Live from Squamish, it's Saturday night for six evenings packed with some of the most memorable Saturday Night Live skits from the last two decades.Director Liz Gruber selected about a dozen of Squamish's funniest actors to take on classic roles for the Between Shifts Theatre production entitled Squamish Nights Live, which began at the Eagle Eye Theatre on Thursday (May 15) and continues Friday and Saturday (May16-17) and again the following week (May 22-24)."The whole thing is just an opportunity to come together and laugh," said Gruber. "Especially when they nail it, especially when I have a guy that does a better Matt Foley than Chris Farley does and my Spartan cheerleaders are brilliant."The show follows the traditional SNL format, complete with guest hosts and live bands. The sense of the show's humour is a transition from last year's Monty Python production, also directed by Gruber. But the idea to revisit some of the New York-based show's best moments got the local acting community excited for a new comic style. With help from the actors, Gruber whittled about 50 skits down to about 20. She was encouraged when a television program featuring "the top SNL skits" featured the majority of her choices. Gruber isn't giving away the lineup further but said she knows the cast is up to the task of becoming the most hilarious SNL characters. Although she started casting by using appearances as a firm guideline, she soon slackened the rule as the actors came into their own, she said. "You find that some of the most outrageous comes from some of the most unlikely places. What I have to rely on is they can do the character so good that the audience immediately overlooks that they don't look identical to, say, Will Ferrell," said Gruber."It's hard because in my imagination I want it to look like this and then when the actors bring to the table something above and beyond what I'm expectingit blows your mind."Actor Kathy Daniels said the cast has been trying to stifle laughter while rehearsing for the last six weeks."For the first few rehearsals I could not get through the Sweaty Balls without laughing," she said, referring to the Delicious Dish sketch featuring SNL actors Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer, which parodies public radio shows.Daniels has enjoyed watching the show's young talent flourish while taking on some of their favourite comic roles, she said. "They know them so well already and they're very quick to pick up on the whole thing. "Squamish Nights Live features a different guest host each evening. Cliff Miller opened the show on Thursday, John French takes over on Friday (May 16) and Mountain FM's Rob Michaels hosts on Saturday (May 17). Chief publisher Tim Shoults takes over the microphone on Thursday, May 22, followed by Shawn Jones on May 23 and Bryan Raiser May 24. Musical guests include Bluesberry Jam the first week and Bullet the second week. Advance tickets are $12 and are available at Billie's Bouquet. The doors open at 7:30 p.m.
