Schmigadoon! – Over and Done

By: Gladys Luna

The Narrator (Tituss Burgess) turns on the lights of the stage as a way to kick off a new musical number where we see the return of the Emcee (Ariana DeBose) as she sings in a very Dreamgirls style about everything needing to be just over and done. At the same time we get some glimpses of Melissa (Cecily Strong) all dressed up in a white wedding dress as Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) is tied up to a chair while he is under the watchful eye of the Sergeant Rivera (Jaime Camil). After the musical is over the first thing we see is Melissa being forced to sign her divorce, prenup papers and a marriage license all at once by none other than Bobbie Flanagan (Jane Krakowski), the woman who once was her ally and helped her get Josh out of jail. Melissa is completely shocked and cannot believe that this woman is capable of helping someone as Mr. Kratt (Patrick Page) to fulfill his evil plans, but the woman says that she had pledged that when it comes to her clients, she does not get invested or interested in anything they have done or will as long as they are paying her well. Right that moment, as if an act of magic, Mr. Kratt walks in the scene saying that everything is almost ready for the wedding and hands the woman a ten dollar bill something that leaves Melissa even more shocked as she thinks that Bobbie has not even the dignity to not to sell herself short. When the woman finally leaves Melissa confronts Mr. Kratt asking about Josh’s whereabouts. He notes that Josh will remain unharmed as long as she does everything she is told to and makes her clear that after their wedding is over and everything is in order, Josh will be released then. Mr. Kratt gets ready to sing but Melissa is not willing to put up with that under her current circumstances and yells to whoever is listening to just stop the music. Then, she confesses to him that she will never love him for her heart belongs only to Josh which causes the man to make a displeased gesture to contain the anger the woman’s words evoke in him and leaves the room but not before reminding her that the wedding will be held within an hour. At the back of the room is Madame Frau (Anne Harada) who is Mr. Kratts silent shadow and had been a witness of the whole scene. She follows him, but before she manages to leave the place she is stopped by Melissa who begs for her help. However, the woman just limits herself to say that there is nothing she can do for her and that maybe in some other time it had been different but now she only does what she needs to survive. Madame Frame also uselessly tries to comfort Melissa by saying that by marrying Mr. Kratt she would have a wealthy life where she will be taken care of and that must count for something.

In the meantime, Josh is trying to convince Sergeant Rivera to set him free by saying that he and Melissa didn’t even want to be in Schmicago but they got lost on their search for Schmigadoon and ended up there. Sergeant Rivera seems to be a tough one and is not willing to give up. So, instead he says that he and Melissa already had a taste of their freedom and now is time for they to pay just like anyone else (it appears that in Schmicago the rule is just as miserable). All of a sudden Mr. Kratt calls his nephew and tells him that there has been a change of plans. He entrusts him with the new mission of killing Josh right after the wedding – something that takes the other man by surprise. He agrees, but reminds him of the promise he had made to let him perform at the club.Mr. Kratt ignores his request and hangs up. Obviously, this hasn’t been missed by Josh who takes the opportunity to tell him a tale about a loyal servant who was always promised a lot of things by his master but that in the end those were just lies and he ended up empty handed. It seems that he almost managed to convince the Sergeant to help him but it fails in the very last moment.

Meanwhile, Miss Codwell (Kristin Chenoweth) is at the orphanage feeding the children when Dooley (Alan Cumming) bursts in the room looking for an orphan to take out his rage on. He confesses that his plan to kill Mr. Kratt has failed but he’s sweetly stopped by for a tender kiss from the woman. He takes her by the hand and into her bedroom while asking the children to go take a nap. After spending some time together and when his anger has finally subsided, the man is able to think clearly and tells the woman that he saw Josh being taken by Sergeant Rivera. He considers that maybe they can help him and, if his memory serves him correctly, he knows exactly where the man will be located. Lucky for Josh he is not the only one looking for a way to help since Alex (Alex Gullason), Marisa (Marisa Gold) and Michael (Michael Delleva) try to do the same. They go in search of Topher (Aaron Tveit) and Jenny (Dove Cameron) who are caught while they’re half naked in the woman’s room and reflecting about making love and relationships. It seems even though Josh had hurt Topher, he still considers him a friend so he is willing to help him and ask the others to get the happiness bus ready.

Back to Josh who is still hopelessly trying to make his parables work with the Sergeant, but he had just had enough of the chatting and tells him that if he doesn’t stop that he will kill him right there. However, Topher, Jenny and the group show up saying that they won’t allow that to happen. Later on Dooley and Miss Codwell enter the room backing up the others and is there when Dooley takes the opportunity to remind him how he sent him to jail for the murder of his wife Daisy twenty years ago knowing that he was innocent. This confession makes Jenny realize that he must be her father but she refuses to accept it given that she believes he was the one who killed her. Dooley does not respond so well to this. He intends to kill himself, but he is stopped by Sergeant Rivera who confesses that he was the one who framed him and that Mr. Kratt was the one responsible for Daisy’s death making Jenny and Dooley hug each other for the very first time after a long time as father and daughter. After this tender moment Josh is released and asks for everyone’s help to stop Melissa’s wedding.

When Melissa and Mr. Kratt are about to be pronounced husband and wife, the whole gang breaks in trying to stop the wedding. He is surprised to see that even his nephew and Madame Frau have now turned against him. So, he orders his guards to take Josh away who is now at the feet of the stage trying to reach to Melissa when he is taken away. Dooley walks in holding his knife and going straight for Mr. Kratt’s head, but he stumbles and the knife flies then falls over Mr. Kratts tailcoat fixing him to the ground but leaving him harmless, an act that makes the man laugh at Dooley who is now taken by the guards as well. It seems that the man has triumphed but little does he know that someone has now cut the rope that holds the candelabra that is hanging over his head making it fall over him and leading to his undoing.

Given the recent event, a lot of things have changed for the Schmicago residents. For example, Madam Frau has now taken the lead of the club calling it “Frau Klubb” where Sergeant Rivera has finally had his debut night. Bobbie partnered up with Topher’s group and now Alex, Marissa and Michael have been employed by her. Topher and Jenny started working at the orphanage making the kids life a little easier and happier while Dooley and Miss Codwell have started a new business together. As for Josh and Melissa, they seem to have found the happy ending they were so desperately looking for and are now free to leave anytime they want. So, the whole town has gathered to wave their goodbyes, but before the Narrator makes sure that they are departing to the actual life they expect to have. He starts to raise some questions making them doubt about whether or not they should go back to their life. As the rest sing for them to stay the couple believes there might actually be something new waiting for them out there. Suddenly, a special guest shows up and we see the leprechaun (Martin Short) appear in his typical smoke cloud to congratulate them for achieving their goal. It is also then when the Narrator confesses that he would like to pursue a life of his own by the side of Sergeant Rivera who does not seem to oppose it. This makes room for a whole new Narrator (Sarah Cantuba). Melissa and Josh walk hand by hand as the town sing in the background about a happy beginning for them and when they return to their home they are met with the surprise of a new Skinner joining the family.