Coming Into the Auditorium to See TNL I Had No Idea What to Expect. Earlier in the Day

Coming into the auditorium to see TNL I had no idea what to expect. Earlier in the day I had been planning to watch Hollywood Night on American Idol. But, when a rumor reached me that there was to be a short humorous piece about Mr. Stevenson and myself I emailed him and informed him that we would be going to TNL.

The evening’s entertainment began with a young woman who came out pretending to be Hillary Clinton trying to convince two Hispanic voters to come over to her side. One of the voters was Max Stewart dressed as a young Latino or Latina (I really couldn’t tell) who had lots of attitude. Max was very funny.

The scene ended with Edison’s own version of “Live from . . . . “ I then knew we were in for our own homegrown version of Saturday Night Live. Next, a film montage of the Edison players followed. The film and music were exactly like SNL and the quality of the production was excellent. I really loved the applause meter that sat on the stage. It flashed periodically all evening and always got a hearty response from the audience. Mr. Stevenson and I have watched SNL since it first came on the air. I must say, and Mr. Stevenson agrees with me, that TNL was much better than many of the episodes of SNL which we have watched over the years. The cast and crew have every reason to be very proud of themselves.

The skits seemed to be a combination of SNL and original writing. It is fortunate that none of the Edison players belong to the WGA or someone would be here demanding that they return their Union cards for violating rules by writing excellent scripts during a strike.

The first skit up was a group therapy session for disturbed super heroes. The superheroes had all developed problems due to the constraints of their superpowers. I especially liked Bob Montgomery’s portrayal of the Hulk on Prozac and Jonathan Coates portrayal of Aquaman. Carson Cash did a really nice job of dealing with the disturbed. The entire group was very funny.

Next up was a coffee talk skit. Three women were discussing a young woman’s breakup with her boyfriend and bemoaning the status of romantic relationships in this century. Max was the lead and he was hysterical. His portrayal of the gossipy Jewish lady was hysterical and clearly indicated that he had spent much time observing, probably both on television and in real life. Hopefully, Max had no elderly relatives in attendance – not everyone has a sense of humor. I loved his long red fingernails and the giant bouffant hair which he kept adjusting just around the edges. I did notice that the phone number had the 555 prefix. Every televison and movie phone number seems to start with 555.

Next up was the skit we had come to see! Two actors walked out with lawn chairs and sat down to observe the beach, and wildlife in what they quickly announced was Costa Rica. The author must have been concerned that no one would realize that the couple was intended to be me and my husband because in addition to being dressed like we are dressed in Costa Rica the two actors continually called each other Mr. Stevenson and Mrs. Stevenson. Just in case you wondered, I have other things to call my husband than Mr. Stevenson. You would probably rather not know what those things are.

For the record, Mr. Stevenson and I loved the skit. It was hysterical. He remarked to me later that evening that he did not know who the two actors were who portrayed us. I have asked several students and no one will tell me. Hmmmm ......

We have been able to get a picture of the two actors portraying us. We sent it to our family members. Our daughter called quickly and remarked that when she first opened my email and saw the picture with it, she said “Wow! Dad’s lost weight!” The costuming was wonderful. The black socks, the hats, the frog t-shirt, my gray curls, all were wonderful.

The dialog was hysterical and as you may have guessed we are both just about as fond of words as we are of each other. And, my favorite part was when Mr. Stevenson and I were headed off stage and his back went out. Oh, the stories I could tell you. . . . Oops TMI here.

The next skit was called Braskey where Sam and Max Stewart and Jasper Hammer were portraying drunken Edison alumni. Later Jonathan came out also portraying a drunken alumnus. They all portrayed drunks convincingly.

The centerpiece of the evening was the Weekly Update skit. I know this must have been very difficult to do because the Weekly Update always includes jokes about current events which means that it has to be recently written. Several of the jokes were very current including a joke about HPV which the audience missed. The skit ended with a montage of faculty photos. Ms. Merril and Mr. Hammonds were selected as the sexiest teachers. That was a good choice, although obviously I didn’t get to vote here. Two of the photos were stuck together for some mysterious reason. I visited with Ms. Gaston the next morning and she was very curious about just who that young man was who had dishonored her photo. Sadly, I did not know. The entire skit was well done and just like SNL.

The last four skits followed the SNL format of putting the more difficult to follow skits later in the program.

A Sprockets skit was well done. Sam and Carson did a really good job of portraying the main characters. Three other actors came out later and added spice to the scene. The Sprockets have never been a big favorite of mine but this skit followed the SNL model flawlessly and was actually funnier than the SNL Sprockets usually are.

Mother Goose’s story time followed. Phoebe Richards played the unfortunate lady who was leading a group of youngsters attending story time who all seemed to be disabled in various ways. It is always difficult when portraying the disabled to hit the notes of being funny without stepping over the boundary into politically incorrect mockery. In both this skit and the one on with the superheroes the characters were funny without being hurtful. Erica Quinn, Cyndi Park, Max and Ty Scott portrayed the “children.” They were all funny.

The next skit was an alternative universe sort of thing. Two young women played by Erica and Bree Burnett were sitting on a bench making catcalls at men. Their preference was for the nerdy instead of the sexy. The nerdy guys were portrayed by Max and Bob and Ian Davis. One half dressed attractive young man came out and was aggressively rejected by the women as he flexed his damp and glittering muscles. And I must say – where did all those muscles come from??? Way to go Carson.

The final scene of the night was about a beat poetry contest. Beat poets were big when I was in high school. Boris came out and humorously set up the microphone. Sam and Jasper were the main actors. The skit was very interesting.

I must include a note on how impressed I was with the variety of characters that Max portrayed. I first got to know Max on a trip to Costa Rica. Every time I see him portray another character I wonder where that came from. Several students have complained to me that things will just never be the same after he leaves. While I am sure that is true, others will have an opportunity to rise to take his place. I know we will hear from Max in the future and I look forward to seeing him take over Hollywood whether it is in front of or behind the cameras.

I liked that TNL was part of Edison week. It made another activity for students to attend in the evening for class points. I do think a bit more publicity would be in order. I have had many students and faculty members say they wish they had known about it – if they had they would have definitely been in attendance.

I would also like to say that I spent so much time laughing and having tears run down my cheeks because things were so funny that I didn’t get many notes. You should all be really proud of yourself. It was GREAT!!

PS – we later found out that is was Sam Stewart and Cyndi Park who portrayed us on stage. Thanks Sam and Cyndi you were fabulous!!

Mrs. Stevenson