NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME Play Based on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Will Premiere Off-Broadway This Fall

The new play with music, Not Ready For Prime Time, will premiere Off-Broadway this fall, according to a casting notice. The show gives a behind-the-scenes look at the original “Saturday Night Live” cast and their wild and crazy journey that transformed American pop culture. Performances are expected to begin on October 5th, with a limited run set to close on December 14th. The show is directed by Conor Bagley and co-written by Erik J. Rodriguez and Charles A. Sothers.

Not Ready For Prime Time is a fictionalized account about the origins of “Saturday Night Live,” the ground-breaking NBC show that launched on October 11, 1975, and revolutionized American political and cultural satire. Audiences are introduced to nine misfit comedians – originally known as the “Not Ready For Prime Time Players” - as they rise to stardom: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner, and a young TV producer and writer, Lorne Michaels. The play follows their turbulent journey as they create comedic television history, producing a show that is still going strong after almost 50 years.

Not Ready For Prime Time previously held a reading in 2023, as BroadwayWorld previously reported. The cast for the reading included Jordan Kai Burnett (Gilda Radner), Sara Chase (Jane Curtin), Gary-Kayi Fletcher (Garrett Morris), Keri René Fuller (Laraine Newman), Drew Gehling (Chevy Chase), Nate Janis (Bill Murray), Kristian Lugo (Dan Aykroyd), Zack Myers (John Belushi) and John Skelley (Lorne Michaels). Xander Rovang is Music Director. Benjamin A. Vigil is Production Stage Manager and Alexandrea Hess-Rodriguez is Assistant Stage Manager. Casting by Stephen DeAngelis.