Never order the lobster at a diner, according to “SNL.”
Cast member Pete Davidson made that mistake in a sketch in the show’s April 14 episode, hosted by former “SNL” writer and stand-up comic John Mulaney. When Davidson and Chris Redd head to a diner for lunch, Redd orders a grilled cheese sandwich, while Davidson asks for the lobster special — much to everyone’s shock.
“Did you just order lobster in a diner?” Redd asked, incredulous.
“Yeah, why?” Davidson replied.
“Because it’s a diner,” Redd returned. “The whole seafood section is on the menu as a joke. I mean the word seafood is in quotes!”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Davidson said. “It’s on the menu. I’ll have the lobster.”
“As you wish,” said Mulaney, as the diner’s waiter. “All right everyone, the time has come,” he called to the rest of the restaurant. “We’ve got an order here for one lobster.”
A moment later, a giant lobster tank rolled out, with Kenan Thompson inside costumed as a gigantic lobster. He sang of his impending death, a riff on the “Les Miserables” song “Who Am I,” with the lobster standing in for Jean Valjean.
When the song ended, Redd and everyone in the restaurant again begged Davidson to reconsider his order.
“I mean, you can’t eat him now, man. They just sang ‘Les Mis!’” Redd said.
“I’m sorry, dude, I’m more of a ‘Mean Girls’ guy — on Broadway now,” Davidson replied with a wink at the audience.
Kate McKinnon joined the sketch as the lobster’s daughter, Cosette, volunteering to take his place for execution with another song. But it wasn’t enough, so the entire restaurant staff hit the stage, rolling out a barricade set to sing a lobster-ified version of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in protest of Davidson’s order. Sing-along lyrics popped up at the bottom of the screen, complete with a bouncing lobster to help viewers follow along.
The song finally got the lobster’s plight through to Davidson. In the broadcast version of the sketch, Davidson relented and ordered a tuna melt, but in the version of the sketch “SNL” uploaded to its YouTube channel, there was one last dark added.
“All right, forget the lobster,” he said to cheers from the rest of the cast. “I’ll have the veal instead.”
“All right, everybody, let’s go kill that baby cow!” Mulaney declared as the sketch ended.