Casting and creative team are now complete for the Kennedy Center's upcoming world premiere stage version of Apple TV's Schmigadoon!, set to take the Washington, D.C. venue's Eisenhower Theater January 31-February 9.
As previously reported, Ann Harada will reprise her performance as Florence Menlove, joined by newcomers Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice) as Josh Skinner, Sara Chase (The Great Gatsby) as Melissa Gimble, Kevin Del Aguila (Some Like It Hot) as Reverend Layton, McKenzie Kurtz (Wicked) as Betsy McDonough, Isabelle McCalla (Water for Elephants) as Emma Tate, Javier Muñoz (Hamilton) as Doc Lopez, Brad Oscar (Something Rotten!) as Mayor Menlove, Emily Skinner (Suffs) as Mildred Layton, and Ryan Vasquez (The Notebook) as Danny Bailey.
Newly announced for the company are Ayaan Diop as Carson Tate, Phillip Attmore as Freddy, Brandon Block as Buford Riggs, Holly Ann Butler as Helen Pritt, Max Clayton as Larry the Fireman, Kimberly Immanuel as Zaneeta, Eloise Kropp as Nancy, Jess LeProtto as Pete, Nathan Lucrezio as Farmer McDonough, Lauralyn McClelland as Ruth O’Reilly, Shina Ann Morris as Norma Nelson, Angel Reda as the Countess Gabrielle Von Blerkom, and Richard Riaz Yoder as Harvey the Innkeeper. Casting is by The Telsey Office.
Christopher Gattelli, who choreographed both seasons of the TV series, will direct and choreograph the stage version, which will feature a book, music, and lyrics by series creator Cinco Paul. Press notes indicate audiences can expect songs from the series' Grammy-nominated score plus new tunes. David Chase is serving as music supervisor, with orchestrations by Doug Besterman and Mike Morris and music direction by Steven Malone.
The Kennedy Center production will also feature scenic design by Scott Pask, lighting design by Jen Schriever, costume design by Linda Cho, wig design by Tom Watson, and sound design by Haley Parcher. Matt Lacey is the production stage manager.
The musical will follow the plot of the show's first season, which saw a couple, struggling to save their relationship, who suddenly find themselves in Schmigadoon, a magical world populated with characters, plots, songs, and dance numbers inspired by Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma!, The Music Man, and Carousel. The production is being presented by special arrangement with Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, which produced the series, and No Guarantees Productions.
Schmigadoon! premiered on Apple TV+ in 2021, with a second season in
2023 that sent its characters to Schmicago, complete with parodies of
'70s musicals like Pippin, Godspell, and Sweeney Todd. Read Playbill's exhaustive recaps of all first and second season episodes for a deep dive into the series' many musical theatre Easter eggs, references, and parodies.
Jeffrey Finn is the artistic director and executive producer of the Kennedy Center's Broadway Center Stage series.
Tickets are available at Kennedy-Center.org.