But apparently, according to the leprechaun, this isn't true love. They smoke and drink and yell, leave you flat, or, even worse, they stay and make life hell. Hi. And I was talking about something else, and then I sort of made fun of myself, like, yeah, because, you know, that's - well, that's an important thing for society to hear or something. And he was showing me clips of her, like, doing man-on-the-street interviews. And then it ends in a very - you know, Ann does an amazing job with the song, and it ends in a really sweet spot - right? You want to try with other people? So here you are on "Weekend Update" as Judge Jeanine Pirro. Strong stars in the new Apple TV+ satire about a couple who get lost in the woods and end up trapped in a town where life is a musical and the townspeople frequently burst into song. And actually, my dad took a bunch of pictures. PAUL: You know, he's amazing, and he's so tender, and he loves cooking. Accuracy and availability may vary. You're in a safer place, safer in the sense that you can go outside without having to go down an elevator and walk through a lobby and be - you know, be in the middle of Manhattan. I mean, they - I got it expunged from my record by doing a hundred hours of community service, and I wound up really loving the community service I did. And you had a boyfriend who got a bad case of COVID, but fortunately not bad enough to end up in the hospital, and he recovered. She's also . Just like the idea, you know, that it's like, you can have so much passion and feelings about these things that you don't really understand and haven't given much thought to and using them to sort of put down other people. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. She's nominated for an Emmy for her work on "Saturday Night Live." PAUL: Yeah. And then the town just starts singing about how great corn pudding is. No. We started with the opening song from "Schmigadoon!" Actress, writer, producer, and all-around comedy titan Cecily Strong has built up quite the resume over the last few years. PAUL: Yeah, it's called "Make Him Watch It," and we make each other watch a movie we've never seen before. And for her, it's all these really positive qualities. And I was talking about something else, and then I sort of made fun of myself, like, yeah, because, you know, that's - well, that's an important thing for society to hear or something. And you're being, you know, waited on by a - you know, a very lovely, very young (laughter) waitress. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble, singing) Never had corn puddin'. And, you know, I desperately wanted to be on stage, but probably because I didn't really belong there, they kept saying, no, but, Cinco, we need you on the piano. Also, Keegan has, you know, this young farm girl pursuing him, played by Dove Cameron. GROSS: Because she has gaydar and no one in the town does (laughter). My Uncle Ed is a theater producer in New York, my dad and . One of the really funny songs - the mayor, who's played by Alan Cumming, is secretly gay, and it's a secret he's never disclosed to anybody. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party) Wow. This was performed after Pirro made anti-Muslim remarks about Representative Ilhan Omar. Cecily Strong's new show (lovingly) pokes fun at 'problematic' Golden Age musicals. And we just thought it was so funny, and it was a fun way to play her. It's not like I drove myself. Facts Buddy Fast, Factual, Free! In the original, which debuted on Broadway in 1985, Tomlin leaps for two hours . I was a new cast member. But this is a song where she has no clue that her husband is gay. It's a nice melody. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) Come on, could be fun. You know, that PAUL: I'll tell you. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party) And newsflash, Michael - 40% of children are just their legs. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party) And I'm sorry. Why did you want him to hate musicals? You put the bowl in your belly 'cause it's good for the soul. And it's been great to talk with you. MICHAEL CHE: (As himself) With the election only two weeks away, both candidates are trying to get a final message out there to their supporters. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) Oh, I think they want us to take a verse. . Grown adults burst into song, one of which extolling the virtues of "corn pudding." Comedy stars like Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key mingle with Broadway . UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Every steak's bound to have some fat. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) I'm not saying anything, but apparently some cosmic verdict has been reached, and we failed. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party) Here's a thought, Michael - maybe try being woke for a change, OK? And then my uncle is also a Broadway producer. And the trees are tall, and we call it Schmigadoon. STRONG: Right. GROSS: And I wish her the best. ", "Carousel," "The Music Man," "The Sound Of Music," "South Pacific" and "Brigadoon." She doesn't know what that actually means, but she really wishes the best for him and loves him. And so that's really - that's when my love affair with musicals began. GROSS: And he's not just a Broadway producer. I feel like my bubble just burst recently. So you must have had this idea early on that being in shows was something real people did. And so it was like, I was going to be a fifth-year senior, which just felt bonkers. I need to get - I have to practice this fall. GROSS: Had you been vaccinated when you shot the series? Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress and comedian who has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live since 2012, making her the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's history. Accuracy and availability may vary. And I think they knew that about me. You know, "The Coconauts," "Animal Crackers," "Horse Feathers" has a lot of songs in it. First two episodes streaming Friday, July 16, on Apple TV+. And my roommates - my COVID roommates, Matt (ph) and Kevin - were helping me shoot everything. Cecily Strong is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $4 million. I saw my first Marx Brothers movie when I was 10 on TV, and I fell in love with the Marx Brothers and became obsessed. Again, my family, everyone I know - huge fans. They just performed, you know? STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party) Hello, Michael Che. And - yeah. And it was hard - you know, I had theater, thank God, and really was comfortable in that world. And she has a new memoir called "This Will All Be Over Soon." Meet Cecily Strong's Partner: The Actress' Secretive Love Life Details. STRONG: Yes. But they both soon realize they're trapped in Schmigadoon, where life is a musical. And then just being loud and over annunciating and trying to have a stern look, you know? GROSS: Yeah, yeah. GROSS: One of the things in some musicals is - the love affairs in some musicals, I think, would be considered pretty age-inappropriate now, like, for example, "The Sound Of Music," where, like, she's a young nun who's just left the convent. Like, I'm so proud of the work I've done. I don't have enough gym credits to graduate on time. SNL's Cecily Strong stars in it as Melissa and is also a producer. And we both enjoy malapropisms, I think, as much as each other, so it's a lot of that. I'm Terry Gross. So that's really where it began when I was a kid. So that's when I joined SAG. I think there's nothing more thrilling than hearing Terry Gross likes (laughter) your show and (laughter) enjoys it and has joy from it. This election is a mis-grace (ph), OK? UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) We want corn puddin'. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) Then he says something mean to get her back. Will Get Your Toes Tapping, So Sing Along If You Know The Words. And this is how important it is to manage it. Lily Tomlin, the original star and Tony Award winner of 'The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, poses with the star of the L.A. production, Cecily . So how much do you love musicals? STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party) Do you even know what women have to do when we go vote, Michael? And then in making fun of myself, we sort of just kept playing with that, and that led into the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party. Originally broadcast Aug. 9 and Aug. 23. Cecily Strong first joined SNL as a featured player in 2012. It played it on Broadway in the . STRONG: Yeah. And so I want to play that scene 'cause it'll give a sense of how people just kind of break out into song around you and how you sometimes just chime right in. GROSS: Well, in some ways, maybe it was a good thing because you ended up - after going to Catholic school, you ended up in a performing arts high school, which is where you really fit in. GROSS: Did you get to meet the actors? Is this still going on, your podcast? Strong is the niece of prolific Broadway producer, Edward Strong. GROSS: We're listening to my interview with Cinco Paul. GROSS: That was another scene from "Schmigadoon!," which stars my guest, Cecily Strong, and Keegan-Michael Key. STRONG: It's hard to say, honestly. It's streaming on Apple TV+. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) That's fantastic. STRONG: (As Melissa) This was literally me in high school. So, you know, I'm - I would love to do it. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, singing) Who wants corn puddin'? GROSS: Yeah. . Strong said, admitting she immediately said yes to starring in the show, even though she thought the idea was "insane." Leigh Silverman is the director of the off-Broadway revival of The Search . She's an actress, and she's a comedian. When we left off, we were talking about her characters on "SNL.". I got the recipe. And it wasn't easy to do this job this year. And I was just part of a wave of kids who were expelled. GROSS: (Laughter) I like that idea, the square dancing lobby. GROSS: I love the way mansplaining becomes, like, don't man-terrupt me. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) I'm not singing, and you're not singing. And he was trying to help me find things. - the loving satire of '40s and early 1950s musicals. She has a new memoir called "This Will All Be Over Soon," and she stars in the new series "Schmigadoon!," a satire of classic musicals from the '40s and '50s. (SOUNDBITE OF MARVIN HAMLISCH'S "MULTI-TASKING"). So if he wants my puddin', he'll have to marry me. (SOUNDBITE OF GEORGE SHEARING'S "THINKING OF YOU"). We'll talk more after a break. But I want to play the theme song from this because I think it's you and Ken actually singing the song. I think my favorite character that you've been doing lately is Judge Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News host. So I think that led to my love of these 1920s songs, you know, the Tin Pan Alley stuff. GROSS: So let's talk a little bit about your work on "Saturday Night Live." UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, singing) You can't eat a fish without getting some bones. And you're being, you know, waited on by a - you know, a very lovely, very young (laughter) waitress. which he also co-created and co-wrote. JOST: That's great. GROSS: And Hal Willner, who you mentioned - he died of COVID. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) I didn't say that. GROSS: Well, I wish you well. And I think a lot of that, you can feel it when you watch the show. CINCO PAUL AND KEN DAURIO: (Singing) Make him watch it. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. GROSS: And who did you think of as being the girl? GROSS: To make your point about being a good student, you were a National Merit-commended scholar based on your PSATs. Strong also has a new memoir called "This Will All Be Over Soon." We'll be right back. Oh, that's really - it's a funny song, but it's also - it's a lovely song. Otherwise, it's hard to get an impression on the show. Lorne Michaels, SNL's creator, is one of the play's producers. You know, we were getting ready for one of those - I think they were two "Update" specials because it was an election year. Here to explain is Jeanine Pirro. