Taran Killam starring in 'The Bad News Bears: A Musical' at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater

We're going to talk about a classic comedy movie heading to the stage. The Bad News Bears is now a musical, and it's taking the stage for its world premiere at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, based on the 1976 movie, which follows a washed-up baseball player who starts coaching a Little League team. And we have the star of the play here, actor, comedian, and Saturday Night Live alum, Taran Killam, will play the coach in question. That's right. Taran, welcome to KTVU. Thank you for having me. You're going to be Morris Buttermaker. I get to play Morris Buttermaker, who sings. Yeah, yeah, I get to play the singing Buttermaker, which is amazing. So the tagline is, this team still sucks, but now they sing. That's right. That's exactly right. No, I'm so excited. I'm so proud of this musical. It's kind of the perfect story, especially for the Bay Area, about, you know, misfits who are counted out, underdogs who come together and are greater than some other parts. There's a lot of that, you know, there's a lot of that in sports. Yeah, and I'm... This is the classic underdog sports story. Yeah, of course, yeah. 1976, so maybe some people haven't watched it. Tell us more about the story and why you think it's that. Absolutely. So Morris Buttermaker is a former burnt-out, self-loathing pro baseball player who is recruited to coach a team of little leaguers. It's a team entirely made up of the players that nobody else wanted. And so he himself has lost hope in himself and has lost his sense of direction. And he sees that in recognizing He recognizes that in these kids and is like, it's too young for them to have given up hope. And so that really rallies him to learn him some baseball and believe in themselves and come together as a team. You know, you know sports a little bit, right? I love sports. I'm a big sports guy, yeah. This is not going to go over well in the Bay Area, but I'm an L.A. guy, so I'm a big Rams fan. That's okay. So, it gets contentious at times. Where did you grow up, by the way? Los Angeles. I'm a native, born and raised. You know what? Then you're okay. Those are my bona fides. You're okay. You know? And I've taken so much grief from Niners fans about how they show up. At SoFi, and you're not wrong, but we're getting better, we're getting stronger, and we no longer have a losing record, so I'm feeling okay. Did you know that the coach of the Rams worked here as an intern? McVay was an intern here? He was. That's cool. Because his dad was a GM here. It feels so impressive. Yes, of course. Yeah, his dad was a GM here, right? Yeah, I love McVay. And we would see him. He was a sports intern. Yeah. And now he is your head coach. He's a machine. He's a cyborg. I got to interview him once, and I was just trying to get some personality out of him, and I was like, hey, Sean, who's your favorite Ninja Turtle? I grew up watching Ninja Turtles a lot, really loved it. Always saw a little bit of Master Splinter in myself, and I was like, oh, my God, you're a machine. That's just like his dad. Yeah, cool. Okay, so when it comes to Saturday Night Live, and also you did stage, you were in Hamilton. Correct, yeah. So, first of all, can you tell us what the difference is between doing stage and then doing television, or is it just all acting? For me, to your question, for me, it's all about a live performance. It's all about having a relationship with the audience there in the moment. Stop and Start, and it's curated, and you're not in control of your performance, but live performing, I started at the Groundlings, I did SNL for six years, I love musical theater, it's my first love, and there's... That means you can sing. I have a bit of a voice, but you'll have to come to ACT this late winter, early spring to find out, yeah. I was a musical theater major at UCLA, and then comedy took over, so I'm happy to be coming back to my roots, but for me, it's all about that live experience, and it's something It's something that you can't get on your phone. It's something that can't be heard. Can't be replicated. You have to be there in person. And when you feel an audience is engaged with you and loving what you do, there's no better feeling. And when you feel that they hate what you're doing, there's also something like, there's something riveting about that. There's something that just energizes me. So, okay, you lived in New York when you were in SNL. Yes. You're from L.A. Correct. Now you're going to be living in the Bay Area for a little bit. I mean, it's the holy trifecta. Right? Yes. Right? So, I mean, I hope that you, you know, you can find some, I mean, you and your family are going to be living here. Yes. Do you have any idea yet where? We don't know the area. We're looking for apartments, so reach out, please. Let us know if you have an affordable two-bedroom. Yeah. Yeah, we're going to be close to Union Square probably because that's where the theater is. And that's where the Nintendo Store is, most importantly. And happy Ocarina of Time week to all who celebrate. I'm very excited for that game. I'm telling you, the world premiere, any idea why they chose San Francisco? I mean, it's a great city. A great city just in its own right, but it's such a great sports town. And it's been a haven for artists for as long as I've been aware of it, right? It is just a cultural, artistic epicenter. And the American Conservatory Theater is just, they've been incredible. We have incredible hosts, and we're so excited to be premiering a brand-new musical there at this historic theater. The space itself is so beautiful. Right, the Tony Romano Theater. Yeah, yeah. Well, Taron Killam, I can still hear Don Pardo saying your name. Taron! Yeah, I was in that last generation that got Don before Daryl took over. Don Pardo, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck. The Bad News Bears musical, as we said, is coming to the Tony Romano Theater in San Francisco. It opens February 26th. This is an early preview. Yes. Thanks for joining us, brother. Thank you for having me. All right. Such a pleasure. Welcome to San Francisco. Thank you. We'll be taking a short break here. Look, Taren, it's Oracle Park. Yeah, the home of the Giants, Taren Kellum. Beautiful, yeah, congrats. Morning Sun 2 will return.