Entertainment

You Need To Read Rachel Bloom's Funny Response To An April Fools' Joke About Stephen Sondheim Joining 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'

by Emily Mae Czachor
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

This April Fools' Day, it looks like Broadway is stealing the show. Capitalizing on the prime opportunity for pranks, musical theater-centric sites have been dispensing rounds of good-natured fun all day long. But judging by Rachel Bloom's response to a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend April Fools' joke about Stephen Sondheim joining the cast, at least one of the day's "prank" news stories might actually make for a glorious real-world idea. (For the record, though, Lin-Manuel Miranda is not adapting 2003's The Room for the Broadway stage.)

Broadway World published a fictitious report on early Sunday morning, April 1, detailing that musical icon Stephen Sondheim would make a guest appearance on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (the CW's musical comedy series, for which Bloom serves as co-creator, co-writer, co-EP, and star). In response, Bloom made her feelings crystal clear via Twitter: If Sondheim is interested, she'd definitely be down. Like, for real. After catching wind of Broadway World's April Fools' joke for the ages, Bloom couldn't help but share her thoughts on the epic musical-theater collaboration that might have been.

Because, as any theatrically-inclined folks would probably agree, the opportunity to bask in the unmatched prowess of a legend like Sondheim is certainly nothing to joke about. Unless, of course, the "opportunity" in question was a full-fledged joke to begin with. In that case, the optimal response tactic would probably be something along the lines of, "just go with it." After reading Bloom's response to the Sondheim prank, it looks like the comedic actor might have been thinking the same thing. Because, what better excuse is there to engage in a Broadway-sized trick than April Fools'? As far as kidding around goes, it's kind of like the international day of celebration.

Suffice to say, Broadway World's latest round of hijinks was apparently so convincing, even Bloom wanted to believe it. Retweeting Broadway World's article Sunday morning, Bloom called the site's April Fools' story "brilliantly written" (the reason, she said, for her high hopes about its legitimacy), before expertly transitioning into the kind of savvy, slapstick one-liners that have characterized much of her career. "And if anyone knows Sondheim, we would LOVE to have him... audition for the role of Andrew," Bloom wrote, referencing the name of the fictional "piano bar entertainer" that Broadway World's prank story assigned to Sondheim's "guest character." Launching her punch-line riposte, Bloom couched the audition offer in some stipulations: "He'll just need 16 bars of both an up-tempo and a ballad!" she tweeted. Considering Sondheim's reigning status as masterful composer and lyricist to boot, that probably wouldn't be such a big ask, anyway.

Broadway World (the go-to website for all things theater-related) first initiated the "gotcha" moment on Sunday morning, when it shared the "news" with its social media following via Twitter. Broadway World's official Twitter account dispensed the faux news with a markedly eye-grabbing caption. Apparently, it was one even Bloom couldn't ignore: "Stephen Sondheim To Make Guest Appearance, Premiere New Song, On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," the tweet's caption reads.

Upon actually parsing through the clever April Fools'-inspired story, it's pretty easy to understand why the not-quite-veritable "news" caused so much commotion. Because, as Bloom alluded in her response tweet, Broadway World's article does an excellent job of playing out a critical tenet of well-executed tomfoolery, one with which the world's seasoned pranksters are likely all-too familiar. And that's this: commitment. The story spans the length of a full eight paragraphs, complete with hyperlinks, supporting research, and even a couple of "quotes" from the story's primary subjects. Of course, those primary subjects are none other than Sondheim and Bloom.

Interspersed with a handful of markedly ridiculous comments by "Sondheim" (as far as his Crazy Ex Girlfriend guest appearance is concerned, the music legend's fictitious statements touch on at least one made-up future plot point, which calls for a piano rendition of "Everybody Has The Right To Be Happy" from Sondheim's 1990 musical, Assassins), Broadway World's story features some make-believe commentary from Bloom, too. "Needless to say, all of us at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are thrilled that Stephen Sondheim has agreed to appear on the show," fake Bloom says in the article.

If Bloom's real-life response is any indication, it seems like Broadway World's fictitious rendition of her would-be excitement was pretty spot on. So, if Sondheim ever does decide that he wants to appear on a musical TV series, it seems pretty safe to say Bloom will be open to discussing the possibility for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. So long as Sondheim gets his 32 bars in order, that is.