David Bianculli

This is Fresh Air.

I'm TV critic David Bean Cooley.

Earlier this week, the musical Schmigadoon opened on Broadway to lots of applause and rave reviews.

The New York Times called it a blast, which it is.

I saw it in previews last Friday and loved it.

It's also a blast from the past, a warm-hearted embrace and spoof of classic Broadway musicals, from Oklahoma and the Sound of Music to Carousel and the Music Man.

The title Schmigadoon is a play on another musical classic, Brigadoon, in which two tourists stumble upon a magical village with its own eccentric inhabitants and rules.

In Schmigadoon, the tourists are a loving couple, Josh and Melissa.

They're in love, but after a few years of living together, they're also in kind of a rut.

Schmigadoon originated in 2021 as a six-part miniseries on Apple TV+, co-created by Cinco Paul and Ken Dario.

Cinco Paul, who wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the Broadway version, has reshaped and condensed those six TV episodes into one night of theater, but has retained all the key songs, characters, and plot twists.

The original TV version began when the two doctors, Melissa and Josh, met cute at a hospital vending machine, then jumped into bed.

On Broadway, the vending machine turns into a bed, a clever transition that saves time and makes the same point, only funnier.

Director and choreographer Christopher Gatelli also choreographed the TV version, so everything I loved about the full ensemble staging of such infectiously giddy numbers as Corn Puddin' has arrived on Broadway intact.

Corn Puddin', which sets the tone early in the show, is confident in the way it both echoes and winks at old musical conventions, and that confidence is well earned.

Corn Puddin' won an Emmy for Paul that year for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

On Broadway, Josh is played by Alex Brightman, a Tony nominee for his starring stage roles in Beetlejuice and School of Rock.

Melissa is played by Sarah Chase from TV's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Their comic timing together is flawless, and the supporting cast features a lot of standouts.

The Apple TV Plus version of Schmigadoon was divided into two different six-episode seasons.