Lorne Michaels celebrates the power of optimism in the Tony-winning ‘Schmigadoon!’

The Saturday Night Live creator produced the Best Musical winner inspired by classic stage shows, earning him his second career Tony Award.

Live from New York, it’s Schmigadoon! lead producer Lorne Michaels.

Accepting the show’s all-important Best Musical Tony Award, Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live and a previous Tony winner for producing the play Leopoldstadt, summed up the victory in perfect, pithy fashion.

“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes, and a happy ending are all you need,” he said in his acceptance speech at Radio City Music Hall.

Indeed, audiences at the Nederlander Theatre get all that in the stage adaptation of the same-named Apple TV+ series, also executive-produced by Michaels. Creator Cinco Paul also took home Tonys on June 7 for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, with writing that gently spoofs Golden Age Broadway musicals while celebrating and borrowing from them.

“It’s gone through a bunch of iterations, but I think this is the best version of it,” Michaels said of Schmigadoon! at a press conference after his win. “It’s really smart.”

He added that the musical’s feel-good vibe is a breath of fresh air, a tonic, perhaps, today. “It’s really hard right now in the arts to be upbeat on a certain level, but it is really satisfying,” said Michaels. “It makes you believe again that that's a possibility.”

Schmigadoon! borrows story elements and melodies from classic Broadway shows like Oklahoma! and Carousel. Asked why the musical is resonating so vibrantly with today's audiences as it looks to the past, Michaels doubled down on the priceless power of accentuating the positive.

Golden Age musicals’ “optimism,” he said, “was part of the magic.”

Now, Schmigadoon! is part of Tony Awards schmistory.

Get Schmigadoon! tickets now.

Photo credit: Lorne Michaels backstage at the Tony Awards. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)