'Not Ready for Prime Time' Off-Broadway review — live from New York, it's the making of 'Saturday Night Live'
Read our review of Not Ready for Prime Time off Broadway, a new play exploring the early days of Saturday Night Live and its original cast's careers.
Summary
- Not Ready for Prime Time is a play about the early days of Saturday Night Live and its original cast
- Audiences have praised the cast's performances and the authentic set
- The show is recommended for nostalgic SNL fans
Has there ever been a comedy show so intent on foregrounding its own importance like Saturday Night Live? Books, documentaries, memoirs, TV specials, DVDs, podcasts, SNL-inspired TV shows (long live 30 Rock), and most recently, Jason Reitman's 2024 film Saturday Night. The story of SNL’s beginnings — its anarchy and disruption — have entered the realm of mythology, seemingly from its own mouth.
Joining that lineage is Erik J. Rodriguez and Charles A Sothers’s play Not Ready for Prime Time (seemingly timed to the show’s recent 50th anniversary), which unevenly dramatizes SNL's early years. We see Lorne Michaels (Ian Bouillion) come up with the idea, cast the players, create the first few episodes amid struggle, and then rocket into the cultural stratosphere. The play depicts, with little narrative or thematic anchor, the tensions between cast members, the sidelining of the female players, the isolation of Garrett Morris (an excellent Jared Grimes) as the sole Black cast member, the way fame gets to Chevy Chase's (Woodrow Proctor) head. There's also substance abuse, romantic issues, and breakneck deadlines.
It’s all a bit humdrum, victim to obvious bio-play problems: It's narratively scattered and thematically unfocused, without much of a perspective about any of these people. The first act hits the biggest points in the show’s timeline, but it sells short the feeling of being swept up in any of it. An attempt to do a “show within a show” gimmick fails. The performances are generally competent to enthusiastic, but the actors are routinely trapped between doing impressions vs. individualistic takes. Caitlin Houlahan (as Jane Curtin) and Evan Rubin (as Gilda Radner) are among the few cast members whose own voices shine through their depictions of the real SNL players.
Not Ready for Prime Time’s main issue is that it presents SNL’s start with little unique insight. The play's own claim that it is “unauthorized" and "unsanitized” makes it sound more exciting than it is: It lurches through scenes, has a foggy timeline, and does not adequately show why we should care about the proceedings if we don’t have existing nostalgia for SNL.
The play wants to present SNL's start as game-changing, but there’s little in the way of a backdrop or context against which to contrast its supposedly revolutionary nature. Seeds of a more interesting show are suggested in the portrayals of Lorne Michaels as the set's dirtbag dad, the culture of latent misogyny and racism, and even the high-pressure work environment (which Conor Bagley’s direction fails to ignite the urgency of). Ultimately, Not Ready for Prime Time reiterates SNL’s proclaimed importance instead of helping the audience understand what its cultural legacy actually means.
Not Ready for Prime Time summary
Canadian TV producer Lorne Michaels decides to fill in a block on NBC’s Saturday night programming with a new comedy variety show. With off-the-wall personalities and chaos behind the scenes at every moment, he sets out to change late-night TV and comedy itself.
The show follows the early days of Saturday Night Live and its original cast, known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Lorne Michaels, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner.
What to expect at Not Ready for Prime Time
Justin and Christopher Swader's scenic design is solid, recreating the rusty brown of the SNL mainstage and the cramped backrooms with impressive detail. The walls are lined with old signage, and the sides of the stage rotate to transform into bedrooms and sketch sets. Even though much of the play’s material takes place behind the scenes, the production design, which includes a little bulb ensconced platform that extends into the audience, places the audience between the live sketch show and its making.
What audiences are saying about Not Ready for Prime Time
As of publication, Not Ready for Prime Time has an audience approval rating of 85%, compiled from 25 reviews, on the review aggregator Show-Score. Audiences have praised the show's nostalgic vibe, the performances, and the design.
- “Nostalgic for some and informative for others, the narrtor and creator of SNL unapologetically reveals the kind of subversive show he wants to create: "absurd, young, and hip, if you don't like it, get the f**k out of the way." As simple as that, and boy, does he succeed through the decades.” - Show-Score user Elisa 9119
- “What an absolute thrill of a production. The show delivers one of the strongest ensembles I’ve seen in years. Every performance is razor-sharp, deeply felt, and perfectly tuned to the show’s rhythm.” - Show-Score user Dan 4013
- “Plenty of nostalgia in this somewhat mixed bag of a show. The story is largely of the first class of performers on SNL. There isn’t really a central character except maybe Lorne Michaels. Because it is an ensemble story it is more a series of vignettes and somewhat scattershot.” - Show-Score user chris_
Read more audience reviews of Not Ready for Prime Time on Show-Score.
Who should see Not Ready for Prime Time
- The Not Ready for Prime Time Band, lead by conductor Annastasia Victory, is excellent and creates a terrific mood for the piece.
- Evan Rubin gives a lovely performance as Gilda Radner, who perceives herself as somewhat of the ensemble’s ugly duckling, in spite of her brilliant and bright comedic gifts. Rubin finds a solid balance between approximation of the real person and a dramatic playfulness for the theatre.
- Fans of SNL will definitely want to see Not Ready for Prime Time’s recounting of the origins of the show and how it compares to other accounts on stage and screen.
Learn more about Not Ready for Prime Time off Broadway
Not Ready for Prime Time has some solid performances, but its lack of focus, perspective, or direction makes it feel like typical bio-play material, with little new humor or insight about the origins of Saturday Night Live.
Photo credit: Not Ready for Prime Time off Broadway. (Photos by Russ Rowland)
Originally published on