'TODAY! The Musical'
Hosts and crew of 'Today' put on NBC’s best musical of the year—by default.
It’s not out of the ordinary for morning news shows to have a little fun during the holidays, so the hosts and crew of Today put on a 14-minute show for their viewers at the end of Monday’s broadcast.
TODAY! The Musical shows all the crazy happenings behind the scenes at Today, as seen through the eyes of a production assistant with a heart of gold and a singing voice to match.
Retired king of daytime TV Regis Philbin has a guest appearance as himself, reminding us that his natural charisma and showmanship has yet to be replaced on the airwaves. Naturally, the octogenarian becomes the subject of an awkward fart joke. Welcome back to TV, Reege!
Narrating this chaos are, of course, perpetual tipplers Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, giving viewers cause to imagine what a Today production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town would look like with either of them in the Stage Manager role.
It’s silly and scatalogical—and nowhere near enough Al Roker—but even so, it manages to best NBC’s Peter Pan Live musical from earlier in December, if only because of its short length.