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Image courtesy of Melissa Villaseñor.  

This Saturday the first Latina cast member added to a Saturday Night Live season, Melissa Villaseñor, was scheduled to perform at MADE in Long Beach during Let the Good Times Roll, a comedy and art show started by Long Beach artist Jorge Mujica and stand up comedian Scott Luhrs.

Unfortunately we finished writing this article just moments before we found out she’d cancelled, but we’re not holding it against her. In fact, it’s a chance to congratulate Mujica and Luhrs on bringing top comedic talent to Long Beach, the kind of talent just waiting to be discovered.

Let the Good Times Roll had booked the comedian before she had any idea about her prospects with SNL, which was announced just this week, and sent her apologies, according to Luhrs. Below is what we’d written, with a few changes made to the past tense, to announce that the no-longer-Whittier-based celebrity impressionist (watch out, New York!) was coming to town. 

“The point of mixing art and comedy for me has a lot to do with championing creativity,” said Mujica. “In the case of Let the Good Times Roll, the comics and artists who participate show a maturity in their craft which rewards the viewers’ comprehension of talent. Melissa Villaseñor is one of the highlights of the event and her continued work ethic is a testament to her convictions as an artist.”

Previously slated to perform Saturday night alongside talented comedians Jonathan Rowell, Keith Carey, Tess Barker, Sean Green and Clare O’Kane, Villaseñor is the third Hispanic comedian to join the SNL cast, according to Fox News Latino. Her celebrity impressions during Season 6 of America’s Got Talent inspired resounding laughter and applause and helped her reach the semifinals, while she went on to do voices for Fox’s Family Guy and Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, among other shows.

Before the comedy show at 8:00PM, Let the Good Times Roll will showcase the Deep End of the Pool exhibition, where large-scale art installations created by six Long Beach artists, including Jennifer Celio, Olga Lah and Dave Van Patten will be displayed.


 

“I’m personally excited to be a part of this Saturday because it means supporting artists and comics whose careers are growing,” Mujica continued. “Let the Good Times Roll is all about providing a platform to enrich the community of Long Beach with art and comedy aimed at rewarding the neighborhood.”

For more information, visit the Let the Good Times Roll event page here. To purchase tickets, which are $5 for one or $8 for two, click here.  

MADE in Long Beach is located at 240 Pine Avenue.

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Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].