"Today! The Musical," a humorous 14-minute sketch written by co-host Kathie Lee Gifford and featuring the cast of the morning show, debuted Monday with her former talk show co-host Regis Philbin playing a lead role.
Gifford said on "Today" that she was approached last year after NBC's live production of "The Sound of Music" to write the short musical, which she thought was a "stupid idea."
While quizzing the crew to see who could sing, she said, she found Sal Cacciato, who works as a stagehand and is an aspiring singer and actor, and built the musical around him.
The play features Cacciato, who is discovered by Philbin in the bathroom of NBC and encourages him to follow his dreams to Broadway.
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Other cast members had to audition for their spots in the musical and then had three days to rehearse and film the production for the "Today" show,
according to USA Today. The show featured crew members from various behind-the-scenes departments and co-host Matt Lauer in his underwear.
"Behold the magic of 'Today! The Musical,' a fun and goofy tribute to all of the madness and mayhem that goes on behind the scenes of the show," NBC said of the skit,
according to Playbill.com.
"Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie made a pitch for Cacciato on Twitter after the show aired.
Gifford, too, praised Cacciato's performance during the play.
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