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If you didn't see Last Week Tonight with John Oliver last night, his Main Story about about politics and religion, specifically focusing on the group Alliance Defending Freedom which wants to become the equivalent of the ACLU, but for the religious right. And who have already had significant impact on U.S. laws and culture. The report is excellent -- detailed, fascinating, infuriating, revealing and often extremely funny in scathing ridicule. But if you only decide to watch just a few minutes, jump to around the 23-minute mark. That's where Oliver deals with ADF's involvement with the woman who claimed to be a website designer and refused to accept business for a gay wedding. The short segment is terrific, builds momentum and has wonderful, laugh-out-loud payoff.
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The news must be hell for people in St. Louis. Since the headlines now read:
"Cardinals pick Chicagoan to be Pope." And -- "Cardinals declare Chicagoan to be closer to God than them." In other news, a transcript has been released of the campaign statement made in conclave by the cardinal from Chicago, who was later elected Pope. He said: "Vote for whoever you want. Just be sure to vote early and often." Finally, the official voting results have been announced. Of the 138 votes cast, he received 247. Last week, I was talking with my friend Myles Berkowtiz about the papal conclave, and as the chat meandered to related topics, he wondered about the wildly irreverent character Don Novello created, 'Father Guido Sarducci.' I hadn't, not for at least 20 years, when he used to appear periodically on SNL's "Weekend Update" to give his religious commentary. But I figured that Novello was still around, since I hadn't heard anything to the contrary. Last night, Stephen Colbert was doing some jokes and commented how there were a lot of guesses on who the next Pope would be -- but added that his show had an inside source and... Immediately, I sat up. And quickly began hoping. Oh, please let it be, please. And as the thought began whipping around and spinning in my head, it seemed possible to me, since I knew that Colbert was steeped in the world of comedians and comedy writers and was a devout Catholic and surely knew and loved Father Guido...and...and...and... And it was! In came the gossip columnist for the Vatican Inquirer. Father Guido Sarducci! The conversation is very funny. It does go a bit off the rails for a bit into unexpected, weird territory, though that's not terribly unexpected for Father Guido, but they eventually get back to the conclave and religious matters. I got the sense that some of the segment was prepared and written, but a lot of it was just winging it. And what I loved most is how, as soon as Colbert mentioned his name, the audience exploded in a roar. It was so good to see him after probably 20-25 years, older, but just as fun and irreverent. And such great timing given my conversation only last week. And I hope the wonderful reaction and laughter has Colbert bring back the good Father regularly. Here 'tis -- Since tonight is the first night of Passover, and this is called Saturday Night Seder, it seems a fine time to post it.
This is a wonderfully entertaining “Seder” that was done four years ago, on April 11, 2020 during the very early days of the pandemic, when people couldn’t gather for their traditional Seder service. It’s made with a seriously impressive cast – complete with a lot of humor, original songs, and traditional Seder songs – and put together with notable writers. I should add that while much of it is very funny, it’s also (in part) serious with the inclusion of several rabbis and the telling of the Passover tale and its meaning. But it’s the entertainment that stands out. The cast, not shockingly, is mostly Jewish – it is a Passover Seder, after all… -- but not exclusively, with quite a few invited guests. Among the many participating – and this is only a partial list -- are (in alphabetical order): Pamela Adlon, Jason Alexander, Skylar Astin, Mayim Bialik, Rachel Brosnahan, Andy Cohen, Fran Drescher, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Harvey Fierstein, Ilana Glazer, Whoopi Goldberg, Josh Groban, Richard Kind, Nick Kroll, Dan Levy, Judith Light, Alan Menken, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Isaac Mizrahi, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Stephen Schwartz, Sarah Silverman, Shaina Taub, Henry Winkler, Finn Wolfhard, and many more. Not a bad cast. And not shabby, either, are those who put it all together. The head writer of the hour-long event is Alex Edelman – who I wrote about here the other week. He’s the star and writer of the hit one-man show on Broadway, Just for Us, that HBO recorded and is currently airing. Also, some of the original songs were co-written by Benj Pasek – part of the Oscar-winning songwriting team that wrote the movies, The Greatest Showman and La La Land, as well as the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Saturday Night Seder was also done as a fundraiser for the CDC Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. So far, it has raised $3.5 million. To continue our festivities on the seventh night of Hanukkah, here is Adam Sandler in 1994 singing his Hanukkah song on SNL for the first time -- which was...the seventh night of Hanukkah! As part of our Holiday Fest now into the Hanukkah season, we head back to SNL. For a while they had a series of periodic appearances on the Weekend Update segment where Vanessa Bayer would come on as Jacob the Bar Miztvah Boy. Her performances were deeply meticulous, gentle and wonderful. And they're impeccably written with a knowing eye. I thought I'd post a couple of them. First, here is Jacob talking about Hanukkah traditions with Weekend Update host Seth Meyers. And in her return, Jacob comes back to talk with anchor Meyers about the story of Hanukkah. |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 
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