Long live the “Anora” menorah! Ahead of Jewish Oscar winner Mikey Madison‘s hosting gig this week, “Saturday Night Live” released a promotional video yesterday starring Sarah Sherman, Mikey and, what else, the “Anora” menorah.
For those who have not had the utter joy of discovering this hilarious hanukkiah until right now, the “Anora” menorah is a prop the SNL props department made for a Hanukkah sketch this past winter. As the name suggests, the menorah is in the shape of the titular sex worker from Academy Award-winning best picture “Anora.” The sketch was ultimately cut from the show. “I would say one pervert in the audience laughed,” Sherman, who co-wrote the sketch, later estimated. But thanks to multiple appearances on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” including one where Madison got to see the menorah for herself, the “Anora” menorah has quickly gained cult classic status among SNL fans.
So when Mikey was announced as the upcoming SNL host last week, the question wasn’t if the “Anora” menorah would make an appearance. It was how. And oh boy, did “Saturday Night Live” deliver.
In the promo, Sarah, Mikey and Mikey’s tiny dogs Birdie and Peaches are hanging out in Sarah’s quirky, maximalist dressing room. When Mikey sees the “Anora” menorah proudly on display, she eagerly asks, “Did people think [the sketch] was funny?”
“Did people think it was funny?” Sarah asks herself before launching into a flashback. Footage of the dress rehearsal performance of the “Anora” menorah sketch begins to air. Cast members Andrew Dismukes, Ashley Padilla, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Devon Walker and Chloe Fineman sit in a living room, surrounding a table with a spread of latkes, sufganiyot and gelt. Andrew Dismukes’s character holds the “Anora” menorah.
“Your menorah really stole the show, Paul. What’s it called?” a character played by Devon Walker asks. “Oh, it’s an ‘Anora’ menorah,” Dismukes’ Paul responds. As it turns out, Sherman’s recollection that one pervert laughed gives too much credit to the audience response. The crowd could not have cared less about the “Anora” menorah. Antisemitic much?!
Sarah comes back from her memory and lies to Mikey, saying that the audience loved it. “Which reminds me,” Sarah continues, “I wanted to pitch you the ‘Anora’ fedora!” Sarah then proceeds to pull out a fedora with the same red bikini-clad “Anora” body from the menorah protruding out the sides of the hat.
“You guys will have other ideas, right?” Mikey responds, unimpressed.
If I hadn’t already been planning on tuning in this week, I would be sold. By the way, Sarah, if you’re reading this, here are a few other pitches I hope you’ll steal: the “Anora” hora (a hora which culminates in lifting an Anora figurine in the chair), the “Anora” Sodom and Gomorrah (a replica of the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where all the buildings are shaped like Anora) and the “Anora” Torah (a Torah scroll which is wrapped around a model of Ivan from “Anora.” Just kidding, it’s also a model of Anora).
