SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’s Origin Story Will Hit the Stage in Off Broadway Play

In 2024, the film Saturday Night took us into the pure chaos surrounding the first episode of famed sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. The show’s impact on pop culture is beyond measure, from several documentaries about its success to spinoff films based on popular sketches. In a world where many things are hitting streaming and ending in the blink of an eye, Saturday Night Live continues to go strong after five decades of laughs. Now, the early days of Saturday Night Live will come to the stage in an Off Broadway play called Not Ready for Prime Time.

According to Deadline, this show is written by Erik J. Rodriguez and Charles A. Sothers with Conor Bagley directing it. Not Ready for Prime Time is making its debut very soon, with previews on October 5 at The Newman Mills Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. The Saturday Night Live Off Broadway play’s opening night is October 20.

It’s not clear who will star in this venture. But, according to a description, Not Ready for Prime Time is “a bold, behind-the-scenes look at the launch of one of America’s most iconic shows…From the writers’ room battles to the live-on-air adrenaline, this fast-paced and irreverent play dives into the personalities, clashes, and lightning-in-a-bottle moments that built an American institution.”