The Westchester Cultural Arts Center

"Not Ready for Prime Time’ at Roxy Theatre puts spotlight on SNL’s earliest stars By Christina Mayo 8 hours ago When “Saturday Night Live” first aired Oct. 11, 1975 with George Carlin as host, a new genre of political and social satire was born. Now you can step back in time and celebrate those first live shows at Roxy Theatre’s presentation of “Not Ready for Prime Time” about the early and tumultuous years of “SNL” and the original cast members. The play focuses on The Not Ready for Prime Time Players, their unlikely rise to stardom, and their enduring impact on American pop culture. ADVERTISEMENT Playwrights Erik J. Rodriguez and Charles A. Sothers said their show is about how a “ragtag band of young comedians came together to create a new form of television comedy, how they helped create a hit show, dealt with the pitfalls of celebrityhood, and introduced a new form of comedy to the American mainstream.” “Without ‘SNL’ we don’t have ‘The Daily Show,’ we don’t have ‘The Colbert Report,’” Rodriguez said. “It created a new genre of comedy that included political and social satire, and it changed the comedic landscape in so many ways. It’s amazing how Lorne Michaels has been able to keep the show relevant and funny after all these years. It’s almost as if he captured lightning in a bottle.” Rodriguez, 31, and Sothers, 45, have been working on the project since its original version was first staged in 2014 by New Theatre. “Charlie and I have revisited the play, and we’ve had long conversations about what it’s really about,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve done rewrites, draft after draft, to make sure we tell a more clear and precise story.” ADVERTISEMENT “We put a human face on celebrities that we know, or we think we know,” Sothers said. “You take Gilda Radner or John Belushi. We have all these preconceived notions. But what we tried to do is flesh out their human stories, who they were before they became famous and who they became after.” The playwrights believe the play will appeal to Baby Boomers who remember the original “Saturday Night Live” but also resonate with younger generations that have grown up watching “SNL” and many of the films that featured early cast members like Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. “It’s a human story about how celebrity affects people, but it’s specifically about how an institution like SNL survived in those first five years and what it became — a household name,” Sothers said. “Not Ready for Prime Time” will run March 31-April 17 at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center, 7930 SW 40th St. Tickets $39-$59, available at www.notreadyforprimetimeplay.com. For more, call 305-722-5674 or email roxytheatre@completeticketsolutions.com ADVERTISEMENT e all these preconceived notions. But what we tried to do is flesh out their human stories, who they were before they became famous and who they became after.” The playwrights believe the play will appeal to Baby Boomers who remember the original “Saturday Night Live” but also resonate with younger generations that have grown up watching “SNL” and many of the films that featured early cast members like Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. “It’s a human story about how celebrity affects people, but it’s specifically about how an institution like SNL survived in those first five years and what it became — a household name,” Sothers said. “Not Ready for Prime Time” will run March 31-April 17 at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center, 7930 SW 40th St. Tickets $39-$59, available at www.notreadyforprimetimeplay.com. For more, call 305-722-5674 or email roxytheatre@completeticketsolutions.com ADVERTISEMENT"