This is my experience at Saturday Night Live Dress Rehearsal on April 14, 2018. The host was John friggen’ Mulaney. People. My ghost is typing because I have died of joy. Attending SNL dress exceeded my expectations, and shattered any grand hopes and dreams I could ever conjure!
First of all, I entered the August lottery and won tickets.
You can read some details about the lottery entrance process, winning/notification, and seating
here.
The anticipating had been building for me FOR DAYS, and after waiting for about a half hour in “The Peacock Lounge,” we were finally directed to freakin’ Studio 8H. We filed out the elevator and down THE hallway! (To confirm, an atmosphere thick with the stench weed hung heavy in that hallway.) Then, up a few steps, AND I’M in the flipping studio (top level)! I die as my eyes and ears lay on the SNL band with friggen’ Lenny Pickett WAILING on saxophone! It’s cliche, but the excitement was palpable! A heavy, exciting fog blanketed the place!
By the way, SNL band is completely HOT and kept the whole show glued together and the crowd revved up for the entire two hours.They are, simply, amazing and without them there’d be no SNL.
We were seated in the back row center (
great seats!), and continued to listen to the band and watch as the pages ushered in more guests. I sat in my seat nicely, silently freaking the hell out.
When we first walked in, the first thing I spotted was THE clock, but as I looked around from our seats, I couldn’t see it anymore. Turns out, the clock is raised and lowered from the ceiling at the beginning and end of the show!
Just seeing the set walls stacked up in the wings was amazing! The cold open was already set – a presidential looking room (not the Oval Office) and an interrogation/lie detector room.
I spotted Lorne skulking about the set, assessing and looking menacing; thus, I shall be graced with creative luck for the rest of my days!
Then Che, in street clothes, comes out to give the ole legal ”Leave if there’s an emergency” spiel and warmed up the crowd for about four minutes. (He was terrific!)
Next, Kenan comes out and sings…get this… Gimme Some Lovin'!! I’m dying because I have a Blues Brothers CD that I’ve been listening to non-stop since high school and it closes with this song! Kenan has an amazing voice! And Melissa, Cecily, and Kate came out as back-up dancers in sparkly gowns!!
Then it was time to start the cold open. Kate comes out as Jeff Sessions and Beck comes out as Pence. They did a little slow-dancing to the band’s music while they waited for the show to start.
***
Here are my reactions to the sketches. I’m listing them in the order we saw them rehearsed. The sketches in bracked in "[ ]" were cut for time and didn’t air.
Cold Open: Yeah, a vein almost burst in my neck when first Ben Stiller, then DeNiro came out!
Monologue: John Mulaney is THE MAN! I only knew him as a previous SNL writer and was aware he did standup and had a TV show. At first I was upset that the host wasn’t a “big celebrity,” but then I realized that this might be a gift! I mean, this dude HAS CONTRIBUTED BEFORE! Has created brilliant characters and, as I discovered later, had sketch ideas that didn’t fly back then, but wanted to try again (Lobster Diner). So I lucked out because this was one of the funniest episodes all season! I was cry-laughing at his monologue. In all, John Mulaney was an amazing, hysterical, talented, and perfect host and writer.
Gun Walkout: Disappointed that this was the only sketch Leslie Jones was in. I friggen love her!
[1920's Circle of Wit]: Funny! The premise: a lowly writer (Mulaney) barges in on a table full of famous 1920s authors to trade some barbs. But his retorts aren’t witty - they’re flat-out insulting. Eg: “You’re a douche!” It was pretty funny.
Hollywood Update/Switcheroo: This was funny and upsetting! They definitely tightened it up and cut some content for air.
The Real Intros of Reality Hills (pre-recorded):
Drag Brunch: Ha! This was brilliant! I loved the concept of the hired-to-insult waitress in drag randomly getting SO DARK with one of the guests. I didn’t think they’d ever reveal a motive - and I thought that was hilarious. But, the sketch concluded by revealing the waitresses’ motive and it lost some of the humor to me. One of the jokes was changed for air: On air, Beck’s line was: “The waitress couldn’t possibly know that the Dyson vacuum guy is my godfather.” In dress it was…”He couldn’t possibly know that I’m Blake Shelton’s Lawyer.”
[FishMan (Pre-recorded)]: I didn't get this one. A man with a fish head was a star in a superhero fish movie called “FishMan”. But the actor really wanted to be a photographer instead so he left showbiz. One of his fellow fish-headed friends took the role as FishMan in his place. Then original Fishman becomes poor/a derelict because no one likes his photography. His fish friend rises in popularity, riches, and stardom, and eventually buys one of original FishMan’s photos for his son (with Adam Driver). Not my type of humor: It smells like the work of Kyle Mooney.
Jack White Song: “Over and Over and Over” Um, so apparently I really like Jack White.
Weekend Update: I was shocked to see they cut the (Beck?) Conor McGregor bit! It was probably the second funniest thing in the entire show (second only to Lobster Diner ). Beck played Connor McGregor as an over-the-top, probably drunk braggadocio who was regaling the crowd about his time in jail and his reasoning behind throwing a handtruck through a bus. It was HILARIOUS. I died when he called for a rematch with the bus!! I also enjoyed Kenan’s bit as Levar and loved when Kenan, almost breaking, was going on about there never being enough Band-Aids to prevent sandal chafing.
