PLEASE SUPPORT W42ST
W42ST runs on limited resources to keep Hell’s Kitchen connected, updated and upbeat. Access is totally free. Please consider supporting what we do so that we can continue our work!
In a match made in Broadway heaven, the new Apple TV+ comedy series Schmigadoon has teamed up with Zachary Schmahl’s cookie empire, Schmackary’s.
“For anyone who does not immediately recognize the title, the name Schmigadoon is the dumbest imaginable goof version of the title Brigadoon, a Lerner and Loewe musical about two American tourists who accidentally discover a lost Scottish town that only appears for one day every 100 years,” said Kathryn VanArendonk from Vulture in a rave review of the 6-part mini series.
In recognition of the “Schm…”, the show, which is executive produced by Saturday Night Live‘s Lorne Michaels, commissioned a special cookie from Schmackarys’ W45th Street store to launch the show, which premiered on Friday.
“We sent cookies to the team at SNL, including the entire cast of the show, as well as celebrities and influencers all around the country. On Friday, Apple turned Schmackary’s into the land of Schmigadoon. We did a happy hour taste of Schmigadoon at Schmackary’s with their cookie, the Schweet Treat,” said Zachary.
The treat in question is a lemon poppy cookie with a sweet hibiscus glaze on top. Instagram was buzzing at the weekend with celebrities posting about the series, and the cookies! Schmigadoon actor — and long time supporter of Schmackary’s —Kristen Chenoweth even popped by the store to have a picture taken.
The partnership has been a real boost for Schamackary’s — which has survived the pandemic but was not one of the Hell’s Kitchen businesses lucky enough to receive a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant. “Unfortunately we have not gotten any money from the RRF grants,” said Zachary. “We submitted our application on the first day and they requested more information. After that, our application says Under Review, but we now know the money has run out and we are just waiting and hoping a second round of RRF grants will go through. Fingers crossed.”
“That Apple wanted to partner with us really felt like something special. It feels like the beginning of our business starting to come back in such a beautiful way after a really hard past year and a half,” he added.
As for Schmigadoon, does it have a happy ending? The lead actor Mellisa Gimble (Cecily Strong) asks rhetorically in the trailer: “We’re in a musical okay? Nobody gets killed in a musical… Except Oklahoma… And Carousel, and South Pacific. Oh, hello, West Side Story!”