Over the years, SNL has gifted us with some fairly iconic Hanukkah sketches and moments. In 1977, Gilda Radner lit a menorah in an SNL sketch in what was the first instance of that happening on TV. In 1994, Adam Sandler performed “The Chanukah Song” on Weekend Update. And in 2005, Robert Smigel wrote “Christmastime for the Jews.”
Last week, Jewish comedian and SNL star Sarah Sherman revealed on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” that we were robbed of another potentially legendary Hanukkah sketch. And to prove it, Sarah brought with her a scandalous prop made for the cut-after-dress-rehearsal sketch. Behold, the “Anora” Menorah:
Yes, that is a menorah in the shape of a red bikini-clad Anora, the sex worker played by Mikey Madison in the film of the same name. (As Seth Meyers predicts in the clip, the film was just nominated for an Oscar, as was Mikey Madison.) But as clips from “Late Night” show, this photo doesn’t do the “Anora” Menorah justice. It is a massive hanukkiah, appearing to measure about a foot-and-a-half long and utilizing full-size taper candles instead of the tradtional and much smaller Hanukkah candles. “If anyone in the audience has a tendency to get too horny, cover your eyes,” Sarah warned before pulling the menorah out from behind her chair and placing it on Seth’s desk.
Sarah shared that she was setting out to write a Hanukkah sketch for this season’s Martin Short/Hozier episode, but couldn’t figure out how the scene should start. That’s when SNL writer Jake Nordwind suggested that it begin with the line,”Hey, do you guys like my ‘Anora’ Menorah?” The SNL props department then brought their beautiful vision to life when the sketch made it past the initial table read.
Frankly, if I saw an SNL sketch that started with those eight words, I’d be hooked. Unfortunately, it seems that the SNL audience who was there that night wasn’t as interested. “I would say one pervert in the audience laughed,” Sarah estimated when Seth asked how the sketch performed at dress rehearsal. “And believe it or not, it was kind of a downhill spiral from there.”
“And this needs to be said,” Sarah added, “Did the ‘Anora’ Menorah have anything to do whatsoever with the next four minutes [of sketch]? No! No.”
Seth ended their thread of conversation on the “Anora” Menorah by apologizing to Sarah that her Hanukkah was ruined by the sketch getting cut. (Um, OK, but where’s my apology for also having my Hanukkah retroactively ruined by not being able to watch the “Anora” Menorah sketch??!) At the very least, the “Anora” Menorah will be going to a very good home. That is to say, Sarah said that she hopes to keep it in her office at SNL.
