We're not going to spend another minute in this town. Mere hours before the December 17 show, it was revealed that the 38-year-old comedian would be making her final appearance on the late-night . You know, already it's - I didn't feel like I fit in. And is it hard for you to keep a straight face when he's having trouble keeping a straight face? I think there's nothing more thrilling than hearing Terry Gross likes (laughter) your show and (laughter) enjoys it and has joy from it. And you kind of have a song parodying that called "Corn Puddin'.". But apparently, some cosmic verdict has been reached. And it was "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." (SOUNDBITE OF GWENDOLYN DEASE'S "PORKCHOP'S BLUES"), GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. But she left the desk, preferring to do sketch comedy, which she's great at. The entire town and you just spent the last five minutes singing about corn pudding. Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984)[2][3] is an American actress and comedian who has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live . I think, you know, we were told - we went on our hiatus that was supposed to be our three-week or two-week hiatus in March and then just didn't come back until May. Corn, corn, corn, corn, corn puddin'. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, singing) Who wants corn puddin'? And she used the playbill and a lot of those pictures. Here's all the safety measures - until I finally felt safe. So here's another scene from "Schmigadoon!". She has a new memoir called "This Will All Be Over Soon," and she stars in the new series "Schmigadoon!," a satire of classic musicals from the '40s and '50s. It was like as soon as I started singing, I knew what to say. The series is streaming on Apple TV+. I mean, first of all, it's really funny to have someone who hates musicals be stuck in a musical but also for him to be the eyes and ears of the people unlike me, who don't love musicals. Let's get back to my interview with Cecily Strong, a star of the series "Schmigadoon!," which is a loving satire of classic musicals from the '40s and '50s that's streaming on Apple TV+. Her new memoir, "This Will All Be Over Soon," will be published tomorrow. Thirty-seven cents - it must not be very good, something that - and then I made a face like, huh? And so we played with that in two ways. This is FRESH AIR. But they both soon realize they're trapped in Schmigadoon, where life is a musical. So here you are on "Weekend Update" as Judge Jeanine Pirro. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) No - oh, no, that's not OK - unless it's consensual. In her second season, she co-anchored "Weekend Update" with Seth Meyers and then Colin Jost. I should really just drink olive juice; it'd be safer. This election is a mis-grace (ph), OK? And so it was like, I was going to be a fifth-year senior, which just felt bonkers. The same year, she starred in, and was a producer for, Schmigadoon!, a musical parody series on Apple TV+. You know, my grandmother would buy me musicals on VHS. You put the bowl in your belly 'cause it's good for the soul. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party) And I'm sorry - if I could play devil's advocate for just a second, I think we all know the real reason Julian Assange is in jail, and that's 'cause she's a woman. And I suddenly thought, wow, the opening to this is very much like the opening to "Brigadoon." We'll first hear the voice of Michael Che on "Weekend Update.". Why did you want him to hate musicals? God, this whole musical is so much fun. So I've gotten to see a lot of his . Yum. And, like, those are usually boring, too, and I never really understand the function that they serve. She has over 500k followers on her Instagram. One is the bad boy, you know, which is the Billy Bigelow character. And like, hi, I haven't seen you. Mama's got one volume, and it's three chardonnays deep at a crowded party. Did you get to go backstage? PAUL: (Singing) So now that there's COVID-19 PAUL AND DAURIO: (Singing) Here's what we're going to do. STRONG: Yes. You want to try with other people? I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it. So - but I definitely feel more anxious again. STRONG: You know, we definitely loved the exclamations, you know, saving those for the - what? Good. But she does not, you know, embrace them in the way that I do. And, you know, she talks about, like, other men are really harsh and - but he's gentle, you know, like a lacy valentine. Hello, Michael Che. And I would be driving home. So if he wants my puddin', he'll have to marry me. Was it your idea to do her, or did someone say, oh, you should do her? UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) You put the corn in the puddin' and the puddin' in the bowl. The entire town and you just spent the last five minutes singing about corn pudding. I'll do anything. Her characters have included Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Melania Trump and the girl you wish you hadn't started a conversation with at a party. So, you know, I'm - I would love to do it. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party) And I'm sorry. I am just trying to figure out how to get out of here and get back to reality. And for her, it's all these really positive qualities. ANN HARADA: (As Florence Menlove) That's a good question. She stars with Keegan-Michael Key in the new series "Schmigadoon!" I need to get - I have to practice this fall. It's not something we're going to eradicate. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) In Schmigadoon. GROSS: They didn't connect to the world I lived in. But she kept going, what? STRONG: No. And, you know, even, like, operas have, like, songs like that, where there's, you know, like, a festival or, you know, a picnic or something. You were 15. So we just were relying on testing. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, chanting) Corn, Corn KEY: (As Josh Skinner) That's it. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) Would you leave us alone for just a minute? KEY: (As Josh Skinner) That's fantastic. And I think, you know, whatever name is next to an Emmy nomination, it still feels like everybody there is a part of that - why there's a nomination. It went to dress and not to air - and then kind of like, well, I don't know that we'll ever get to do that again. And so - but everything that is evidence that he's gay, she sees as a really positive quality. GROSS: That makes no sense at all (laughter). The musical comedy has been created by screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio of 'Despicable Me' fame. . STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) Guys, we're actually in the middle of something. And the contrast between that and the depression and anxiety you describe in your memoir, which - a lot of your memoir is about living through the pandemic, like, the first almost year of the pandemic. Cinco Paul serves as showrunner, and wrote all of the original music for the series. STRONG: Yes. - about a couple who find themselves trapped in a small town from the early 1900s where life is a musical. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, singing) You can't eat a fish without getting some bones. Here with her final thoughts on this election is the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party. . And then they kind of looked - they made, like, a show of it and looked in every pocket but that pocket and then said, OK, you're good to go. They get lost in the woods, cross over a bridge and suddenly find themselves on what looks like a backlot movie set of a small town in the early 20th century, a town called Schmigadoon. I mean, it's real to most people, but, I mean, you saw the worst that could happen. Cecily Strong is a 38-year-old American actress and comedian who has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live since 2012. So they'll be - I think that'll brighten her day. If I think that he's laughing at something, I'll want to hit that harder. And I think, because my - we'd already gone through things with my brother. ; Cecily Strong was not featured in the opening credits due to her . No - 'cause I - I mean, we shot in - last fall. And I'm - that's according to doctors, Michael Che. That strikes me as a little bit crazy. And you know, there is still an element of, like, you're playing with your friends. STRONG: (As Jeanine Pirro) Can't do it, pal. But I remember, you know, "Camelot" and "South Pacific" and "Guys And Dolls" and hearing those a lot. It was my first year talking with Colin. And it seems like - you know, my other thought is, like, COVID is something we have to learn to coexist with. So you must have had this idea early on that being in shows was something real people did. 'Schmigadoon!' star Cecily Strong and co-creator Cinco Paul embrace musical satire The Apple TV+ satire series . It's such a contrast for me seeing the joy in "Schmigadoon!" Viewers noticed that longtime cast member Cecily Strong was missing from the show and its opening credits sparking rumors of her exit. Disha Kandpal. GROSS: So your character in "Schmigadoon!" GROSS: Reports are that you're not sure whether you're going back to "SNL" in the fall. If you're like me, you've never watched the show, and you didn't know her name until now. I don't know exactly where you live. CHE: (As himself) Yeah. Like, I'm so proud of the work I've done. And she used the playbill and a lot of those pictures. So like, the reality - COVID was real to you. STRONG: (As The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party) Please do not man-terrupt (ph) me when I'm wo-making (ph) a point, Michael. And so that's what "Corn Puddin'" is. Apple TV+ is close to putting in a series order for the project. But this is a song where she has no clue that her husband is gay. Cecily Strong's new show (lovingly) pokes fun at 'problematic' Golden Age musicals. Talking about her love interest, Cecily Strong's Partner is Jack. The women are wearing long, colorful prairie dresses with big petticoats. Was it your idea to do her, or did someone say, oh, you should do her? STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble, singing) Never had had corn puddin'. And, you know, I desperately wanted to be on stage, but probably because I didn't really belong there, they kept saying, no, but, Cinco, we need you on the piano. You put the corn in the puddin' and the puddin' in the bowl. You know, there were a lot of tears on set, happy tears, just so much love and so much joy and such - we were all just so honored to be there, and it felt like we got to share this magical thing. (As characters, singing) And then he gives her a snack. PAUL: What would be the worst possible song to subject him to, you know? You bought some weed with a