Cut for Time, Billy Crystal Takes the Imperial Theatre With 860
More than fifty years after he was bumped from the very first SNL, the comedian has a Broadway stage to himself through January
On October 11, 1975, Billy Crystal stood in the wings waiting to find out whether he would go on stage in the first episode of Saturday Night Live. He did not. The New York Post reports that he became the first cut-for-time casualty in the show's history.
This Sunday is the 51st anniversary of that night. And this season Crystal is guaranteed the whole stage. He stars in 860, a one-man show at Broadway's Imperial Theatre.
The Show
Performances began on October 1, the Post says, and as of October 9 it counted 93 performances left in the run, which ends Sunday, January 3, 2027. The official opening is Wednesday, October 21, Deadline reported in June when the dates were announced. Scott Ellis directs, and the run is limited to 14 weeks.
The show is about the aftermath of the Palisades fires in California in 2025, which took Crystal's home. The title is the street number of that house, Deadline notes. Primetimer adds that the couple lost the home they had lived in for 46 years, the one where their children and grandchildren were raised.
"Billy relives his memories and moments that mattered the most, and reflects on how the power of laughter can overcome even the hardest of times," the show's website says, as the Post quotes it.
The performance runs one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission, according to the Post.
A Broadway Veteran
Crystal made his Broadway debut in 2004 with the one-man show 700 Sundays, Deadline says, and won a Tony Award for it. It was taped before a live audience for an HBO special that aired in April 2014. In 2022 he came back with Mr. Saturday Night, a musical based on his 1992 film.
For 860, Primetimer lists a creative team of Tony winners and nominees. Marc Shaiman provides original music and adaptations. Scott Pask designs the set, Jen Schriever the lighting and Dan Moses Schreier the sound, with Hana S. Kim and Kylee Loera on video.
Crystal did eventually join the SNL cast. The Post counts a one-year stint. Primetimer lists his screen credits as including Running Scared, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Throw Momma from the Train and City Slickers.
A Funny Anniversary
The Post's critic, Johnny Oleksinski, reviewed Mr. Saturday Night positively in 2022. "The Borscht Belt is alive and kvell on Broadway," he wrote.
Saturday night in New York is still SNL's night. Shane Gillis hosts again in 8H tonight. In Midtown, the first performer cut from the first episode has the stage to himself.
