Katie Lee Gifford‘s Today: The Musical, a song and dance spectacle featuring the morning show’s cast and crew, was unveiled Monday.
Starring the Today show’s stagehand, Sal Cacciato, who plays a props guy with big dreams to appear in front of the camera, the musical also features Gifford, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Gifford‘s old cohost, Regis Philbin, who aids Cacciato’s character in realizing his dream.
The project, announced in August, was scheduled to air on Dec. 4, right before NBC’s Peter Pan Live, but production delays made the Dec. 4 airing impossible, so it was moved to Monday.
Along with Lauer and Roker, all of the Today show hosts participated in the 14-minute production, including Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Carson Daly, Tamron Hall, Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb.
Congrats @KathieLGifford, we loved #TODAYMusical! pic.twitter.com/sOaKaRdxDL
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 29, 2014
Guthrie posted a tweet Monday, praising his performance.
Yes! Sal really does work for @TODAYshow and is really that talented! Time for his big break, universe. Hire @CacciatoSal! #TODAYMusical
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) December 29, 2014
Witness the glory, the magic, the bleeped-out words of 'TODAY! The Musical'
http://t.co/UaPs9dvDLI
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) December 29, 2014
The musical opens as if it’s any other morning with the hosts sitting by the anchor desk, shuffling scripts. However, instead of leading with news briefs, the hosts burst into song with This Is Today. The hosts are then joined by hairstylists, make-up artists, producers, and stagehands. Then it’s Cacciato’s big introduction and his chance meeting with Philbin.
2 days away til the musical event of the year. @Regis @TODAYshow pic.twitter.com/NVwyHenhEo
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) December 27, 2014
Gifford, who has a long history in musical theater, includes a lot of inside jokes, including poking fun at frequent rumors that Lauer is leaving the show and a subplot involving the show’s kitchen director making a sauce that is meant to take down Martha Stewart.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch Today: the Musical, watch the full video of the musical here.