‘SNL’: Kate McKinnon Reunites With Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig for Christmas
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Kate McKinnon was joined on stage Saturday by fellow SNL alums Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig, and the trio put an SNL spin on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
McKinnon, who spent a decade on the late night show until departing last year, began by noting how “weird” it felt to now have her own monologue.
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“I don’t really like to talk in my own voice. That’s kind of why I got into this racket in the first place,” joked the actress, who picked up a pair of Emmys for her impressions on SNL.
“Ever since I left this job because my skin was reacting poorly to the prosthetics, I have been trying to assemble a human personality, and so far I have a hat. It’s a good hat. It’s a strong hat,” she continued. “But yeah, basically I’ve never been myself in a monologue before. I usually played the role of freak next to hot person.”
McKinnon then showed several examples of her appearing in one wacky costume or another beside SNL‘s guest hosts.
McKinnon’s role in Barbie, she then noted, was also fitting.
“I played a character called Weird Barbie. I walked in on the first day, and they were like, ‘Oh my god. You look perfect.’ And I was like ‘These are my clothes.'”
McKinnon then turned to a miniature keyboard, saying she would sing the message she left on SNL creator Lorne Michaels’ voicemail after he had asked her to host the show’s Christmas episode.
“I’ll be home for Christmas / I live close, it’ll be easy for me
Feed me figs and make me wigs / reactivate my ID.”
McKinnon noted that she appreciated seeing old friends again, at which point Rudolph and Wiig appeared and the three exchanged pleasantries. They then joked about what they’ve all been up to since they were last on the show–according to Wikipedia.
“It said I was in over 38,000 sketches here!” Wiig remarked, adding that it said she has also earned a dozen Grammys and is dating Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce.
The three former cast members closed with more lyrics:
“Christmas eve will find us / where the love light glows
We came home for Christmas, it’s time to start the show”
Later in the show, McKinnon, Rudolph and Wiig teamed up again in a music-themed Christmas sketch as members of the Swedish band ABBA.
With Bowen Yang as the fourth, the group’s newly discovered 1978 Christmas album is advertised by a public broadcasting service announcer (James Austin Johnson). Songs include “Santa Queen,” “Who’s that Baby (It’s the Baby Jesus),” and “Frostititita,” during which the four all sing way too close to each other’s faces.
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