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) That's it. I love the show so much. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) No. What was it like for you to go from this heightened sense of anxiety and depression to flying to - was it Vancouver? And she told me I was looking at the world with S - I can't swear - with crap-colored glasses. Talking about her love interest, Cecily Strong's Partner is Jack. What did it feel like to be honest and say, I'm not ready, I can't do it yet? And so it's like, I knew I was kind of - it wouldn't last, this safety that I was feeling by being vaccinated. During her youth, she often attended Broadway shows, thanks to her uncle's career as a . GROSS: And so the reason why they're singing about corn pudding is it's their first morning in town. Strong achingly conveys her fears of loss and uncertainty, as well as the emotional scars left by a physically . And then they went, oh, wait a minute; there's one more pocket. And so in the spirit of turning your life into a musical, I just want to play the opening theme from your podcast, "Make Him Watch It. PAUL: I grew up in Phoenix, Ariz., so I didn't see a lot of shows live, but my mom really loved musicals, and she had cast recordings for - I specifically remember "Camelot" - you know, loving as a pretty young kid and listening to that. If I think that he's laughing at something, I'll want to hit that harder. So it wasn't, like, a big shock or anything I thought would - you know, that it was something she couldn't deal with. You put the bowl in your belly 'cause it's good for the soul. He's a queer one, that man o' mine. - about a couple who find themselves trapped in a small town from the early 1900s where life is a musical. How did it affect your sense of self to be arrested and to be expelled and to think, maybe, you wouldn't even graduate high school? STRONG: I mean, I think I just felt smaller and smaller and smaller. And in many ways, that was Ken. GROSS: But the mayor's wife sings a song that's called "He's A Queer One, That Man O' Mine." You have to do people that everybody knows. because everyone in it seems to be enjoying being in it so much. GROSS: So let's hear a clip of you doing Jeanine Pirro. So, I mean, I assume it'll have to be soon. It went to dress and not to air. It kind of felt like that a little bit. So we did her on "Update.". And I wound up doing correspondence classes and graduating on time. STRONG: Right. Andrew Singer executive produces with Lorne Michaels on behalf of Broadway Video. You put the bowl in your belly 'cause it's good for the soul. And then he turns off the tape to say, like, oh, and off the record, you're a great student, and we're sorry to lose you. And I was enjoying watching it so much. And you know, there is still an element of, like, you're playing with your friends. The Search . (Singing) Some men like to fight and curse. And I was like, I'd also kind of had a breakup kind of the night before. The series is streaming on Apple TV+. "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life . GROSS: That's music from "Schmigadoon!" She's created some great characters for the show. Cecily attended Oak Park and River Forest High . They also wrote the animated films "Despicable Me," "The Secret Life Of Pets" and the Dr. Seuss adaptations "Horton Hears A Who!" It's streaming on Apple TV+. STRONG: I haven't. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character, singing) Still unmarried at 28. And I can't - she's so far away. I'm sorry. overall No. GROSS: I really love that. GROSS: What are some of the movies and some of the cartoons that you grew up with? And new flash, Michael - 40% of children are just their legs. So you have a few really funny references to, like, closeted gay people in musicals. The co-production with Off-Broadway's The Shed . When I went to - they called me down to security to say they'd found my bag. Cecily Strong is an American actress and comedian who is best known for being a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2012 to 2022. . It became my community, you know. What's true love really mean? In October of 2021, it was announced that Cecily will make her New York stage debut in an off-Broadway production, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in . GROSS: Yeah. Cecily Strong at Chicago's UP Comedy Club as a part of TBS's Just For Laughs Festival in 2013. STRONG: (As Jeanine Pirro) That's right. Mean, horny men lying on in-home hospital beds and white prison gangs who control the remote on Saturdays, thank you for watching. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) Oh, no - no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, he'll have to marry me. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) Corn puddin'. That's all. So I've gotten to see a lot of his shows in New York. Starring Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana DeBose, Fred Armisen, Jaime Camil and Jane Krakowski. And, you know, I wouldn't say my wife hates musicals. Like, you know? STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) OK. Well, that one's on you. I had the idea for this almost 25 years ago, and it was while I was watching the movie "An American Werewolf In London," of all things, one of my favorite movies. Seven of the comedy sketch show's cast members left the . PAUL: Well, it's kind of crazy. July 16, 2021 1:58 PM PT. And that's what I'd always rent whenever we'd go to the movie store. And it would, like, end in some crazy, like, exclamation. - in late September usually. GROSS: Well, I hope your mom, like, recovers really soon. GROSS: Let's hear you as the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party. But of course, like, everything's bad timing over the past couple of years or whatever. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Like, who cares? And the first morning that you're there, you're having breakfast on the porch. The women are wearing long, colorful prairie dresses with big petticoats. I mean, the season starts - what? He's, like, a really big Broadway producer. 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