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Episode 1: Schmigadoon!
ThinkCamelotfromCamelot, orOklahomafromOklahoma!, orIts a Typical DayfromLil Abner.
To that end, the song now ends with a veryOklahoma!spelling lesson of everyone chanting S!
They added the schmiga!, schmiga!, schmiga!
and the spelling, which is genius, because the longer it goes on the more it tortures Josh.
The more authentic the songs are, the better the comedy works.
If someone hates musicals, what is the song that would most drive them crazy?
That might remind you of Its Been a Really Long Day fromHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
Shes seenGuys and Dollsand knowsIf I Were a Belland so its very conscious, Paul said.
She talks about it being effortless, effortless, but its the opposite of effortless.
(Instead of enjoy the ride, she sings about waiting till Im a bride.)
And thats a line that always bothered me, the one about stealing it or taking it.
Oscar Hammerstein, you’ve got the option to do better than that!
Its a song where shes saying that most men are monsters, but my mans amazing!
He never looks at another girl, Paul said.
Thats one of my favorite moments from the show, Paul said.
If youre a musical theater kid, dont you love Sit Down Youre Rocking the Boat?
Anna Leonowens), played by Ariana DeBose.
Shes that classic, forward-thinking independent woman who then helps our hero change, Paul said.
Ariana was like, I never get to play a Barbara Cook character!
She was very excited.
Thats the song thats the closest to outright parody in the show.
So we had to toe a fine line, but its all legal!
It all cleared legal.
But the closer it is to the original, the funnier.
For her, its fantasy fulfillment, Paul said.
Its 18 pages, one shot, and no rhymes Thanks a lot, Cinco!
But shes a person who loves a challenge, and she took it on and did an amazing job.
Paul even purposefully threw in archaic terms for add to the wordplay and fill the song with not-normal words.
(Among those that made it in: claptrap, jiggery-pokery, and earwigs.)
But here, the duchess actually gets her own solo.
It was shooting for some Cole Porter cleverness, or coming close to it.
Melissa quickly shuts down the idea, going, Were not having a dream ballet!
Theyre annoying and stupid and they slow everything down.
Just so you know, there was a full-on dream ballet planned, Paul admitted.
But then we were in preproduction when we realized this was not going to happen.
As much as I love musicals, they are a little painful, Paul said.
When Apple bought the pitch, we realized, well, the big moment is when Josh sings.
Its inevitable, but you still want it to be surprising.
So he wrote something for Keegan-Michael Key that would be simple and a cappella.
In keeping with that, theres even a romantic lighting change as Josh and Melissa start to dance together.
But it was also important to Paul to check that Josh never seemed too professional.
My biggest note to Keegan was, dont learn this song with a vocal coach.
The less polished it is the more impactful it will be.
How do you show that the town has transformed?
Move into the next age of musicals, Paul said.
of some Stephen Schwartz musicals likePippinandGodspell.
