The hilarious Stephen Sondheim joke in ‘Étoile’ you might’ve missed

Barcelona.

It’s not the most obvious of punchlines, but theater lovers, especially Stephen Sondheim obsessives, may have caught a subtle nod to one of the Broadway legend’s most beloved shows in the new Prime Video series Étoile.

In episode 6 of the ballet dramedy, choreographer Tobias (Gideon Glick) meets with his estranged boyfriend, Travis (Jonathan Groff), intending to break things off — despite the fact that they haven’t spoken in more than a year and Travis has already moved on, getting engaged to someone else. It’s a quick scene, meant to illustrate Tobias’ growing interest in dancer Gabin (Ivan du Pontavice) and his general inability to keep track of time and space.

But it’s also the setup for a great theater joke. Travis, you see, is a flight attendant, who Tobias says was “always flying off somewhere.” As Travis prepares to leave, Tobias asks him, “Where you going?” and Travis replies, “Barcelona.”

This is a direct quote of an exchange from “Barcelona,” a song in Sondheim’s Company in which perpetually single Bobby makes a weak attempt at convincing flight attendant April to stay and skip her flight to the Spanish city.

The joke was the work of Dan Palladino, the self-professed theater nerd who co-created Étoile with his wife, Amy Sherman-Palladino. “It actually fell into my lap because I made [Travis] a flight attendant first,” Palladino tells Entertainment Weekly of writing the bit. “Because I had the joke about ‘You’re always flying around.’ And then when he stood up to go, it just was one of those things that the heavens filter through you and you realize you can [make the joke].”

The history between Glick and Groff only made it richer. The two actors starred opposite each other in the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening, which proved to be a career-making show for both of them.

Noting that Glick and Groff hadn’t acted together since then, Palladino adds, “They love each other — and they did it perfectly.”

Glick couldn’t agree more. “That was such a magical day because we brought all of our history together to that scene,” he recalls. “You could tell that we care for each other. Especially in the case of somebody who just pops in for one day of filming, it was monumental.”

For those who haven’t watched the Company cast album documentary more times than they count or pored over Finishing the Hat with a magnifying glass, the exchange will likely play as a normal bit of dialogue.

But for the musical theater lover, well, Palladino puts it best: “It’s only for people like you.”