Michael Longfellow is bringing his signature dry wit and understated charm back to one of his favorite comedy clubs — Hilarities Fourth Street Theater in Cleveland — for a three-night run from October 30 through November 1. Known for his calm, deadpan delivery that somehow makes even the strangest life moments sound hilariously relatable, Longfellow has become one of the standout young voices in comedy. After a stint on Saturday Night Live that introduced him to a national audience, he’s now back on the road, crafting material that’s as personal as it is sharp.
In this interview, Longfellow talks about why Hilarities feels like a second home, his stubborn refusal to get a REAL ID from the BMV, and what it was really like behind the scenes at SNL — including whether the chaos fans imagine actually exists. He also opens up about finding comedy in his own story, navigating life after SNL, and what comes next for one of stand-up’s most quietly funny rising stars.
Longfellow has nothing but praise for Cleveland’s Hilarities Fourth Street Theater. As a patron, there is no better place to see a show across any entertainment medium in the region. The same goes for performers; Michael echoes.
“It’s one of the best clubs in the country,” Longfellow said. “I think it might be one of my favorites. They made me a custom baseball bat last time I was there. They take really good care of the comedians.”
Longfellow’s first visit to the club also marked his first trip to Cleveland, and he remembers being struck by both the city and the venue’s unique atmosphere. “That was the feeling when I first walked in,” he said. “That was my first time in Cleveland overall. I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hilarities is like the Comedy History Museum. It has tons of cool pictures in there, and it’s got that SNL feel where it’s like, ‘ooh, someone cool stood here.’”
He also appreciates the club’s ideal location in the heart of downtown. “That whole street is amazing,” Longfellow said. “And you stay in the hotel right across. Yeah, it’s very concentrated. I love Cleveland. I dunno if I’ve been to real Cleveland, but yeah, I got the Rock History Museum, the stadiums, and the nearby club. It’s amazing.”
How Michael is getting to Cleveland may be up in the air (or down on the ground). His rant during a Weekend Update segment on SNL about his refusal to get a REAL ID (allegedly “required” to pass through TSA checkpoints today) is no laughing matter.
“It is getting more awkward at the airport every time. I have not gotten a REAL ID. I still stick to my guns. I have CLEAR, which is the best $209 a year you’ll ever spend. You just skip the line, push people over, and they look at you. I go to the airport early so I can keep doing it. Look at me cutting in front of those grandmas and children —it doesn’t matter,” Longfellow said. “I’m probably going to have to get that real ID soon. It is getting dicey.“
Celebrities undeniably get preferential treatment today. Can’t he just pull the “HEY! I was on SNL” card to avoid legal requirements bestowed upon commoners?
“Nah, even [Colin] Jost has to go to the BMV. If he’s got to go, there’s no hope for me,” he said in defeat. “It’s a cash grab. They want $22 from all of us. It’s brilliant.“
His REAL ID rant, like the rest of his act, is autobiographical, requiring minimal artistic license.
“I mean, I’m not going to do terrorism if I have to get a REAL ID, as I stated on television. But everything else was real, the rage and the frustration. I stand on everything else,” he said. “A lot of my act is autobiographical. I have a lot of stuff. The only original stuff is your life. Every joke’s been done. A lot of it comes from my childhood. My father, bless his heart, is a big part of the act. Pretty much anything that happens to me. I would say, in a way, everything’s autobiographical except for my zany one-liners.“
“It’s just me, naturally. It’s what I write about. I do have an interesting family,” Longfellow continued. “I have a great family, but interesting family dynamics. A lot of parents, a lot of stepparents, a lot of step siblings, ex and current. So I don’t know, maybe I was just waiting to talk about it.”
Asked if he finds doing comedy about his family and upbringing to be therapeutic?
“I’ve never done therapy. I hope this is working,” he said.
While his material style is very intentional, his “dry” brand of comedy is unintentional, if not natural.
“I didn’t know I was doing it until someone described it as ‘dry,'” Longfellow said dryly. “I think it’s my grandfather and my family’s way of speaking.”
Families can be an artist’s biggest fan or their harshest critic. When asked which category his family falls under:
“Both,” Longfellow answered. “My dad, I would say, is one of my biggest fans. He doesn’t really criticize. My mom was a big fan for a month, came to every show, and then she’d come to every show and be like, ‘You didn’t do that joke, right,’ or ‘You look tired.’ But that’s the best. She is my biggest fan ever. And I’m her biggest fan, too. She’s supportive from day one, but also, after a while, she is a very smart person, and I think she saw enough comedy to give me good notes sometimes.”
Longfellow’s path into comedy wasn’t sparked by a single punchline or viral moment — it was born out of a search for self-expression. Before he ever took the stage, Longfellow was a quiet kid who loved writing but rarely spoke up. Stand-up became his outlet, a way to finally bridge the gap between the jokes he thought of and the ones he never dared to say out loud.
