On Sat, Sep 4, 2021 at 3:39 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote:
> As much as I love musicals, I've avoided this one like poison, mainly > because of Strong, who strikes me as another of Lorne's pet one-note > performers. > > I felt justified in this decision when listening to Cinco Paul on Fresh > Air last week. Granted, Terry Gross's usual gushing ineptness didn't help > matters, but the two numbers that were excerpted on the show, combined with > Paul's takes on Golden Age musicals (of which he claims to be a fan), just > solidified my preconceptions. > I heard the same interview and agree it was off-putting, to say the least. But it actually did make me curious how bad a train wreck the show is. The badness of the two leads, the aforementioned Strong as well as Keegan Michael Key, cannot be emphasized enough. Their roles in the show are to express “dull surprise” while others do the actual singing, dancing, and acting… even Kathy Ireland can handle dull surprise… Key and Strong struggle with it. As satire/parody of Broadway, it fails… they could’ve brought in Weird Al to pen some more poignant send-ups. But the supporting cast is strong, and some of the songs are solid. > --Dave Sikula > > On Friday, September 3, 2021 at 9:17:45 AM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > >> Kevin - I respect your opinion but humbly disagree. As a fan of musicals >> (and meta commentary) I thought Schmigadoon! worked really well, although >> it could have used another episode or two, as the resolution to the B-plots >> felt really rushed. There were lots of little details outside of the song >> pastiches that, as a theater nerd, I really appreciated - like the fact >> that songs were always performed (more or less) to camera, as if they were >> being performed on stage, and that the exterior sets in the 'town square' >> were very obviously flat fronts, as you'd expect from a stage set, and you >> only got detail when you entered a space. >> >> Certain talents were criminally underused (Martin Short, Jane Krakowski), >> while others I could have done with a recasting (Cecily Strong, who I think >> got the role because Lorne was the EP). For once Fred Armisen didn't make >> me want to put my fist through the TV. >> >> Strangely enough, I think I saw that Schmigadoon! was shot in Vancouver, >> which would explain why, beyond the leads, there weren't more recognizable >> Broadway names. >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/57e811cd-7d1a-48cf-ab28-6369bc03ee46n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/57e811cd-7d1a-48cf-ab28-6369bc03ee46n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4B7t8NJeznN_Q6PKushhiVtdTRc8tTxXySTokUhT_9jXA%40mail.gmail.com.