friend, put it in your backpack, then school security discovered the backpack, and you were actually handcuffed and arrested? UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) It's just a lover's spat. So you're back on Fox? GROSS: Cinco Paul wrote all the songs for the satirical musical series "Schmigadoon!" And so that's partly why I just wasn't even there. GROSS: How were you introduced to music of that period? And that really changed everything because then suddenly that became my tribe, you know, the theater kids. - because, you know, every kid wants to go to California. I think there's nothing more thrilling than hearing Terry Gross likes (laughter) your show and (laughter) enjoys it and it has joy from it. And you shot "Schmigadoon!" Will Get Your Toes Tapping, So Sing Along If You Know The Words. is initially really charmed by the idea that they're, like, living in a world of a musical. The studio behind the project is Universal Television, with Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer of Broadway Video. But I certainly - I remember getting to go backstage after "Secret Garden." I've never caught him looking at other gals more young, petite or fine. And, like, I'll never understand why they took joy in that because it was such a huge and awful moment in my life. Cecily Strong. I got the recipe. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, producer, author, and singer. And you know, everybody that was there was supposed to be there. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) Oh, I think they want us to take a verse. But what really cracked it for me was, oh, instead of two friends, it should be a couple. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) I'm not saying anything. And then just being loud and overenunciating and trying to have a stern look. and "The Lorax." - in late September usually. ", "Carousel," "The Music Man," "The Sound Of Music," "South Pacific" and "Brigadoon." And so I think they thought that might be a good outlet for me. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) I think they want us to take a verse. "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life . I was a weird kid, you know, singing "I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight" in my room, memorizing the lyrics. And I think, you know, getting that job is how I got into the union. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Ann Marie Baldonado, Seth Kelley and Kayla Lattimore. And so in the spirit of turning your life into a musical, I just want to play the opening theme from your podcast, "Make Him Watch It. Was this all through movies? We can't wait to make him watch it - with Cinco and Ken. Stop. GROSS: Well, listen. GROSS: One of the things in some musicals is - the love affairs in some musicals, I think, would be considered pretty age-inappropriate now, like, for example, "The Sound Of Music," where, like, she's a young nun who's just left the convent. You know, I was much more protected. I mean, they - I got it expunged from my record by doing a hundred hours of community service, and I wound up really loving the community service I did. HARADA: (As Florence, singing) Some men stumble home at dark, want dinner and dessert. that's streaming on Apple TV+, and she has a new memoir. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) OK. Well, that one's on you. And it opens with, you know, two friends hiking through the wilderness, and they're hiking over the countryside. CHE: (As himself) So I assume you're not happy with the election. UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (As characters, singing) We want corn puddin'. I've always loved musicals. Can we please go now? The Search . I did, like, a video for kids - for schools to show about kids with parents with drug and alcohol problems. So we did her on "Update.". I think with the school, this new superintendent came in, and she made it her thing to have zero tolerance. Photo: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images. "You know how much I hate musicals. STRONG: No, it actually - I think it was probably Bryan Tucker, who I write with, and I wound up writing a lot of my "Update" characters with them, or sort of those - anybody that's a real - you know, I write Marjorie Taylor Greene with him, and we did Sidney Powell together this year, too. STRONG: (As Melissa Gimble) Come on. 'The Addams Family' star Barry Sonnenfeld is the director, and the actor, while Cecily Strong too serves as the producer. during the pandemic. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. GROSS: And who did you think of as being the girl? And they don't even know what corn pudding is. So I've gotten to see a lot of his shows in New York. My Uncle Ed is a theater producer in New York, my dad and I went to his shows and saw "Guys and Dolls," "The Secret Garden." I was into the soundtracks. KEY: (As Josh Skinner) Would you leave us alone for just a minute? KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY: (As Josh Skinner) I mean KEY: (As Josh Skinner) Look, this whole thing is insane. In watching "Schmigadoon!," I had to wonder who is able to produce such a great series that is both a tribute to and a satire of musicals of the 1940s and early '50s like "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," "The Sound Of Music," "The Music Man" and, of course, "Brigadoon." 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