Jillian

Dancer at the Wolford.

S4E3 - Midge has a rocky start at the Wolford. Jillian's performance of Philomena the angel initially goes well… but as she exits, the wire contraption used to lower her comes loose and slams Trixie in the head, causing the Roaring Twenties act to be delayed.

S4E4 - Midge continues to wage an uphill battle trying to improve the working conditions at the Wolford. She stands and watches as today's dancers (Gilded Age, Lana LaRue, Philomena, Sugar, Tilly, Bunny, Bubbles, Can Can Mademoiselle, Gloria, Mitzi, Cotton Ball and Sapphira), garbed in gnatty costumes with missing components, lethargically go through the motions of the finale. At the end of the act, the curtain fails to descend.

S4E4 - At the Wolford, Midge finally starts to make some headway. When Boise barges into the dressing room and tells Mitzi to move her ass, Midge firmly tells him to speak to the dancers with more respect, and to always knock at the door before entering. Gloria, Mitzi, Bunny, Philomena, Bubbles, Can Can Mademoiselle, Sapphira, Sugar, Gilded Age and Lana LaRue all look on, surprised and impressed. Later, she goes on stage, and does a set about the secret lives of stay-at-home wives which lands well. The dancers (Philomena, Sapphira, Cotton Ball, Gilded Age, Can-Can Mademoiselle, Mitzi, Gloria, Sugar) watch from the wings, enthralled, as do the wait staff on the theatre floor. Boise notices this, and angrily tells them to get back to work. At the end of her act, Midge introduces Trixie's Roaring 20's number. As she gets off stage, Midge tries to warn Trixie about the imminently descending curtain, but she is too late, and Trixie gets violently beaned in the head once again. As Midge goes backstage, Gloria gives her an unintentionally back-handed compliment, telling her that she's almost as good as the men comics. In the background, Sapphira discusses something with Mikey.

S4E4 - At the Wolford, things are finally going well. The dancers for the night (Can Can Mademoiselle, Sapphira, Bunny, Sugar, Philomena, Ringmaster, Mitzi, Lana LaRue, Gilded Age, Cotton Ball, Annie Oakley) perform the finale, and it is noticeably more energetic and polished than before. Their costumes are now pristine and illustrious, presumably thanks to some help from Zelda. At the end of the act, the curtain descends, the band stops, Midge's spotlight comes on, her mic works, and she is able to deliver her closing remarks cleanly. As she leaves the stage, Midge exclaims that they finally got it perfect… only to fall into the orchestra pit, breaking her arm. The dancers react with mild interest and concern, but nobody else appears to care.

S4E6 - Jillian performs her Windy City act as an increasingly female clientele overwhelms Kenny with bizarre drink orders.

S4E7 - Bunny, Mitzi, and Tilly get to know Imogene when she comes to visit Midge at the Wolford. Jillian briefly drops into their conversation as well.

S4E8 - At the Wolford, an ensemble of dancers performs a series of simultaneous vignettes about domesticity in a dollhouse-style set, choreographed to the song “Femininity.” In the bottom right corner, a plumber (Jillian) comes to fix the sink for a housewife, and the two soon become amorously acquainted. Midge then goes on and does a set about Moishe’s heart attack. As she goes backstage afterwards, Jillian points her to Lenny and tells her she has a stage-door Johnny waiting. A couple minutes later, the Wolford is raided by the police. All hell breaks loose, and Jillian joins the rest of the dancers in frantically grabbing her stuff out of the dressing room. Luckily, all of her stuff is contained in a handy briefcase which she quickly grabs. She is out of there long before most of the other dancers.

S5E1 - At the Wolford, Susie tries to convince Gordon Ford to hire Midge as the dancers (including Jillian in her Philomena costume) perform the finale of the show.

JILLIAN: The guy at table six took his dick out again.
– S4E3

JILLIAN: Whoops.
– S4E6

MITZI: Oh, I'd never want to be a secretary. Men don't respect 'em.
JILLIAN: They spend all day at the office just staring at their tits. It's degrading.
IMOGENE: Right. Well, I would definitely avoid having them do that.
– S4E7

JILLIAN: Midge, you got a stage-door Johnny waiting.
– S4E8

3. Everything is Bellmore
4. Interesting People on Christopher Street
6. Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest
7. Ethan...Esther...Chaim
8. How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

1. Go Forward

• Jillian Schmitz also appeared in the Palladinos’ previous series, Bunheads, also as a dancer.

• List of Characters