When it comes to sketches on Saturday Night Live, you never know how it’s going to go in terms of laughter and audience response. Sometimes a sketch does so well that it becomes a recurring thing, which happens often. This includes Nate Bargatze’s George Washington sketch, which has been done twice. Surprisingly, the beloved sketch was apparently not well-received during the table read.
The George Washington sketch sees America’s first president, played by Bargatze, relaying his “dream” to his fellow soldiers. Namely things that the U.S. has actually done or implemented, such as being a country to largely abandon the metric system and other ridiculous (but unfortunately true) facts. It’s a simple but hilarious sketch that didn’t do all too well during the first read-through. As Bargatze recalled on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast:
We did a table read, and it didn’t go good when we did the table read.
It’s a surprise that it didn’t do well, considering that “Washington’s Dream" (which was almost shot down by Lorne Michaels) has turned into a fan-favorite that definitely has to be done every time Bargatze hosts. But when it comes to a show like Saturday Night Live, it’s hard to imagine where the jokes will really land without an audience. This is why the dress rehearsals are so important, because that’s when the last tweaks are made, and sketches are cut. For Bargatze, SNL was also a different ballpark for him as a comedian, and he explained why the table read was so hard:
Because it’s like, my timing is – I’m used to a crowd. So, once I can hear laughter, it’s like I’ll be able to pace off that, and with the table read, there’s not a ton of laughter. So they were like, ‘I don’t know,’ and then I was like, ‘Let’s just do it with the dress rehearsal.’
A table read is definitely important because you’re with everyone going through the script, and in SNL’s case, the sketches for the first time, and that’s probably where the tweaks really start. But dress is definitely more important, even though it’s the night of the live show, because you have an audience. Luckily, Bargatze was able to get some peace of mind. Because when the sketch was done in front of an audience, it did pretty well. As he put it:
Once we did it, it destroyed.
While sketches are likely cut after doing the initial table read, it’s a good thing “Washington’s Dream” got a second chance to shine during the dress rehearsal to really show just how funny it really is. So funny that it made a return at the Emmys, with Bargatze, who hosted the 2025 ceremony, explaining the future of television to some SNL cast members. While Bargatze was not part of the SNL Season 51 lineup, perhaps he will return for Season 52, and we get a third round of “Washington’s Dream.”
For those who want to watch the beloved sketch, both versions from Bargatze’s two episodes are available on YouTube. His full episodes are also available to stream with a Peacock subscription, along with every single episode of Saturday Night Live. Information on who will kick off Season 52 probably won’t be announced until later this summer, but it’s possible that Bargatze could make a return at some point next season for another dose of George Washington.
