The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 2 premieres on December 5th on Amazon Prime (YES!), and viewers may recognize an iconic song in the opening scene, sung by none other than Barbra Streisand.
Yes, the most Jewish show around at the moment (created, naturally, by a Jewish woman) kicks off to the sounds of Babs’ singing, and we are here for it.
The first episode of the second season opens at B. Altman’s, the department store where Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) got a job in the first season. Except now she’s no longer working at the makeup counter — she’s down in the phone operator’s room. Despite how that may sound, it’s anything but boring — this “dazzling” and “breathlessly choreographed” scene, one long tracking shot, is set to “Just Leave Everything to Me” from Hello, Dolly!
The lyrics to the song — I have always been a woman who arranges things / For the pleasure and the profit it derives / I have always been a woman who arranges things / Like furniture and daffodils and lives — fit the theme of Mrs. Maisel: She’s a woman who gets shit done.
The song sets the tone perfectly for season 2, which promises to be full of amazing storylines (including going to the Catskills).
This isn’t the first time Babs’ music can be heard in the show. Two of her songs were heard in the first season — a rarity, as Streisand seldom allows her songs to be used in TV and movies. The first song, “Come to the Supermarket (In Old Peking),” plays in the first episode as Midge and Joel take a taxi down to the village for his set towards the start of the episode.
Streisand was pleased they asked to use this song, explaining, “I was impressed with how the show digs deep into the song catalogs of the era and doesn’t just go with the obvious hit. It was fun hearing an obscure song from my first album.”
And the second song, “Happy Times Are Here Again,” is heard the first season’s fourth episode, as Midge is moving out of her apartment and the episode flashes back to when they moved in. The entire song plays in the first three minutes of the episode, with no dialogue.
“Usually, when someone requests a license they only use 30 seconds or a minute, so I was surprised when they used the whole song with that crazy ending,” Streisand explained. “They must have thought that wild, out-of-control finish captured Miriam Maisel’s conflicted emotions. So be it!”
In a show known for its perfect music choices, opening with Barbra seems to take the cake. We can’t wait to see — and hear — what’s to come season two.