Lobster Diner: Omg. I can't with this one. It was by far, my favorite, and I think I'm dead because of it. When they first rolled out Kenan, the tank got stuck going through the door!! Everyone lost it. I eventually picked up on the fact that it was Les Mis, and that makes the whole thing better because I DETEST that show and this is the only version I ever loved! I died, then came back to life at “Clawsette!” Pete was breaking the entire time, and Kenan wore his near-break face and Kate chuckled. The bouncing claw over the lyrics was in-sync during dress and it broke my heart to see it off during live. That we got to see this IRL will forever be a highlight for me. Always.
Jack White: “Connected by Love” Jack White is my new weird emo/goth boyfriend
I wish my hair looked as good as his. When he left the artist’s stage and went backstage, there was all this hooting and hollering and applauding. I wonder what that was about.
Wild Wild Country: "Rajneesh Netflix Trailer" (Pre recorded):
[Mar-a-Lago]: This sketch sorta fell flat, but the setup for it was involved! It poked fun at the cheesy, vapid, new money who stay at Mar-a-lago. It required two sets: 1) One with singers (Luke and Heidi) with a fake band singing a cheesy Mar-a-lago theme song (a la “Days of Our Lives”) in between scenes and 2) The interior of a ballroom at the resort. Mulaney would come out as a butler/host and make ridiculous announcements like “Don’t flush the beach towels down the toilet” and “We found a Bo Derek style wig in the pool. If it is yours, it will by drying out on the chaise lounge.” Chris Redd went around as a waiter offering stupid things like “Bacon-wrapped Cheez-It” (which, upon reflection, doesn’t sound half bad). Cecily, Beck and others played rich couples. (Eg: the most followed chiropractor on Twitter.)
Horn Removal: This sketch was PRICELESS. They added the “It’s not me, it’s the building” line for air. They also changed the following joke: For air: “Are you keeping your butt crack a zipper?” For dress: “Are you keeping the goldfish in your nutsack?”
[Parents/”I'm up”]: This was, cute?, but my least-favorite sketch. A group of college kids return to Beck’s hometown for the weekend. They’re hanging out at Beck’s parents’ house late at night after a concert. The parents (Melissa and…Alex?) are half-awake and trying to hang out with the kids and are not making any sense. Melissa kept saying "I'm up,. i'm up!" and tried to make them food, while the dad kept saying "I fell asleep in my chair.”
[Wedding]: Cecily and Mulaney are getting married. The best man (Luke) gets up to give a toast and breaks out into song (Dark Side of the Street.) We eventually catch on that he’s singing directly to Cecily and, when she’s into it, we realize they are both having an affair. Cecily gets up, with a mic and joins in on the song. Then they reference how they’re scared that “the three of us will get caught” and Mulaney asks “Three?!” Then Cecily and Luke start referencing a “Jack” in their song. Mulaney asks “Who’s Jack?!” Then Jack White gets on stage, joins the duo and does a guitar solo with them.
Closing/Outro: Ben Stiller was SO TINY. So is, for that matter, Robert Deniro. The closing for dress didn’t have the same energy as it does for air; I guess it probably feels a bit ‘fake’ for them to be all sentimental at dress. Mulaney is so gracious and is such a creator, he knew to thank the behind-the-scenes folk
***
All I can say is..I am in awe. Awe that as of last Monday morning, NOTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW EXISTED. Sure, perhaps a pitch or two had already manifested, but aside from that, this entire hour and a half of creative work sprung to life within six days - the sets, the costumes, the surprise guests, the camera blocking, the lines, the STACKS and STACKS of cue cards!
I mean, the sets alone were a work of art. As I remember back, I'm not recalling particle-board walls; they seem like actual entire rooms to my memory. And next week, they have to do it all again. It's impossible and crazy and amazing!!
And the organization kung-fu that keeps this ship afloat was astounding! From the notifying, managing, and seating of the audience to the seamless set-ups of the sets – it was mind-blowing. Studio 8H features three (small!) stage areas, and as soon as one stage was finished being shot, they immediately set the other. The wings sheltered stacks and stacks of set walls, all organized so they could be stored, used, the stored away again in order seamlessly.
At one point, something (wardrobe?) had gone wrong, and the A.P. said “Don’t worry, you have 45 seconds.” Forty-Five seconds is a comfort to someone who is in a distressing situation at work!? That’s insane and gives me anxiety just thinking about it!
I’m also in awe of the changes that occur between dress and live. At 11:15 PM, they’re still at it, using Lorne’s notes to tweak, perfect.
Anyway, at its essence, SNL still exudes the “Let's put on a show! We’ll make people laugh and maybe save the barn” vibe and I will never NOT get behind that. I hope the show’s dedication, creativity, and pure nerve never dims and disappears in this world of criticism and cynicism.
I want this show to last forever and I will be forever grateful that I was part of SNl's 43-year legacy!
