How totally fitting that Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch were on the phone with each other just moments before Zooming in for their exclusive Parade cover story. And like any two close pals, they talked about everything ... and nothing.
“Oh, we were just downloading and girlfriend chatting,” Gasteyer says nonchalantly. “It’s like completing logistics and children and outfits.”
Then comes the impressive celebrity kicker: The clothing part of the conversation focused on what they’re going to wear to the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall—airing Sunday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. On a group text chat with their fellow Saturday Night Live alums, the two received feedback from no less than Tina Fey—who, per Gasteyer, offered up, “Hear me out: Same outfit.”
In an amusing twist, the longtime friends are vying against each other for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. Dratch, 60, is a standout as the oh-so-droll narrator in a revival of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Show and even does the iconic “Time Warp” (much to the audience’s very audible delight). Gasteyer, 59, plays uptight busybody Mildred Layton in the winking Schmigadoon! It's a spoof of classic Broadway shows—and she caps her performance with the show-stopping number “Tribulation.”
Emilio Madrid
(The category is rounded out by Shoshanna Bean for The Lost Boys; Hannah Cruz for Chess; and Nichelle Lewis for Ragtime.)
“Rachel and I were just talking about how Broadway is like the Olympics in that you cannot do this if you’re bad at it,” Gasteyer says. “It really is an honor.” Seconds Dratch, “And when you’re in comedy, you don’t imagine a Tony at all. It feels extra special.”
Of course, the two have already struck comedy gold, courtesy of their memorable runs on SNL. Though Gasteyer ended her six-season tenure in 2002 and Dratch followed four years later, their characters and sketches remain etched in pop-culture lore. After all, who doesn’t still relate to Dratch’s Debbie Downer? And Christmas wouldn’t be complete without watching Gasteyer as an NPR host as she gushes over edible “Schweddy Balls.” (She could do an inspired Celine Dion and Martha Stewart, too.)
After their exits, Dratch and Gasteyer—both native East Coasters who started their comedy careers doing improv—stayed tight. Onscreen, they shined with Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph in the 2019 Netflix movie Wine Country and teamed up to write and co-star in the 2021 Hallmark movie spoof A Clusterfunke Christmas. “Rachel is so free and creative and I can be very structured, so we work really well together as a pair,” Gasteyer says.
They’ve also bonded over motherhood: Gasteyer has two kids, daughter Frances, 24, and son Ulysses, 18 (with husband, advertising executive Andrew McKittrick); Dratch is mom to Eli, 15.
Rachel Dratch shows some love to Ana Gasteyer's unborn baby Frances in 2002!Photo by Jim Spellman on Getty Images
Just hours before their respective Friday night showtimes, the two stars were live from New York—Gasteyer in her dressing room; Dratch in her home—and shared all with Parade.
Parade:At this stage in your careers, what does it mean for you to be nominated?
Ana Gasteyer: Obviously incredible. I think all comedy ladies—particularly our group—have been waiting to be cast age-appropriately in our 50s. The good news is the theater has no shortage of opportunities for these kinds of roles. So I can speak for myself, but also to say, as Rachel's biggest fan, like it's a real homecoming and an arrival.
Rachel Dratch: I would also say, like ... Ana was a voice major [at Northwestern University] and has this amazing singing voice. But I never thought I would be nominated for this goofball performance where I’m improvising with the audience. You don't think like, “Here comes a Tony!”
Gasteyer: As the kids say, snaps!
Is there any competitive energy when you’re nominated against a close friend?
Gasteyer: Nooooo, legitimately.
Dratch: I saw Schmigadoon! and Ana just blew the roof off the whole theater. It was so fun. She was even making me laugh and doing all these little things that I was noticing that were just killing me. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I bet she might be nominated for this.” Then on the morning of the nominations, I texted her, “I'm going to tune in to see if you get a nomination.” When I saw my name pop up, I was like ...
Gasteyer: We were both screaming. It’s such a weird little club to be a part of because not many people can pinch-hit in both comedy and theater. In the beginning [of our runs], we were both sharing our shared trepidation and anxieties getting our feet wet in the new roles. But I saw her in Rocky and when she walked on stage, the audience went insane. I was like, “Man, she has them in her pocket!” Rachel makes it look so easy, and it’s hard. So I wasn't surprised at all when she was nominated—not even a little.
