Party On. The 'Saturday Night Live' Exhibit Is Coming To Chicago Next Month

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 6, 2017 3:20PM

'Saturday Night Live: The Experience'

Over the decades, Chicago has become used to seeing its comedic talent scooped up by Saturday Night Live and spirited off to New York City—so it only seems fair that we should be able to vicariously experience the late-night staple right here in town.

The large-scale exhibit "Saturday Night Live: The Experience" will land at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, showcasing hundreds of original props, costumes and other relics from the Not Ready for Primetime Players' long run. Making its first stop outside of New York City, the exhibition includes set pieces such as the Wayne's World basement/public access studio, the Jeopardy! set (get excited, Turd Ferguson fans) and the Weekend Update desk.

The exhibition is set up to function as both SNL history and an immersive walkthrough of the show's infamously intensive six-day production process—from Monday's host meeting to Friday's rehearsals through Saturday night's big show. As anyone who's ever read Live From New York can attest, plenty of the show's behind-the-scenes history is decidedly R-rated, so it'll be interesting to see how deep "The Experience" delves. But at the very least, some up-close-and-personal time with the Land Shark head sounds like thrill enough.

SNL honch (and Dr. Evil inspiration) Lorne Michaels plus former cast members will likely be on hand at the opening, according to the Tribune, which published a feature dive into the exhibition ahead of Wednesday's official announcement.

"Saturday Night Live: The Experience" opens Oct. 21 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications (360 N State State) and is expected to run to December 2018. Tickets ($25) go on sale Friday.

In the meantime, take a peek at a behind-the-scenes clip from the exhibit's run in New York. Looks mahvelous.