Abe Friedtanzer
In the second season of the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon, Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan Michael-Key) are looking to get back to the magic they found in Schmigadoon, but they end up in an altogether different place: the treacherous world of Schmicago. Among the people they meet is Dooley Blight (Alan Cumming), a butcher with an axe to grind who may not be the villain he initially appears to be.
Awards Radar had the chance to speak with Cumming, who returns from season one in an entirely different role, about how he’s never been particularly interested in portraying Sweeney Todd, who is clearly the inspiration for the role of Dooley:
“I have skirted around it for many years. I’ve seen it many times. I saw the one that’s just opened on Broadway on opening night and I thought it was great. But it’s just one of these things. I have no desire to play him. Kristin and I have talked about this. We’ve had this idea that she would play Sweeney Todd and I would play Mrs. Lovett in a production. We were going to do a concert performance. I don’t know. It’s interesting when you’re a man of a certain age and you’ve done some musical work that’s dark, then Sweeney Todd is inevitably on the horizon. But I don’t really want to…it’s actually quite nice to get the chance to do a version of him in Schmicago that, if ever I was going to do it, I think I’ve done it.”
On those fellow cast members he’d still like to share scenes with:
“I’ve never done really anything with Ariana, or Jane. I think everyone else I’ve pretty much done stuff with. Done stuff with Kristin, done stuff with Cecily. Aaron I’ve not done anything with. Well, actually, we were in that scene where we all break through in the prison. We’re always in group things together. In terms of close stories, it would be nice to do stuff with Ariana. I really think she’s so good, and I love the way they put her into this one. She was so busy, but they managed to get her in and do these couple of amazing numbers. I think she’s great. But they’re all darling, and we all have such a laugh when we’re hanging around doing group things, even if we don’t engage much on screen.”
Listen to the full conversation below:
Season two of Schmigadoon is now streaming in its entirety on Apple TV+.
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