on the sound and feel of the more subversive works of the ’60s and ’70s — think Cabaret, Pippin, and obviously, Chicago.
The series is created by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, co-executive produced by Saturday Night Live mastermind Lorne Michaels, and scaffolded by an estimable cast of singing, dancing, and acting talent, including the likes of Ariana DeBose, Martin Short, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, and Aaron Tveit, and we can’t help but crack up — and the gift of Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page joining the cast for season two just makes it all the more amusing a ride.
But it’s truly Key and Strong, as the real-world couple dealing with very real-world issues, who keep all the zaniness held together — and they clearly have the tremendous chops to kill such roles. Key made his mark on everything from Mad TV to Parks and Recreation to Key & Peele and Game On!, and he also boasts a master’s degree in theater from Penn State University. Strong, a 10-year Saturday Night Live alum (she’s the longest-serving female cast member in the show’s history), sang on that show constantly, and last year she took on Jane Wagner’s award-winning one-woman show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe in an off-Broadway run, playing the 12-character role Lily Tomlin made famous.
With their arrival in Schmicago upon them, Key and Strong recently hopped on a Zoom with Shondaland to share what it was like to work on the new season of Schmigadoon!, who made whom break the most, and how they stay positive through life’s ups and downs.
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VIVIAN MANNING-SCHAFFEL: What was your first reaction when you read the first Schmigadoon! script?
KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY: Pure excitement. I think part of it was being able to see what roles the other cast members were going to play, different from the first season. That to me was a lot of fun. Everything switched from the first season, and people who had less to do now had more to do — characters were completely varied from what they did in the first season.
VMS: And the evolution of your characters as well?
KMK: Absolutely, to see where we’re going. I can’t speak for Melissa, but for Josh, of course, there’s that sense that he’s in it to win it now. He has no resistance to the musical, so he’s raring to go.
CECILY STRONG: He’s going to sing and dance like everyone else.
VMS: Schmigadoon! is a comedic musical with a big ol’ wink for musical theater nerds. What went into preparing to play Josh and Melissa this go-round as opposed to last time? How much rehearsal was involved?
CS: Oh, definitely. [Looks at Key.] You and I filmed so much. We had a lot to do, so even finding the time for those rehearsals and getting our choreographer — because usually, if we weren’t shooting, that meant it was a big dance number, and our choreographer was usually there. Your free time was your rehearsal time too. I want to bring my best. Nobody wants to show up with this cast and not know their stuff.
VMS: How was filming a different experience this time around?
KMK: In the first season, everything was on a soundstage. One day, I think, we were outside, and the rest of it was on a soundstage. This was a much more expansive experience. I think that makes the acting a little bit different: We got to be outside more, in really different places, and we were all over, traveling to different sets. It was a different experience in that way, and you have to reset yourself a little bit when you’re in a different environment.
CS: We knew each other more too, and we knew that we liked each other. There’s a bit more playfulness. Even with a darker script, there was more playfulness among all of us.
VMS: I don’t know how you guys got through those scenes without breaking! Who made you guys break the most?
CS: Keegan.
KMK: Oh, me. We make each other break the most, on camera and off camera. Sometimes you’ll see us at the beginning of a take giggling, and that’s because we were laughing uproariously before the word “action,” and it just seeps into the take.
CS: I think one of my favorite photos from the set, Keegan and I weren’t filming, but that’s us doing a bit, on our own, playing with the phone. It’s just us buttheads …
KMK: It’s just these two knuckleheads playing with the phone. Stop the production!
Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong in Schmigadoon!
Dean Buscher
VMS: I would imagine the show is pretty tightly scripted. Is there any room for ad-libbing when you’re working on Schmigadoon! together or …
CS: You know, if they don’t say cut, it means go, go, go!
VMS: Keep it moving! You’re both trained actors. What did you learn by actually working that no amount of training could’ve prepared you for?
CS: I think the reality of being on set and what that actually looks like. Just the real-world part of it. I know that’s obvious. You’re kind of on your own, and you have to take it all with you and feel like you’re supposed to be there. Know that you’re supposed to be there, and hold that with you.
VMS: That little bit of impostor syndrome, even though you’ve trained and …
CS: Yes. Especially with a cast like this!
KMK: With this many superstars, it’s just a murderers’ row of Broadway talent, and it’s unbelievable.
VMS: What TV show or film did you watch when you were little that initially ignited the acting spark in you?
KMK: For me, it was watching Saturday Night Live as a kid, a preteen, or a teenager — right in there. I just thought to myself: Wait a minute; that’s a job?! Once I realized that was a job, I really wanted to do it. That was a very particular era; it was when Eddie Murphy was on Saturday Night Live. I thought: Look at that guy who looks like me, and if he can do that, what is that? Because that looks like a barrel of laughs. That was one thing that kind of sparked me.
CS: In that vein, I could say we had the Gilda [Radner] one-woman show on VHS. We watched a lot of that, and I thought, I would love to do that.
VMS: She was such a genius. Every job presents an opportunity to learn something about yourself, right? What did you guys learn about yourselves while working on Schmigadoon?
CS: I don’t know what I necessarily learned, but there were some days that felt like all hands on deck. You just get over that thing that bugs you for whatever reason. You’ve always got an ensemble to look out for at the same time, so I think that’s always a good exercise, to support the people around you knowing they’re going to support you back.
KMK: That’s a good answer — that’s actually really a good answer. They were long days, and also, this season was like 10 pounds of dynamite in a 5-pound bag. We had the same amount of time and did more songs, so I think that’s a great term, Ces, “all hands on deck.” You just had to strap in and go. It tests your mettle, and I think we all passed with flying colors.
VMS: Along with this show’s cheeky humor, its message is one of positivity through life’s ups and downs. How do you guys keep yourselves positive on days you don’t feel like showing up?
KMK: I think sometimes you have to remember that the two things you have in your life are your perception of something and how you react to that thing. I have to just try to keep that in mind. It’s my perception of something and how I react to that perception, and that’s really all there is. If you perceive something as a challenge, it’s going to be a challenge. If you perceive something as a lot of fun, it’s going to be a lot of fun. If you perceive something, even a challenge, as a gift, it’s a gift. Perception is reality, so it’s how you perceive it, and how you respond to that perception. That’s how I get through life.
VMS: Very wise! Same for you, Cecily?
CS: Yeah! Also, I love to laugh, so if there’s the possibility to laugh that day, I’m going to feel better. It’s a cliché, but sometimes you smile, and you fake it till you make it. Then people smile back at you, and that feels good.