If you’ve ever wondered what takes place on the set of “Saturday Night Live” the week before the show, you can find out later this fall.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications is bringing the iconic NBC show here in late October with the new exhibit, “Saturday Night Live: The Experience.”
The exhibit will walk visitors through day-to-day preparations for the late-night comedy show, while chronicling its history and showing off more than 500 artifacts from 42 seasons.
The 12,000-square-foot collection of multimedia presentations, props, scripts and sets, begins in SNL’s executive producer Lorne Michael’s office, guiding visitors through 10 immersive galleries with stops on the sets of “Wayne’s World,” the “Weekend Update” desk, and of course, the show’s iconic main stage in Rockefeller Center.
Mark Lach, creative director of Premier Exhibitions, which produced the exhibit, said that while the show may seem to run smoothly on TV screens, visitors will leave with “a sense of what it’s like to be part of the creative team, and the frenetic schedule and pace involved with each weekly episode.”
With simulations of writer’s offices and control rooms, Lach said the exhibit “illustrates that a lot of hard work and preparation undoubtedly goes into each and every laugh.”
The exhibit debuted — naturally — in New York, and Chicago is the second stop on a national tour.
“It is a perfect fit for Chicago since countless actors and writers cut their comedic chops here before being discovered by SNL,” said Larry Wert, chairman of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, at 360 N. State.
The exhibit opens on Oct. 21, less than a month after the show’s 43rd season begins on Sept. 30, with hosts Ryan Gosling and Jay-Z.
It will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday until 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The exhibit will close on Dec. 31, 2018.
Tickets go on sale on Sept. 8; $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and students.
