This week’s episode ofSchmigadoon continued to enchant with a grittier and darker take on the magical land of musicals. While Alan Cumming’s send-up of Sweeney Todd was a macabre delight, it was Jane Krakowski’s Bobby Flanagan who swung into frame (literally) and stole the show.
It’s the kind of character and performance that Krakowski dreams of. “I just love Bobby Flanagan. I love that Cinco [Paul] wrote that role for me and gave me all of the gems and jewels that were a part of it,” she gushes to PRIDE.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
When crafting the character, Krakowski looked at both the obvious references, as well as a few more subtle cues that she hoped she could bring to the fore with her performance. “I pulled mostly on what I know from Chicago because she’s most recognizably attached to Billy Flynn from Chicago, being the lawyer of the town and the corrupt lawyer of Chicago,” explains Krakowski. “I think there’s a little bit of Roxie Hart in there. There’s a little bit of ‘tits and ass’ from Chorus Line in there musically and then I wanted to bring that out physically as well for anybody who could hear it.”
Ultimately, the show is such a celebration of musical theater and those who love it, and both are things Krakowski is serious about honoring. “What is a joy for all of us that know and love musical theater is that the characters are such an amalgam of many musical theater characters, and how cleverly Cinco weaves them together,” she shares.
This week, Krakowski got to show off her most newly acquired talent, the trapeze, while spinning a defense to the jury for her wrongly accused client Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) and pulling out all the bells and whistles to do so. It’s not only a banger of a song, but an effervescent performance full of camp and Krakowski’s irrepressible charm.
“I had never done trapeze before,” Krakowski confesses. So I went to some lessons and tried to pick up as much as I could in the time that I had before we had to film it to see what I could learn to do.”
“To be honest with you — and I don’t say this very often — it was one of my favorite days of filming in my career,” recalls Krakowski. “ I had such a joy of making that number with [choreographer Christopher Gattelli]. And then getting to perform it for Cinco and the cameras and everybody who was in the room there. It was one of those magical days.”
Courtesy of Apple TV+
While you would never guess by what ends up on the screen, the accelerated pace of production means things move very quickly from rehearsal to performance. “We rehearse them as if we’re doing a live performance,” Krakowski explains. “And then we film them like a live performance from top to toe, but it was just one of those really special days where it felt like the cast and crew and everyone saw what we were trying to go for. And just all pulled together to get all the shots that we were trying to get. So the number could have all of its bells and whistles.”
It made for an incredibly special day for the actor and the crew who supported her. “I felt nervous doing it for the first time for everybody because all of my cast mates are in the jury and in the courtroom themselves as their characters,” she recalls. “I just wanted to show them what we had rehearsed and hoped that everyone would like it because I want to help hold up my end of the bargain performing with such musical greats that are in the show.”
Courtesy of Apple TV+
She needn’t have worried: The number is a joy to behold and genuinely funny. “There’s so many great sight gags and it’s hard to pull all the references out, but I think my favorite is when I’m fully upside down in a split going back and forth over the jury or getting to flirt with the jury members upside down and touching their hair and their ties. I love all of that physicality,” she admits. And that love and care certainly comes through.
