- "Schmigadoon" is about a couple named Josh and Melissa.
They find themselves in a real rut in their relationship.
And so, they go on this hike to kind of rekindle the spark.
And in the midst of this, they get lost
in the middle of the woods
and they come across this small, quaint town.
♪ Welcome to our little town ♪
♪ Where friends are all you'll meet ♪
- It must be something they do for tourists.
♪ Hey everyone! Hey there, Pete! ♪
- And in the town, everybody is milling about.
But then, they start performing like they're in a musical.
And Josh and Melissa realize
this isn't a tourist attraction, it's actually a musical.
- And then they realize they can't leave.
Then, they find out the rule is they can't leave
until they find true love.
- Who knows what Schmigadoon thinks is true love?
Which of you ladies wants to cross this bridge with me?
- You want to try with other people?
- This is really a tribute to the golden age musicals.
You know, it's all about the Rodgers and Hammerstein,
and especially small town musicals.
It is "Oklahoma." It's "Carousel."
It's "Music Man."
- This is the bench scene in "Carousel."
This is "If I Loved You."
What are you doing to me?
You trying to make me fall in love with you?
I mean, it's "Carousel."
So, you know, it's a show that I've always wanted to do.
So, I really got to, you know,
pour all of my Billy Bigelow into this.
So, it was really great.
And the music is the same thing.
I mean, I get to sing my version of the soliloquy.
♪ I'm like an animal in the wild ♪
♪ So, here's a tune where the truth must be reconciled ♪
- My character is this classic musical trope character
of this sort of like hyper-sexualized farmer's daughter,
ageless temptress,
who just sort of represents that sort of like male gaze.
Are you trying to tell me that you've never heard
of corn pudding?
She's never heard of corn pudding!
- Oh no. It's a song.
You just started another song.
When I read the script, I went, okay, it's pithy.
It's clever, satire elements.
There's parody elements,
but clearly Cinco Paul, the creator,
also has a genuine love for theater.
So, you see him honoring the genre
and also commenting on the genre simultaneously.
And it's really quite amazing.
♪ Corn pudding, corn pudding ♪
♪ Corn pudding, corn pudding, corn pudding, corn pudding ♪
Can we opt out of this?
- I was watching "American Werewolf in London,"
one of my favorite movies,
and it's not a musical, but it starts off
with two guys backpacking, you know, out in the wild.
And I thought, oh, this is the same opening
as "Brigadoon."
I thought, like, huh, I wonder if these two guys stumbled
on a musical, what that would be like.
And it just seemed such a fun idea,
but I didn't know what to do with it.
So, I actually put it away on the shelf for years and years.
And then finally, the TV landscape had changed so much
that weird little shows like this could find homes.
- I don't get musical theater.
I don't get how people break into song and dance,
whether it's on Broadway or in musicals.
So, I was a good person to be directing these episodes
because I was a skeptic.
I never wanted anyone to acknowledge that they're
in a musical comedy.
You want them to play the reality of the moment,
even if the reality is singing or dancing,
don't perform for the camera, perform for yourself
or for the other actor in the scene.
- Why won't you just answer the question?
♪ Then he says ♪
- Fine.
Yes, if it's a way to get out of here.
♪ Then she says ♪
- I knew it. I knew it!
♪ Then he says ♪