‘Riverdale’: Watch Cheryl And Toni Try To Musically Charm Their “Sugar Daddy”

This week not only — finally — sees the return of The CW’s Riverdale, it’s also this season’s highly anticipated musical episode. Inspired by the cult classic musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the episode finds the kids of Riverdale High in a battle of wills with their principal to perform songs from the show. And who is more convincing than Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) and her girlfriend Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan), as you can see in an extended video for the song “Sugar Daddy”?

“Last year, we did Heathers because the song ‘Candy Store’ was perfect for Cheryl, and ‘Dead Girl Walking’ was perfect for Toni,” said showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa in a statement about the video. “This year, one of the reasons we did Hedwig was because the song ‘Sugar Daddy’ was tailor-made for Madelaine and Vanessa. They crushed the number, and we’re excited to release the full-length version of it, especially now when the world needs it more than ever.”

As we discovered from talking to Aguirre-Sacasa, and “Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town” writer Tessa Leigh Williams, two versions of every song are created for the musical episodes. The first is to fit into the time allotted for a 42-ish minute long hour of television. The second is an extended version that’s rolled out on music streaming services like Spotify and iTunes. But lucky for you, you get to see a little bit of both with the video released by The CW; and then the abbreviated version this Wednesday. And if you’re excited to listen to “Sugar Daddy” and the rest of the songs on repeat, the full soundtrack will be available everywhere at 9pm PT on April 15, right after the West Coast airing of the episode.

In the video, Principal Honey (Kerr Smith) needs a little convincing to let Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) perform as Hedwig, from the Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the school’s Variety Show. As usual, it’s Cheryl to the rescue — sort of — when she takes matters into her own hands to perform “Sugar Daddy” for Principal Honey in Pop’s Diner, along with Toni and a host of River Vixens from the cheerleading squad backing her up.

Plus, if you’re curious about how Kevin and company got in this position to begin with, check out a second scene from the episode, featuring Kevin confronting Honey about the variety show:

The song plays out a little differently in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, of course. In that show (and the movie version of Hedwig), Hedwig is a genderqueer East German rock musician with a botched sex operation and a, er, bone to pick with her ex-boyfriend Tommy Gnosis. Before that, though, she’s Hansel Schmidt, a young boy in love with a handsome, American soldier named Luther Robinson, who encourages her to dress in drag. Luther wants to marry her and take her to West Germany, but can only marry a woman. Hence the back alley sex change operation that goes wrong, and the “angry inch” of the title. Before that, though, Hedwig sings the boppy “Sugar Daddy” all about her first real love, Luther.

With Riverdale, of course, it becomes a little more about the sugar (sugar, oh, honey honey) than the daddy part; though that’s ultimately what clearly puts off the extremely uptight Honey. Check out the number above, and tune in to Riverdale on Wednesday, April 15 at 8/7c to watch the full episode.

Where to watch Riverdale