Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
John Mulaney's "Diner Lobster" SNL Sketch Is a Genius Les Misérables Parody
Instead of Les Misérables' "Do you hear the people sing?" it's, "Do you hear the lobster scream?"
Dinner theater? More like diner theater. John Mulaney and Colin Jost's now-classic "Diner Lobster" sketch aired during Mulaney's Saturday Night Live hosting debut — but, as Jost later revealed, the sketch actually had a long runway to its breakout success.
The Les Misérables homage, which aired on April 14, 2018, featured Season 43 cast member Pete Davidson as someone who does the unthinkable: He orders a lobster from a diner menu.
RELATED: Pete Davidson & Mikey Day Made Bridgerton's Love Scenes Weird in SNL's Sketch
His server, played by Mulaney, is shocked. When Davidson refuses to change his mind, Mulaney calls out to the rest of the diner staff: "Alright, the time has come. We've got an order here for one lobster!"
John Mulaney's "Diner Lobster" Les Misérables homage is one in a series
From the back of the restaurant, Kenan Thompson rolls out in a giant tank, dressed as a lobster in French revolutionary costume. Music starts to swell as Thompson sings, "Who am I? And why am I condemned to boil alive?" It's a crustacean's twist on "Who Am I?" — one of the most famous numbers from the iconic Les Mis musical.
The sweeping musical continues as Kate McKinnon comes out dressed as "Clawsette," the daughter of Thompson's Jean Valjean lobster, as she sings her own version of "Castle on a Cloud" — this time as the "Great Tank in the Sky."
Broadway ballads don't deter Davidson from ordering the seafood special. So Mulaney and the rest of the diner staff form a barricade of lobster cages as they sing a rousing version of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Which has now become, "Do You Hear the Lobster Scream?"
"Diner Lobster" kicked off a string of sketches that starred Davidson, and later Andrew Dismukes, haunted by parodies of Broadway musicals whenever he makes a questionable decision—like asking to use a bodega bathroom or eating old sushi while at an airport.
Subway Churro
RELATED: Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang's Moulin Rouge SNL Sketch Should Be a Feature Film
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Colin Jost—who first co-wrote "Diner Lobster" with Mulaney when he was writer on the show—shared that the first time around, it "didn't work as a sketch at the table read" but thankfully got a second life when Mulaney returned as Host.
Jost also revealed that the dress rehearsal for the sketch had some technical difficulties.
"In the dress rehearsal for 'Diner Lobster,' the tank was getting pushed out to reveal Kenan, but the tank got stuck and began rotating," Jost told EW. "Here's Kenan with a French revolutionary costume on. The tank is rotating, and he's still maintaining the majesty of that part."
Eat your heart out, Tom Hooper.
