chuckography

Theater time in the Big Apple...

After 30 years at NBC and CBS, David Letterman announced he would retire.

Assuming tickets would now be REALLY hard to get, I didn't have much hope for this recent trip to NYC.

Well, it helps if you start two months before you head up there.

Was told IF selected, would hear back with a phone call and a trivia question about Dave and the show.

They want real fans in those seats. Got the call the day before we flew.

Showed up at 3:30 pm, were handed tickets and told to come back at 4:50 pm and stand in the blue roped area out front.

We were going to be part of the audience for the show that taped  around 6 pm to 7 pm!

A warm-up guy herded all 250 of us into the lobby of the Ed Sullivan theater and prepped us with jokes and one-liners to make sure we were the best audience ever.
"There is no laugh track. 

"You make the show a success with your enthusiasm and laughter."

"You can smile at home if you think something is funny. But here, we want to hear you having a good time."

Being seated on the ground floor - instead of the balcony - was some sort of formula they use.

Fourth row on the aisle was a lucky break, purely by chance!

*These photos were snapped from the tv screen while viewing the show the next evening. No cameras or cell phones were allowed inside.

Great sight lines. And sitting close when Dave came out to chat with us before the show and keep us warmed up in the chilly theater.

(Why is it so cold in there? Because that's how Dave wants it.)

When someone asked that question, Dave had an assistant take off her Late Show jacket and wrap it around the lady from Salt Lake City.

"Now, is everybody comfortable?" Dave asked laughingly.

So many people behind-the-scenes to make it go so smoothly. People seldom seen on camera.

The announcer Alan Kalter was the emcee who gave us tips on what to expect - and what was expected of us.

As Kalter promised, we had a great mini-concert by Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra.

The taping ended about 7:35 pm which made us scurry up crowded Broadway for 14 blocks to see Neil Patrick Harris in HEDWIG and the Angry Inch. 

The curtain was 8 pm, and we made it with about 10 minutes to spare.

(Click on the photos for more details.)

This was on Wednesday, fairly early on a weekday, and Broadway was mobbed, shoulder-to shoulder at some corners.

Maybe I don't want to be in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Labels: Alan Kalter, Broadway Dash, early taping., Paul Shaffer, Regis Philbin, the CBS Orchestra and Party Band, The Late Show with David Letterman

posted by chuckography @ 12:16 AM