In the green room of MUTV, a week before the premiere of MU Tonight, Lily FitzGibbon and her crew films their spin-off of Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Kid Theater.’ Daniel Litwin, FitzGibbon’s understudy host, tries not to break character as he shoves chocolate cake in his face. MSA President Sean Earl watches the take from the sidelines.
MU Tonight, the Fallon-esque sketch show produced by MUTV, features MU-centric comedy with FitzGibbon at the head. There was only one episode of the show this semester on April 15, but they plan to take it further with monthly episodes in the fall, MU Tonight creator and technical director Gabe Dubois says.
FitzGibbon, a junior, has been involved in some type of theatre for as long as she can remember. When she came to MU, her friends dragged her to an improv show, and FitzGibbon found her outlet. FitzGibbon is also a member of Tit Punch, MU’s [first all-female improv team](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2016/1/2/mu-improvs-first-all-female-team-wins-regional-com/).
“I’ve always been a stage girl; I love being on stage and having an audience and everything,” FitzGibbon says.
Despite hearing about the program’s auditions only two days before they were being held, she knew she had to go for it.
For the audition, FitzGibbon had to memorize a five-minute monologue featuring the Super Bowl, the Grammys and the New Hampshire primary. Along with the monologue, FitzGibbon also had to contact a member of the judging panel and prepare to interview them for the audition. For callbacks, she had to come up with a game for the show and go through an informal interview with the panelist.
FitzGibbon says she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders when she found out she would be the host. She wanted to get the job for her parents, herself and her other friends in comedy.
“I was relieved because I was really wanting it,” FitzGibbon says.
To prepare for the role, FitzGibbon watched YouTube videos of old Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman videos to grasp the aspects of the Tonight Show that made it into what it is today. Along with the Tonight Show, she also reflected on her one true love, Tina Fey, and the glory cast of Saturday Night Live from 2006-2008.
MU Tonight is a scripted show, unlike the improv FitzGibbon is used to, so she had to learn an entirely different kind of comedy.
“I’ve been learning a lot about myself and what I’m capable of throughout this process. There are a lot of deadlines in this process,” FitzGibbon says. “We have to get certain things done by a certain time, and that isn’t usually the case when it comes to improv ‘cause you kinda just show up and have a good time.”
A week before the show, Danny Konstantinovic, one of the show’s two lead writers, said the idea for an MU late show came up about a year ago but wasn’t really executed until January of this year. The show had a live audience and was MUTV’s first live staged event.
During the show, the crowd was kept laughing as they guessed the authors of celebrity tweets and FitzGibbon slung ham at audience members. During FitzGibbon’s interview with Earl, he talked about his time as a McDonald’s regional manager and his relationship with his younger brother.
The show’s first pre-recorded skit depicts the skit writers, led by Konstantinovic, arguing about what jokes to make for the episode. The skit gave the audience a dramatic glimpse of what really happens behind the scenes.
The writer of that skit, Elmer Guardado, and the rest of the writing team first focused on the show’s identity when writing the script. The group decided on a positive and inclusive vibe and to let their surroundings guide the show and works to come.
“We spent time helping Lily with the monologue and going through different sketch ideas,” Guardado said in an email. “Most of the hard work came when we would meet as a team to discuss the overall structure of the show.”
FitzGibbon thinks MU Tonight is a step in the right direction for MUTV because it turns a new idea into a new tradition.
“I think that there are more projects to come, but I feel like this organization specifically will grow into something cool and unique,” FitzGibbon says.
To the world, she’s Lily FitzGibbon. To MU Tonight, she’s Jimmy Fallon’s worst nightmare.
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_Edited by Katie Rosso | krosso@themaneater.com_