Ana Gasteyer performs with the Schmigadoon! cast on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Is there another Tony-nominated performance that you’re not-so-secretly rooting for?
Gasteyer:Josh Henry [in Ragtime] is like a once-in-a-generation vocalist. I thought there were some really solid comic performances in Titanique. Stephanie [Hsu] is making brilliant choices in Rocky.
Dratch:Luke Evans in our show is amazing.
Have you talked about what happens if one of you wins? Are acceptance speeches off-limits between friends?
Gasteyer: Of course we’ve talked about it. But we’ll be in a panic and won’t remember. We were told that it’s 90 seconds from the time you start walking, which means it’s a 10-second speech. We’re in heels and we’re not young women!
Rachel, were you a Rocky Horror devotee before joining the production? Like, did you dress up for those midnight screenings?
Dratch: I went once to the movie theater when I was probably in junior high [in Lexington, Massachusetts]. I brought the props. But I was not going every weekend and I wasn’t dressing in costumes and throwing things at the screen. I feel like I’ve seen the movie. It’s just kind of in the air. You know the songs. You know Tim Curry [as Frank-N-Furter]. That’s my relationship with it. But so many people have ownership of it and have very strong opinions of it. And Ana was in the previous revival on Broadway.
Gasteyer: I was! It was my Broadway debut [in 2001].
Gasteyer and Dratch pose for a photo in 2002.Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd. on Getty Images
You met back in 1999 when Rachel joined SNL.Did the friendship form quickly, or did it take time given that intense environment?
Gasteyer: Yeah, it was quick.
Dratch: Here’s what I remember: Ana had been there before me for a couple years, and I was the only new person that year. So you're sort of numb and trying to tread your water. My first week there, we tried to write something together with Paula [Pell] in my hotel room. I just loved her sense of humor, and then obviously she's just as funny off stage as she is on.
Related: Rachel Dratch Reveals the One ‘SNL’ Relic She Has Saved for 25 Years (Exclusive)
Did you bond because you’re both women in a predominantly male environment?
Dratch: Yeah, the women would write together a lot. That’s what our sense of humor lined up with.
Gasteyer: Not to be hyper-gendered about it, but we had emotional takes on things and insights about things that maybe we would only want to talk about with other women. You just find your people.
Did you get a sense that things are more gender-balanced at the show now? Are you plugged in at all?
Dratch: I’ll go back to doing Second City in Chicago: A lot of the improv teams had like eight guys and one woman. And in a way that was actually good because you got all this stage time. Then it sort of evened out. And at SNL, I never count how many women and men, but the women have been so strong for so long. It’s not even a numbers thing.
Gasteyer: I would say starting in the '90s, it's been trending more in that direction consistently.
Which host surprised you inreally delivering the goods?
Gasteyer: Professional athletes are the most amazing hosts because they show up and are used to taking direction. They're naturally magnetic and humble, and that’s like this amazing combination that just makes them jump in feet first and go for it.
Dratch: They're not worried about being funny. Like if you have a serious actor on, they really want to do a good job. But an athlete will just have a “hey, screw it” attitude.
Gasteyer:Derek Jeterwas there ...
Dratch: We had Tom Brady. Oh, and politicians: We had John McCain and Al Gore. They're used to being in front of crowds, and they're not trying to hit a bar of comedy; they're just trying to be themselves.
Rachel, why do you think Debbie Downer has remained this beloved culture touchstone?
Dratch: Well, the funny thing is that the term “Debbie Downer” took off—and now it's so old that people think we wrote a scene based on the term.
Gasteyer: It’s in the lexicon! There’s this New Zealand movie called Hunt for the Wilderpeople and an adorable Maori child literally says “Hello, Debbie Downer.”
"Everyone knows someone like that," says Dratch about the iconic character she created.Photo by Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Dratch: But I think, like, everyone knows someone like that or they have a Debbie Downer in themselves. Especially now because you want to blurt out this bad news article you read but then you’re like, “Wait, that’s going to ruin the vibe.” People tell me on the street, “That’s my mom, that’s my boss, that’s my brother.” So it seems to resonate.
Is it strange to be associated with such a negative character?
