Not Ready For Prime Time ★★★

Live from New York, it’s a play about Saturday Night Live!

The Coneheads. Gumby. Stefon. Target Lady. The Blues Brothers. Stuart Smalley. Mary Catherine Gallagher. Mr. Bill. The Church Lady. Wayne and Garth. The Sweeney Sisters. The “Dick in a Box” Guys. For a television show that has delivered hundreds of indelible characters and sharp cultural commentary for half a century, there’s been a lot of nostalgia lately.

Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with two specials this past February, arriving just months after the charming and underrated 2024 Jason Reitman-directed feature Saturday Night, which dramatizes the making of the show’s first episode. Now, opening Off-Broadway at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space – a ten-minute walk from where the show actually broadcasts – comes an “unauthorized, unsanitized, and slightly unhinged” stage take on the early years of the series: Not Ready for Prime Time.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but that title is begging – pleading even – for sass. Because you know what’s not ready?

This play.

And yes, it is a play, and yes, it has major dramaturgical issues that even its many strengths cannot overcome. But, like SNL itself, let’s start with the highlights.

The set. Damn, it’s fantastic. If you’ve ever attended a taping of SNL, you’ll be amazed at how set designers Justin & Christopher Swader have captured the studio’s energy. This set screams fun.

The music. Just like its television counterpart on SNL, the house band keeps things loud and lively. Music director and arranger Annastasia Victory leads Andre Cleghorn (bass), Lonnie Christian (drums), and Langston Hughes II (reeds) from doors open to close. Even during intermission, the band’s infectious energy keeps the house buzzing – sometimes more than the show itself.

The large cast. It’s genuinely refreshing to see nine performers romping across an off-Broadway stage when so many of New York’s major non-profits are leaning into budget-friendly solo shows. Director Conor Bagley keeps the ensemble popping up in unexpected places, and this young cast brings abundant zest. Yet they also have the unenviable task of playing incredibly famous actors, many of whom were – and are – charisma machines. Several rise above to make memorable impressions. Caitlin Houlahan brings sweet stability as Jane Curtin, Ryan Crout is a believable, endearing John Belushi, and Jared Grimes sparkles ever so brightly as Garrett Morris.

That Grimes emerges as a standout playing the least-known original cast member is a testament to his stage chops. One of the best dancers in the business and the sole Tony nominee of the recent Broadway revival of Funny Girl, Grimes shows off his acting and impeccable comic timing. Every time he’s on stage, you don’t want him to leave.

Unfortunately, the large cast also highlights the play’s weakness. With so many characters, none are developed enough to make the audience truly care.

Writers Erik J. Rodriguez and Charles A. Sothers drew inspiration from Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller, a brilliant but 800-page oral history. Editing is thus essential, but Not Ready for Prime Time tries to cover too much. Second-act scenes jump seasons and years on a whim.

Whoosh! The result: a greatest-hits montage of highs (Curtin’s Emmy win) and lows (the early deaths of Belushi and Gilda Radner), all of which reads as narrative desperation.

Adding to the trouble is having Lorne Michaels as narrator. In this production, the scariest beast isn’t Land Shark – it’s Exposition Monster, and it’s inhabited by the publicly laconic Michaels, who here is given a bounty of words to push the story forward. Poor Ian Bouillion does his best, but even Dionysus couldn’t make this part work.

That said, with focused retooling, this show could shine. As it stands, Not Ready for Prime Time may satisfy SNL superfans, but most theatergoers will need more than nostalgia. Perhaps a cowbell?