Schmigadoon! – Welcome to Schmicago

By: Gladys Luna

Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) have happily come back completely renewed from Schmigadoon convinced they have found that spark they were looking for and decide to jump straight to marriage. At first, everything appears to be joyful but, unfortunately for them, things don’t seem to work out as planned and soon after their return they begin to fall into an awful routine that only grows even more painful when they start having troubles when trying to get pregnant. After a numerous of failing attempts to rekindle the spark that Schmigadoon had given them, they are forced to make a drastic decision…They should go in search of the place where they had spent their happiest time, so soon they embark on a new trip through the woods trying to remember the path they followed the last time and that took them to said place, but at some point the feeling of discouragement starts to take over their enthusiasm when they realize that there might not be a way to return. The night has fallen so they hop into their car and drive back home looking sad and disappointed surrounded by the rain that only serves to make the scenery even more nostalgic. As they are passing through a bridge they get a flat tire that sadly cannot be replaced since Josh has not brought a spare one with them. Just as they are discussing it the sound of distant music interrupts them; Melissa’s excitement starts to grow and a brim of hope raises but Josh is afraid to be disappointed again and asks her not to get too excited so soon. The couple walks following the music direction and just as the fog in front of them is dissipating, a big billboard seems to announce they have reached to the town they were looking for but quickly they learn that they have arrived to a considerably different town instead as the billboard says “Welcome to Schmicago.” As soon as they read the sign, a whole musical number led by the Narrator (Tituss Burgess) begins, welcoming them to their town.

When the musical is finally over, the Narrator stays and starts to tell them the story of “Josh and Melissa” and how they got lost in the search of happiness assuring that, sadly for them, it is very likely they never return to Schmigadoon. Therefore, now they must find a place to stay instead. The couple is still somewhat overwhelmed by the recently learned news and the surprising welcome, but even then they decide to find a place to spend the night. They walk aimlessly as they talk about musical plays that Josh seems to know nothing about meanwhile Melissa recalls that time when she was a kid and her family took her to see the Sweeney Todd musical, something that left her traumatized and that made them leave earlier from the theatre. Such event has grown a disliking feeling for her towards those kinds of musicals. They keep walking until they are met with the Hotel Schmicago sign; Melissa is still unsure about whether they should stay or not but Josh convinces her that maybe for now it could be the best solution and is certain that since they already have true love, they would be able to leave anytime they want. As soon as they enter the place, they are met with a very interesting vibe and a quite peculiar receptionist (Ann Harada) that Melissa soon recognizes from Schmigadoon. She makes a very interesting proposal to the couple that they end up rejecting and they decide to go to their room instead. Once they are there they find out the place is not as pleasant as they had expected it to be with the bed not really comfortable. They hear strange sound coming out from other rooms and the ceiling has a leak. As they are trying to settle in for the night, their door is busted open by a young and enigmatic lady asking for a cigarette that introduces herself as Jenny Banks (Dove Cameron), a gold digger that practically speaks without breathing leaving the couple perplexed. She ends up inviting them to a presentation she will give later that night at the Kratt Klub saying that she hopes they can stay forever in town and have fun together. As a way to make her stop and leave as soon as possible, they accept to go see her as requested.

Later that night the couple arrive at the Kratt Klub and are surprised to see that everyone there is frozen, but as soon as the show begins everybody there goes back in motion again. Right after the show ends the same woman that was at the front desk of the hotel (that now we recognize as Madam Frau) tells them they need to find another table since the one they are sitting at belongs to the very owner of the place, Octavius Kratt (Patrick Page). He shows up after her carrying a box of “chocolates” and requesting to let them be. Octavius seems to be mysterious and even intimidating character that politely asks the couple to be his guests for the night as he recognizes they are new in town. He confesses that the club is actually just a hobby as his main business is the power industry. Then, he confesses to also being the owner of the power company that supplies Schmicago. He takes the opportunity to offer a job to Melissa as part of their crew of talents but she immediately declines it. Suddenly, Octavius appears to catch something with his eye from the distance and immediately excuses his presence from the table leaving the couple on their own. After he leaves the Emcee (Ariana DeBose) takes the stage announcing another musical number this time led by Jenny Banks. When the musical ends, Josh says he needs to go to the bathroom and leaves Melissa alone for a moment. While he is gone she receives a call to the phone that is placed in the middle of the table and soon realizes that a very creepy couple sat at another table near her are asking her to join them. She hangs up the phone and leaves in a haste looking for her husband.

In the meantime, Josh is looking for the bathroom while seeing a very odd character on his way. He reaches for the first door he sees and when he opens it he sees that one of the dancers he just saw a moment ago named Elsie (Justine Gera) has been murdered and is now laying on the floor with a pool of blood behind her head. Melissa arrives and sees the scene in front of them and asks him to leave before anyone could see them, but it is too late as right in that moment another dancer, Annie (Serena Crouse), arrives and screams assuming he was the one who killed her partner. The other woman runs looking for the police so Josh and Melissa take the opportunity to escape. They run straight to their car, but unfortunately it does not start. So, they try to figure out what has happened and when they open the trunk they see a singing leprechaun (Martin Short) carrying a bunch of the car cables saying they won’t be able to escape until they find a very happy ending and then disappears. The couple is now completely distressed as, given the state they are currently in, they don’t believe they are capable to make a happy ending since they know they are just miserable. The police sirens are heard closer and closer and they attempt to run in the middle of a foggy street only to end up right at the same spot they were coming from. Sergeant Rivera (Jaime Camil) shows up in front of them announcing that Josh is under arrest for the murder of Elsie Vale. Melissa tries to explain that he had nothing to do with it, but much to their dismay another officer (Lee Shan Gibson) conveniently finds the murder weapon in their car. They intend to defend themselves and claim to be against guns starting an argument between the two until they are silenced by the Sergeant. He has just had enough of them and orders to put Josh in the wagon leaving Melissa behind. Right then the narrator shows up again singing in front of her while she is still completely frozen in her spot.