New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Former ‘SNL’ comedian Chris Kattan heads to CT
Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chris Kattan will bring his own brand of funny to the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Manchester on Friday.
Best known for his “Saturday Night Live” characters Mango, a male dancer, and
Mr. Peepers, a primate, as well as his role on the longrunning ABC series “The Middle,” Kattan said he didn’t start in stand-up comedy.
“I started with improv comedy in Los Angeles, at The Groundlings theater,” Kattan said. “That’s where I found my niche, I guess you could say. That’s where I was spotted to audition for ‘SNL’. That’s where I got my big shot.
“I didn’t start in stand-up. I wound up tackling stand-up years and years after ‘Saturday Night Live,’ when I realized that I could do it pretty well … A friend of mine was the one who said I should do it, who saw it in me.”
Kattan’s comedy dance card is so full, in fact, he returns to Connecticut in June, playing four shows at Stamford’s New York Comedy Club on June 14 and 15.
Just don’t expect Mango or Mr. Peepers to show up. Even if the crowd wants it.
“A big part of my act is feeding off the crowd. I like to interact with them. If they shout out a character of mine, I don’t mind it at all. I’m actually OK with it. I take it as flattery. But Mr. Peepers isn’t going to jump on a table or anything,” he said. “Improv is a big part of my act.”
Only one of Kattan’s “Saturday Night Live” characters received the feature film treatment, and that was alongside his oftentimes partner-incomedic-crime Will Ferrell. In 1998’s “A Night At The Roxbury,” Kattan and Ferrell reprised their roles as the Butabi Brothers.
Kattan added that he stayed in touch with Ferrell and he also keeps in touch with Adam Sandler. He previously worked with Sandler on “Hotel Transylvania 2” and “The Ridiculous 6.”
Kattan and Sandler most recently worked together on the 2023 animated Netflix film “Leo.”