SNL Stars on the Broadway Stage

Ana Gasteyer is set to make her Broadway return in Once Upon a Mattress, beginning previews this month at the Hudson Theatre. Previews begin Wednesday, July 31, 2024, with an Opening Night set for Monday, August 12, 2024, for the limited engagement through November 30, 2024.

Gasteyer, known for her roles on stage and screen, has a long history of theatrical endeavors, and also notably was a cast member on the television show, Saturday Night Live. 

Did you know that Gasteyer is not the only SNL alum to have flexed her acting muscles on the Broadway stage? BroadwayWorld is rounding up your favorite Saturday Night Live stars who are also Broadway stars. Check out our list below!

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Ana Gasteyer

Once Upon a Mattress is far from Gasteyer's first Broadway rodeo. She made her Broadway debut in 2001 in The Rocky Horror Show and went on to play several other Broadway roles including Elphaba in Wicked, Mrs. Peachum in Threepenny Opera, Kitty Dean in The Royal Family, and more. She also appeared in several off-Broadway productions, as long as the televised musical productions of Grease: Live and A Christmas Story Live!

In 1996, Gasteyer joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, where she played popular characters including high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp, National Public Radio Delicious Dish host Margaret Jo McCullen, Lilith Fair feminist singer Cinder Calhoun, and impressions of Martha Stewart and Celine Dion.  After six seasons, Gasteyer left SNL in 2002. 

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Martin Short

Martin Short has appeared on Broadway several times, even starring in his own show, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, in 2006. He made his Broadway debut in 1993 in The Goodbye Girl, and also appeared in Little Me and It's Only A Play.

Short appeared on Saturday Night Live for just one season, from 1984–85. Many of his SNL characters carried over from a previous show he appeared on, called SCTV, including Ed Grimley. He also did impressions of such celebrities as Jerry Lewis and Katharine Hepburn.

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Christine Ebersole

While she is way better known for other things, including her stage credits, Ebersole did in fact appear on one season of Saturday Night Live from 1981–82. She appeared as the "Weekend Update" co-anchor with BRIAN DOYLE-MURRAY, and did impersonations of Mary Travers, Cheryl Tiegs, Barbara Mandrell, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Rona Barrett.

On stage, she is best known for her Tony Award-winning role in Grey Gardens, as well as Warpaint (Tony nomination) 42nd Street (Tony Award), Steel Magnolias, On the Twentieth Century, Camelot, Oklahoma!, Dinner at Eight (Tony nomination), The Best Man, and Blithe Spirit.

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Taran Killam

Taran Killam joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2010, for the show' 36th season, and continued with the show until August 2016. Among Killam's most notable appearances on the show was the internet sensation music video, "The Legend of Mokiki and the Sloppy Swish", in which he appeared with  Kenan Thompson and Anne Hathaway.

Killam made his Broadway debut playing the role of King George III in Hamilton in 2017. He returned to Broadway just recently, appearing in Spamalot in the role of Lancelot. He also appeared off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors and The Odyssey.

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Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell appeared as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2002. He has also hosted the show five times, cementing himself as a member of the show's Five Timers Club. Ferrell's impersonations included George W. Bush, Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, singer Robert Goulet, singer Neil Diamond, and many more.

In 2009, Ferrell made his Broadway debut in the one-man play, You're Welcome America, which he wrote and starred in as George W. Bush.

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Cecily Strong

Cecily Strong became a staple on the recent seasons of Saturday Night Live, beginning in September of 2012. She co-anchored the recurring Weekend Update segment with Seth Meyers, beginning with the season 39 premiere, and later co-anchored with Colin Jost until season 40. In 2020 and 2021, Strong was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show. She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 12th Critics' Choice Television Awards. She performed in her final episode in December of 2022, but not before becoming the longest-running female cast member in the show's history.

Strong made her New York stage debut in the 2022 Off-Broadway revival of Jane Wagner's one-woman play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. She returned to the stage in February 2024, in the Off-Broadway play Brooklyn Laundry.

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George Coe

George Coe appeared in the original Broadway casts of several productions, including Company (1970), On the Twentieth Century (1978), Mame (1966), and What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). 

Coe was an original member of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players", the original cast of Saturday Night Live. He was only credited as a cast member for the first show on October 11, 1975. He was used in several other episodes of SNL, but was never again credited.

Coe passed away in July 2015.

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Garrett Morris

Garrett Morris appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980, playing roles such as Chico Escuela, a Dominican baseball player for the New York Mets; Merkon, the leader of the Coneheads; and Weekend Update's "News for the Hard of Hearing" translator.

Prior to SNL, Morris had a Broadway career, appearing in Hallelujah, Baby! (1967), I'm Solomon (1968), Operation Sidewinder (1970), Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (1971), and What the Wine-Sellers Buy (1974).

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Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal's history with SNL begins with the very first episode, on which he was scheduled to appear on October 11, 1975, but his sketch was cut. He did, however, perform on episode 17 of that first season. After hosting Saturday Night Live twice, Crystal joined the regular cast for the 1984–85 season.

Crystal made his Broadway debut in his one-man show 700 Sundays in 2004, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Crystal returned to the show in 2014, for a production that was filmed by HBO.

In 2022, he returned to Broadway in Mr. Saturday Night, which he wrote and starred in. He received two Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Book of a Musical. 

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Molly Shannon

Molly Shannon was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for 6 years, from 1995 to 2001. Shannon hosted Saturday Night Live on May 12, 2007, making her the second former female cast member to host (after Julia Louis-Dreyfus). She also returned to SNL for a special Mother's Day episode in 2010, and the 2010 reunion special "Women of SNL".

Shannon made her Broadway debut in Promises, Promises in 2010, stepping in to the role of Marge MacDougall.

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Gilda Radner

Gilda Radner was one of the original cast members on Saturday Night Live from its inception in 1975, until her departure in 1980. She was the first performer to be cast in the show, and co-wrote much of the material that she performed. Some of her recurring characters included Roseanne Roseannadanna (modeled after a New York reporter, Rose Ann Scamardella), and "Baba Wawa", a parody of Barbara Walters.

In 1979, Radner appeared on Broadway in a one-woman show, Gilda Radner – Live from New York. The show was filmed by Mike Nichols and released with the title Gilda Live. It co-starred Paul Shaffer and Don Novello, and screened in theaters nationwide in 1980. A soundtrack album was also made. 

Following her departure from SNL in 1980, Radner appeared alongside Sam Waterston in the Jean Kerr play Lunch Hour, which played in various US theaters, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. 

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Alex Moffat

Alex Moffat appeared on Saturday Night Live, beginning as a featured player during the show's 42nd season in 2016. He later joined as a repertory cast member in 2018, where he continued until his departure in 2022. 

Moffat made his Broadway debut in The Cottage, a comedic play written by Sandy Rustin, in 2023 at the Hayes Theatre. He played the role of Clarke until the production close in October 2023.