“When I started comedy, it was like I found it was life before and life after,” he said. “I found an identity and stuff. I couldn’t talk. I loved writing, but I would never speak in school, really. And then someone else would be funny and I’d be like, ‘Man, what I thought about was funnier, but I don’t have the guts to say it.’ So I got into stand-up. I figured that’d be a good way to work on that. And then, yeah, I don’t know. I loved it. It was huge. It’s massively therapeutic. COVID was a dark time when I had to stop. I think once you do it, if you don’t do it for a couple of weeks… I don’t know what it is about comedians, but we need to be validated by strangers at least somewhat consistently, or we’re just moody.”
After three seasons on Saturday Night Live, Longfellow quietly exited the cast before the start of the 2025 season. Though he wasn’t invited back for another run, the Arizona-born comedian has taken the change in stride, viewing it not as a setback but as a natural next chapter in his comedy journey.
“You’re right. No one likes to get axed,” Longfellow admitted. “But it was all on good terms, and we all still love each other, and it was an unexpected blessing. I get to pursue my dream, which is to be a comedian for a living, rather than working at my dad’s friend’s car dealership. As long as that dream is alive and well, we’re very good, and they set me up to do it on a much better, bigger scale. So, somewhat, I don’t want to say it’s nothing, but somewhat easily, I think easier than before being on the show.”
While SNL gave Longfellow national exposure and a crash course in the mechanics of sketch comedy, his heart has always belonged to the stand-up stage. His time on the show sharpened his timing, broadened his audience, and, perhaps most importantly, affirmed that he could hold his own among some of comedy’s biggest names. Now, with the spotlight fully back on his stand-up career, Longfellow is embracing the freedom to tell his own stories—unfiltered, personal, and unmistakably his.
Longfellow was asked about becoming a household name and his feelings on being more recognizable not only in comedy clubs, but in public:
“You think I’m a household name? Nice!”
“I am blown away by how often I’ll get noticed at an airport or somewhere. It’s very, very, very cool,” he ssaid.
Is it just TSA recognizing him for lacking a REAL ID (again)?
“TSA? They’re so professional. Who knows? Someone must have known me, but I’m also very tired and hidden at the airport with a hood on. But yeah, that’s the coolest. I hate it when it doesn’t happen. I’ll stand in restaurants and try to get people’s attention, and see if anyone notices me,” he joked. “That definitely started happening with the show. You’re right. I was on TV a couple of times, but I had never, or I think, maybe once or twice, been recognized. Someone had once with my grandmother. I remember years ago, someone said it was like I planted them at this restaurant, and they came by and said how funny I was and stuff. And I was not a big comedian at all at the time, but that was really good that he was there at that time. It soothed my grandmother’s concerns about whatever this was I was doing.“
This interviewer has conducted interviews with many SNL alumni, including Colin Quinn, Tracy Morgan, and the gentlemen from Please Don’t Destroy, and they all share a commonality with Longfellow: They all strictly adhere to the NDA they signed for SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels when asked for a crazy behind the scenes story from their time on SNL.
“Nothing crazy,” Longfellow lied. “There was no crazy host. All of them were lovely. You hear the stories from the olden days. We were all friends, and we got really close as a cast, and there wasn’t really any sort of meltdown or anything. I was bummed, too. I wanted a crazy host. I wanted my Steven Segal. Nothing like Juicy. Dave Chappelle was smoking a cigarette in my office, asking me what sketches I wanted to do, when his sketch show was maybe the reason that I even know about sketch comedy, because that stuff was crazy. But nothing like, no, nothing great. Nothing dramatic or good. I think SNL is a little more, I don’t know, maybe we’re just not as cool a cast, or maybe the culture has changed in the world, but it’s a lot of CBD and Vitamin Water. It’s not as crazy or insane as maybe I’ve heard in the seventies or something.”
Many former SNL performers, several of whom left on terms not of their choosing, have gone on to do great things. Longfellow was asked whaI hope it feels great to them. For me, it feels great as well. It’s kind of like they’re giving me something and I’m giving it back; we’re both escaping. So if it feels as good as it does for me for them, then it feels pretty good. Yeah, we’re all helping each other in that room. We’re all just blocking out the world together.t great things he will go on to acheive:
“Definitely do it like Adam Sandler. I would love to make movies with my friends and do stand-up,” he said. “My intention was always to do stand-up, write shows, make shows, write movies, make movies, act in things. But stand-up was always the sun. And then, I just ended up falling in love with stand-up so much that it will always be the central kind of thing. But I write movies and shows, and hopefully we’ll be doing that. And if I can get to the place where I’m just going to Hawaii to shoot my movies with my buddies, that would be fine with me.”
The world is a crazy place. Unhinged. Divided. Entertainment can provide a relief, if only for a short time, for folks to gather and collectively forget about the nonsense happening outside the walls of a sanctuary like Hilarities. This isn’t lost on Longellow.
“I hope it feels great to them. For me, it feels great as well,” he said. “It’s kind of like they’re giving me something and I’m giving it back; we’re both escaping. So if it feels as good as it does for me for them, then it feels pretty good. Yeah, we’re all helping each other in that room. We’re all just blocking out the world together.
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