Interview: Kristin Chenoweth & Alan Cumming Breakdown Their SWEENEY TODD-Inspired SCHMIGADOON! Characters

From starring the 1999 film adaptation of Annie to hosting the 2015 Tony Awards, no one brings Broadway magic to the screen like Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.

Now, they're back for season two of Schmigadoon, teaming up for a bloody-good parody of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett.

Season two of the hit musical series brings audiences to Schmicago, the reimagined world of '60s and '70s musicals, including Pippin, Cabaret, Godspell, Chicago, Annie, Oliver!, and more. Check out the complete list of musical theatre references in Schmigadoon! here.

The second season of Apple's broadly acclaimed comedy will include new original musical numbers from co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Cinco Paul, as well as returning stars Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose, Martin Short, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, and Aaron Tveit with Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page joining the cast for season two.

Prior to the season finale, which is now streaming on Apple TV+, BroadwayWorld sat down with Cumming and Chenoweth, who spilled on filming their big musical number, wanting to play their Sweeney Todd roles IRL, the Schmigadoon groupchat, and more!

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I've been loving this new season of Schmigadoon! so much and it's always so good to see you two together on screen. What has it been like reuniting to work on the series together?

Alan Cumming: It's a total hoot. I mean, both times were just hilarious. The first time was was especially so because we'd been in the pandemic and we had to go through quarantine. So when we finally got out and we're all working together and it was more sort of in a cocoon because we were all in the hotel. But this time it's just great to come back to something where you know everyone, he work's been a success and people respond to it and I think this time it went even better. I think it's really in its stride now and that feels really great to be part of something that's in it's prime.

Kristin Chenoweth: Yeah. For me, it just feels like, you know, easy to go back.

Cumming: [Singing] "Easy Street..."

Chenoweth: It feels like old home to be with him so it's like time never passes.

Cumming: Which we're still still in our early, early thirties or early late twenties.

Chenoweth: Of course.

We're seeing you guys take on these Sweeny Todd, Mrs. Lovett-inspired characters this season. What was your initial reaction when you found out that that was the route you were going in? Had you ever seen yourselves in those parts before?

Cumming: I was excited. I have been mooted over the years for role. Actually, this is my much more favorite way to do it. To do it as a pardy and homage and to be able to do it on film so you don't have to do it eight times week for a long time. It's actually perfect. And a funny way I feel is that Dooley Blight's even more interesting to play than Sweeney actually, because you find out a bit more about his gentler side and he's a big song and dance man it appears, as well. That's what I loved, actually, is that he's all dark and evil and vengeance and then sudden he's like, "Ah, jump well done!" Da, da, da, da!

Chenoweth: I've always thought that we would be great in the roles. I think we've had an idea to do it a little bit differently, but it's great to go from season one to be so buttoned up and kind of hateful to someone so gross. And it's, it's her idea to do this. I think the reason it's her idea is because she wants him to notice her. Like all, all little girls do. We want the men to notice us. So then hey, let's meet on his level. Let's kill the orphans and sell them as meat pies.

Right, the natural conclusion for that.

Chenoweth: She gets his attention. It worked. [Laughs]

Your musical number, "Good Enough to Eat," was everything. What was it like filming that song?

Chenoweth: I thought easy, Alan. Did you? Like it was organized.

Cumming: Yeah. We did it on little lumps, in little chunks. We didn't run the whole thing all, all at once, obviously. Then there was bits when it's just the kids or a bit with you and the kids. Chris Gattelli, the choreographer, is so clever and does amazing work in terms of the number of people he works with and the cleverness of his thing and getting to teach clever, complicated things to people who, like me, sometimes don't feel, I didn't really do much dancing, people just sort of dance around me, but I thought the kids were hilarious. And you, all your tap dancing on the salt.

Chenoweth: You know that little girl, Alan? Do you remember that story? What happened there?

Cumming: She didn't wanna to look at you.

Chenoweth: She wouldn't look at me. And whenever she did she was like, I remember she would look at me and she'd be scared. And so Chris Gattelli goes, "She's scared because she watched The Descendants," where I play Maleficent or Maleficent lite, as I say, but "She's scared, so can you talk to her?"

So I kind of pulled her aside and I said, "Hey, I'm me and you like Maleficent." She goes, "No, no." And I had said, "Look now I'm Ms. Codwell" and she goes, "Yeah, and you're gonna, you know, hurt us." I'm like, "Ooh. Every argument I'm saying is not helping the other." Eventually she got there.

So our last episode sort of ended on a little bit of a cliff-hanger and we have the season finale coming up. What can we expect from this final episode of the season?

Cumming: Well, you know, a happy ending, you know, spoiler alert, a happy ending.

Chenoweth: Total. And also just like every musical, there's always hope at the end.

Cumming: That's right, yeah. A sliver of hope.

Chenoweth: Hopefully hope for season three, right, Alan?

Cumming: Yes, yes.

Well, I was going to say, speaking of a season three, are there any musicals that you would like to tackle in future seasons of Schmigadoon? Do you have any ideas?

Cumming: Oh, you mean like Schmicked?

Chenoweth: I would like to see Dove [Cameron] play Glinda this time.

Cumming: Oh totally. She'd love that. It is funny, actually. It's lovely having a little group. We've got Tituss [Burgess] new this time and Patrick [Page] and we lost Fred [Armisen], but basically what's cool is this sort of little odd-ball group, but we all talk on a WhatsApp, on a texting group. I like that. I like having that label., it's called "Schmiga-dudes," our group. I like having our little gossipy, jokey, fun group of friends. It's lovely.

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Watch the trailer for season two of Schmigadoon here:

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