“Schmigadoon!” may have ended its run on television, but the musical comedy found new life — and a historic evening — on the Broadway stage.
The Apple TV+ series turned stage musical entered the 2026 Tony Awards with 12 nominations and walked away with four major wins, including best musical, best orchestrations, best original score and best book of a musical, according to the Tony Awards.
For co-creator Cinco Paul, who took home individual trophies for original score and book, the achievement is a silver lining born from initial disappointment.
“The day that I heard ‘Schmigadoon!’ wasn’t going to continue on TV was a very sad, hard day for me,” Paul told Playbill Sunday. “But the strike happened and I said, ‘You know what, maybe I will turn “Schmigadoon!” into a stage musical,’ which is what I always wanted it to be. So it is one of those cases of Mother Superior always says: ‘If you close a door, open a window.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
That window led Paul to Broadway’s highest honor.
“It all feels surreal, its crazy I am holding this in my hands,” Paul told Tony Awards backstage, gesturing to his newly received Tony. “That’s always the goal. Get people to laugh, laugh, laugh and then tear up a little at the end.”
Paul and his longtime writing partner, Ken Daurio, had worked together for decades. They penned massive Hollywood films like “The Santa Clause 2″ (2002), “Horton Hears a Who!” (2008), “Despicable Me” (2010) and “Despicable Me 2″ (2013).
Both are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
While Daurio did not transition to the Broadway iteration of the Apple TV series, Paul’s theatrical debut was fruitful. Holding his new awards, Paul expressed a deep sense of gratitude for finding a home in the theater community and realizing a lifelong dream.
“I really feel welcomed by this community because I am sort of new, even though I feel like I’ve belonged — I’ve wanted to be part of it my whole life,” Paul told the Tony Awards. “So, it’s so nice to actually be here.”
Speaking with BroadwayWorld after his second win of the night, Paul called himself the “luckiest boy in the world,” noting that the award for original score meant the most to him because composing was his favorite part of the process. To see his name alongside theatrical giants like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Michael R. Jackson, he said, was a dream come true.
“It means everything,” Paul said. “I do feel like ‘Schmigadoon!’ is finally home. I am so proud of the TV show and everyone involved, but being on Broadway and being recognized like this is just beyond anything I ever imagined.”
The road to Broadway brought changes to Paul’s writing process. Daurio chose to step away as the pair were developing the stage adaptation. As the project evolved, he noted that some of the show’s edgier humor went beyond his personal comfort level for the family-friendly entertainment he loved to create, Deseret News previously reported.
Though their professional writing partnership dissolved, their faith and friendship remain, offering an example on navigating differences.
“Very faithful members of the church can disagree on certain things,” Paul previously told Deseret News.
“People have different levels, and people draw the lines in different places, and that’s totally fine,” Paul continues. “We can all — we should all — still be able to get together in harmony with an understanding that the most important things that bring us together will never change. These little things are just little things.”
Amid the chaos and excitement of the night, Paul didn’t forget to thank the person who set him on his path.
“I wish my mom were here to see this because she would probably explode,” Paul told BroadwayWorld. “But it’s just a dream that I had so long ago and I can’t believe at this point in life it’s happening.”
His mother was his very first piano teacher, and Paul noted that his two new Tony Awards already have a designated spot waiting for them back home.
He says his two Tonys will live on his piano. “Because that’s where it all started.”