A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo...

**A Jewish Girl Walks into the Apollo...** is the 26th episode overall of Amazon Prime's *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* and the 8th episode of Season 3. It is the finale episode of Season 3. It was released on Amazon Prime on December 6, 2019.

## Synopsis

*Joel readies his club for a grand opening. Midge asks Moishe for a favor. Susie suffers a loss and turns to an unexpected source for help. Midge learns a hard show business lesson.*

## Plot

Joel's club opening is an initial success until a technical problem arises. Midge saves the night with an impromptu performance. Moishe sells Midge's former apartment to her, using the Shy Baldwin tour contract as collateral. Susie pays off gambling debts with Midge's earnings. Susie, along with her sister, Tess, sets their deceased mother's house on fire to collect the insurance and repay Midge. Susie appoints Joel as Midge's financial custodian. When angry readers splatter Abe with tomatoes, he is pleased his article affected people. Shortly after, The Village Voice offers him a job as a theater critic. Midge is anxious about performing at Shy's big showcase at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. Reggie suggests she talk about Shy and the upcoming tour. Her improvised jokes about the effeminate Shy win over the tough Apollo audience. As the tour plane is about to take off for Europe, Midge and Susie are left stranded on the tarmac after Reggie fires Midge for nearly outing Shy.

## Episode Notes

### Historical References

   **Loretta Mary Aiken** (March 19, 1894–May 23, 1975), known by her stage name **Jackie** "**Moms**" **Mabley**, was an American standup comedian. A veteran of African-American vaudeville, she later appeared on variety shows such as *The* *Ed Sullivan Show* and *The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour*. Aiken took her stage name, Jackie Mabley from an early boyfriend Jack Mabley who was also a performer.

She remarked in a 1970 *Ebony* interview that he had taken so much from her, the least she could do was take his name from him. Later she became known as "Moms" because she was indeed a "Mom" to many other comedians on the circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. Mabley also credited her name to her grandmother. She envisioned herself as a woman in her sixties, kind but strict when necessary, similar to her grandmother who was a driving force in the pursuit of her dreams. She died on May 23, 1975, aged eighty-one.

### Music

* Mister Sandman performed by The Chordettes
	+ *Flashback of Midge and Joel dining at The City Spoon, talking about having children.*
* Sh-Boom performed by The Crew Cuts
	+ *In a flashback, after Midge tells Joel she’s pregnant and they leave the diner, Joel runs back to pay for their food, happy to become a father.*
* I'm Shakin' performed by The Blasters
	+ *A band performs on stage, on the opening night at Joel's nightclub.*
* Tiao Yi Ge Man Bo (Tiao Yi Ge Meng Bu) performed by Chang Loo
	+ *At The Button Club, Joel introduces Mei to Midge for the first time.*
* Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) performed by Jimmy Lunceford and his Orchestra
	+ *Midge walks through the streets of the Garment District to see Moishe at the factory.*
* Dance Of The Cygnets performed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Great Music Orchestra
	+ *Abe walks down the street before being angrily pelted by tomatoes.*
* Feeling Good performed by Nina Simone
	+ *Imogene walks through a crowd of people on a street and heads to the Katherine Gibbs School of Secretarial & Executive Training to become a shorthand girl.*
	+ *Imogene is amongst varying future shorthand girls, training.*
* Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey? performed by The Apollo Orchestra (originally by Hughie Cannon)
	+ *The Hines Brothers dance to this in their stage performance at The Apollo.*
* A Woman, a Lover, a Friend performed by Shy Baldwin (Darius de Haas) (originally by Jackie Wilson)
	+ *Shy performs with The Silver Belles at The Apollo.*
* Love Is Here to Stay performed by Blossom Dearie
	+ *Midge is in her old apartment, having bought it back.*
	+ *Abe plays an instrumental version on the piano, whilst Midge, Rose, Moishe and Shirley pack up Midge’s things, ready for travelling on the Shy Baldwin tour.*
* What's So Funny 'Bout (Peace, Love and Understanding) performed by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
	+ *End credits.*

## References

1. ↑ This description was taken from *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Amazon page.*