Kristin Chenoweth’s Pursed Lip Villain On ‘Schmigadoon!’ Is Perfection, Preview
Kristin Chenoweth as Mildred Layton is the woman everyone knows. Layton is the judgemental, pursed-lip biddy who makes your business hers.
And in AppleTV+’s fun riff on musicals, Schmigadoon!, she shines and shames like no other character as Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key play a romantic couple looking to reignite their lost spark.
The new sneak peek clip is here and shows off those Broadway chops of Chenoweth, a dynamic performer who has cleaned up many awards in her lifetime.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld has artfully showcased the best of Broadway and comedy in this delightful tweak on the classic musical movie, a particular genre that Sonnenfeld said always escaped him.
About Kristin Chenoweth’s character and Schmigadoon!
Take every musical you ever saw as a child and then pull out the best parts and leave the dated parts behind. This is a joyful parody and pokes into a genre that has not aged well for some people, some with sexist moments not really standing up to time. But the music is enduring, and the people who love to sing and dance miss the spectacle and the story set to song.
Not so much for Keegan-Michael Key, who plays a doctor who is less than fond of the musical. Cecily Strong plays his love, and she adores the musical format. The two get stuck in a place that’s like living inside a musical film, with familiar songs and dances from films of yore.
For Schmigadoon! Star Kristin Chenowe is the baddie. The biddie. The woman whose lipliner gives her cards away. There will be no sex, thank you. Or outsiders, or strangers, or anything deviant in her mind.
The Broadway legend is a fly in the ointment for the two newcomers trying to figure out how they got there and how the heck to get out of there.
Schmigadoon! is a whimsical Apple TV+ comedy that moshes up the familiar musical tropes. Chenoweth is a corseted busybody, a painfully coiffed party pooper named Mildred Layton, who rides the rails of traditional values.
Modern ways and those who cohabitate without marriage need not apply to Schmigadoon! Per Ms. Layton.
New episodes debut each Friday and star SNL’s Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, plus Broadway giants like Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Aaron Tveit, Dove Cameron, Ariana DeBose, Fred Armisen, Jaime Camil, Jane Krakowski, and Ann Harada.
The first two episodes of “Schmigadoon!” premiered globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 16. The series continues with one new episode weekly, every Friday through August 13. There are six episodes.
Schmigadoon! is co-created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Cinco Paul served as showrunner and wrote all of the original songs for the series. Barry Sonnenfeld directs, and executive produces.
Below, Apple TV+ unveils a never-before-seen clip from the fifth and penultimate episode of “Schmigadoon!,” premiering Friday, August 6.
In “Tribulation,” new romances hit roadblocks as Melissa (Cecily Strong) meets someone unexpected and Emma (Ariana DeBose) reveals a secret. Mildred (Kristin Chenoweth) seizes a chance to increase her power.
