Ana Gasteyer eager to ‘let it rip’ in evening of holiday music with a twist

Known for impersonating housemaking mogul Martha Stewart in her “Topless Christmas” special and morphing into ugly-sweater-wearing NPR host Margaret Jo McCullin during her tenure on “Saturday Night Live,” Ana Gasteyer says her upcoming holiday show at Evanston’s SPACE pretty much writes itself.

“It’s true what they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery,” says the comedienne/actress and singer. “I love NPR, I love homemaking, and yeah I would like to emulate Martha Stewart when I grow up. …And that really is the kind of show I aim to put together on this tour, to make people feel like they’ve come to a holiday party at my house.” Maybe with some schweddy balls if we’re lucky. “There are always schweddy balls where I’m involved, but as far as manufacturing, I haven’t addressed that yet,” she says, laughing.

In October, Gasteyer released the follow-up to her 2014 jazz standard debut “I’m Hip” with the album “Sugar & Booze,” an irreverent yet classy take on the traditional holiday record inspired as much by Ella Fitzgerald as an “SNL” Christmas special. Her promotional work included a stint on the Fox TV competition “The Masked Singer,” where she was unveiled Tuesday as the vocalist inside an elaborate Christmas tree costume.

Alongside favorites like “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” there are originals on the album including “Nothing Rhymes with Christmas” and the catchy “Secret Santa,” a duet with longtime castmate and friend Maya Rudolph. The two (as well as “SNL” alum Rachel Dratch) also appear together in a new scripted comedic series for Audible.com called “Holiday Greetings from Sugar & Booze,” which frequently talks of Evanston and Northwestern University, where Gasteyer attended classes in her formative years.

“I had been wanting to come play [Chicago] for so long. So when I got the opportunity and saw the show date [at SPACE] on the calendar I really did jump for joy,” says Gasteyer who also starred as Elphaba during the 2005 successful sit-down run of “Wicked” in Chicago.

“Not only are my roots in Chicago,” says Gasteyer, “but the city knows jazz and knows comedy really well and has deep theater traditions and this great vintage nostalgic character that is still preserved, which I love.”

That combination permeates Gasteyer’s show as well, she says, calling it “a nostalgic throwback with a little bit of modern twists. …Like the title suggests, I wanted to have a good time and let it rip. No matter what else happens all year long, we can lean into the season and the traditions and at the same time connect a little bit and have a good time together. That’s what the holidays are all about. And you know, to hear your music over and over again in a Banana Republic. Obviously, that’s the American Dream.”

Shervin Lainez

But with that classic sound comes fun fodder, too.

“I can’t stay earnest for too long,” she admits. “You’re not going to see me like lean against a piano and sing ‘What Child Is This?’ That’s not the kind of performer I am and not the person I am. I grew up going to Messiah and it’s part of my DNA, but it will never be part of my performance style. Everything I do is a combination of musicianship and humor. Sometimes that is confusing to people who are used to everybody being in their box.”

Which is why, Gasteyer says, she loves music from the ‘50s and ‘60s.

“A lot of great American entertainers did it all. If they stood in front of an audience they knew how to tell a joke and they could command the band and nobody was confused by that combination of talent. That’s what our show is, combined with great instrumentation. We are traveling with this hilarious suitcase of glockenspiels and jingle bells and woodblocks. You should see us going through TSA.”

This holiday season, Chicagoans can catch another of Gasteyer’s prior incarnations, in the stage musical “Mean Girls,” which begins performances on Christmas Day at the Nederlander Theater. In the 2004 film (on which the musical is based and which starred Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, among others) Gasteyer played the mother of the main character Cady Heron, and is “thrilled” to hear about the show’s opening in Chicago shortly after she leaves town.

“It’s just more evidence of how talented they are,” she says of the musical’s creator and film’s writer Tina Fey and the strong female ensemble she worked with at “Saturday Night Live,” calling them “great colleagues and compatriots” even today.

“I think a lot of us feel more creatively entitled now than ever before, and there’s so much more opportunity for us and our writing,” she says. “And that’s a fantastic feeling.”

Selena Fragassi is a local freelance writer.

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