Ana Gasteyer on how Minnesota inspired best ‘SNL’ Christmas skit

Ana Gasteyer is getting an early start on the Christmas season. The “Saturday Night Live” veteran will kick off her annual “Sugar & Booze” tour this weekend at the Parkway Theater, nearly two weeks before Thanksgiving. That should give her ample opportunity to beat the holiday-shopping rush at her beloved Mall of America and visit her son, a freshman at Carleton College in Northfield, before his winter break. The 59-year old performer, fresh off her Tony-nominated run in “Schmigadoon!”, spoke via Zoom earlier this week from Brooklyn about the role Christmas − and Minnesota − has played in her life. Q: Is it weird to be singing holiday songs so early? A: I would have thought so, but no. I feel like everything is so accelerated now. We went to get Halloween candy at the last minute and the Christmas stuff was already being put up at CVS. By now, my entire feed is clogged with gift lists and stocking stuffers. Advertisement Q: Was Christmas a big deal to you as a kid? A: No. Everyone always asks me that. It’s more of a grown-up thing. As the world has become more complicated and the country more divided, it’s nice to have this release valve. My show is insanely secular. It’s more about having this festive, nice recess. We don’t have many of those anymore. The show and album are so rooted in the ’50s and ’60s. I’m a broad in front of a band, telling jokes and singing. I think I was born to live in the supper club era . That can feel kind of corny at other times of the year, but during the holidays, it fits right in. Q: Was it hard to be taken seriously as a musical artist right after “Saturday Night Live”? A: Definitely. But it’s always that way. I got my first Tony nomination this year, but it’s my sixth Broadway show. I was one of the first Elphabas (in a 2005 “Wicked” production in Chicago) and that’s an impossibly difficult score. I think that changed New York’s perspective. But TV is very powerful and my career hasn’t really lived online. I sang the other night at the show my daughter’s friend was doing at Joe’s Pub and the Gen Zers didn’t know I could sing. Q: You’ve been spending quite a bit of time in Minnesota. A: Before last year, I had never been there. Now I’ve been there, like, five times. My son goes to school in Northfield. He loves the outdoors and it’s a great place for an East Coaster to go to college. I won’t talk anymore about him. He’ll get mad. We had a great time performing at the Parkway. The neighborhood has a Bedford Falls feel to it. I’m almost nervous to go back because that first visit was so magical.