Dratch: No, it’s been so long that it’s always nice when people come up to me and say “Hey, Debbie Downer.” You know, when you put up a scene on SNL, you have no idea how it’s going to do. Like, it could be great or it flops at dress [rehearsal] and never goes anywhere. I didn’t know this was going to take off. And in the first one, we started laughing so hard that it became known for a big blooper.
Ana, what’s the most iconic character that people still want to talk to you about?
Gasteyer: “Schweddy balls.” It was hilarious. We did “The Delicious Dish” segment so many times, but the Christmas edition was the one that stuck. Also because it is a holiday one, they air it every year.
What’s the biggest misconception about life after SNL? Do people just assume you’re set for life professionally?
Gasteyer: I don't know what other people think. I can't answer that question.
Dratch: I can answer, because I did think, “Oh now you get your movie deal, and you're set.” Not like I thought that about myself, but that was the trend back then. Now it's different. But yeah, for me things were kind of slow after, and then I regrouped and did other things. It's a constant ebb and flow.
Gasteyer: The one asset SNL gives you that I’ve come to appreciate in the 24 years since I've been gone is that there are lots of jobs that kick off careers for people, but SNL is a job that continues to grow in terms of your access and connection. I mean, everybody in the SNL stratosphere is working, and they come from multiple generations of the same sensibility and the same mentality.
Related: ‘SNL’ Icon & Her Family Make Rare Public Appearance Together on Thanksgiving
So there is a skill set from the show that comes in handy beyond comedy writing and performing live ...
Gasteyer: You know how to work quickly and work under pressure collaboratively. So the skill set we needed to get the job—being able to create on your own behalf—stays with you. I think long careers come from multiple places, and a lot of it is how much you make for yourself and the things that you decide to initiate and write and create and produce and direct and put up and collaborate around you and your friends. Just sitting around and waiting around for the phone to ring is a much harder career.
Are comedy friendships uniquely deep because you’ve seen each other at your absolute best—and worst?
Gasteyer: Very.
Dratch: Yeah. Like only Ana can understand sometimes when things are slow or when you’re trying to crack a code on a joke. We can understand the emotional ups and downs, and we help each other out for creative endeavors, too.
What’s a compliment the other person gave you that has stayed with you?
Gasteyer: Rachel is my favorite audience on Earth. Writing with her is so liberating because she's the most generous reader. She's so smart and she has such good taste and she has a willingness to laugh at what's genuinely funny. So when I make her laugh, it’s genuine. Have I ever complimented you, Dratch?
Dratch: Oh yeah, many times. It’s really hard to sort of dissect and talk about comedy, but Ana has this intellect that I can’t even explain.
Fun rundown time:Which former SNL cast member would make the most unforgettable Frank-N-Furter?
Dratch:Will Ferrell would be the comedy version, because he's tall and would be funny in heels.
What's the last thing discussed in your SNLgroup chat?
Dratch: Maybe a sunset that Paula sent. Paula just got a really pretty house upstate, and there's no end of sunsets and unbelievable vistas.
Gasteyer: Also, Paula just got stuck on a runway for, like, eight hours.
Among Tina, Amy, Maya or Kristen Wiig, who’s the first person to respond in the chat?
Gasteyer: Tina. She's a fast reply.
Dratch: Yeah, that's true.
Will a sequel to Wine Countryhappen?
Gasteyer: I would happily do a sequel to Wine Country any day of the week, and I would probably set it in a flea market in Italy.
Dratch: The movie wasn't created by us, but of course we'd be up for it.
Related: Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph Talk Female Friendships, Comedy, SNL, Wine and More!
If you could revive one SNL sketch together, what would it be?
Gasteyer: It's the dumbest thing in the world, and it's so quintessentially SNL. It's called “Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theater” [from 2002 with host Ian McKellen]. We're all on a tiny hot air balloon, and somebody's been shot. Everybody is doing like an olden times Gilded Age accent with ridiculous outfits. It makes me laugh.
Dratch: The host was Joshua Jackson [in 2000]. He was a frat boy, and he found a magic amulet that could make a wish. He wished that he could see some hot lesbian action. And then it cuts to me and Ana on a Vermont beach. We’re in flannels, wearing Birkenstock sandals and feeding each other homemade yogurt. That just might be my fave.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity
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