Hubster Staffer Melanie has sent us this wonderful “Taping ReporT” of her trip to the January 8, 2016 taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”.
As promised, here is my taping report for the show’s very first live episode.
I left my internship right on time, headed north as quickly as I could and arrived at the studio around 5.30pm. Since the scheduling of this particular episode was a bit different from regular tapings I really didn’t know when to get there, but I figured the earlier the better. A few people were already there and so I joined them and mentally prepared myself to wait in the cold for 2.5 hours. As someone who is used to I-Can’t-Feel-My-Face winters, Friday evening seemed oddly warm for a mid-January night- however, the wind rushing down Broadway is no joke and so all the heat I had stored up in my body had already vanished about 30 minutes later. I was now officially cold and I still had two hours ahead of me.
I soon realized that my timing had been pretty impeccable because a few minutes later a group of college students arrived and by the time they handed out our numbers at 8pm, that group had transformed into a small mob of about fifteen people. I was #34 and the staff told me to come back around 9.45 which gave me almost two hours to regain a healthy body temperature and maybe grab some coffee along the way.
Feeling warm and excited I returned to the studio and at around 10pm they finally let us in. After another twenty minutes of waiting and the familiar rules & guidelines announcement, we were led into the theater and I scored a seat in the second row of the middle section. Who cares about frozen feet when this is what you get as a result? Certainly not me. I couldn’t have been happier with my spot.
Since this was my first visit to the Ed Sullivan Theater I spent the next minutes marveling at the sights around me. The ceiling, the stage, the set-up, the sheer size- all very different from The Colbert Report, a studio I was much more familiar with. What they did with the place really is quite something, and so is the air-conditioning. One would assume I must have been used to the cold at that point and one would be wrong. I wouldn’t have minded a warm blanket at that point. Or another cup of coffee.
The theater filled up quickly and the anticipation was definitely palpable. The couple next to me kept telling each other that they were finally gonna be on live tv and that they would have to yell super loud so that their parents could hear them in the crowd; meanwhile I was busy staring at the projections as if I was looking at the artwork in the Sistine Chapel.
Sometimes when I’m equally nervous and excited my left leg starts so tremble ever so slightly. At this point it was basically shaking. We were almost there. They showed us bits of the Who Am Me? segment, then Paul came out and taught us how to laugh and scream (some things never change), and finally Jon and the band entered the studio and got us shaking and dancing in our seats.
And then, after all these hours of freezing and waiting and more freezing and more waiting, there he was. At 11.24pm Stephen came running in, all broad smile and joy and happiness, and suddenly being cold really didn’t matter all that much anymore. The crowd went wild, the music got louder, people were clapping and cheering. After basking in the applause he told us to sit down and I got myself in the right position to raise my arm as quickly as possible to ask a question. Unfortunately, I did not get picked (there’s always next time!) but there were a few others who got lucky. A young lady in my section asked what Stephen particularly loved about New York. “Besides it being the greatest city in the world?” he replied before explaining that he simply loves walking through the streets and finding spots that remind him of his parents. One audience member was curious about his favorite interview and Stephen told him that there were in fact two, Joe Biden and Robert De Niro. A gentleman up on the mezzanine wanted to know how to find a good dentist because his wife had lost one of her fillings. “Krazy glue,” Stephen responded. Ever so helpful.
Two minutes later we were live. And that was a pretty big deal. Not only because I have nothing new to say about the actual show because you saw it all at the same time I did, but also because it was truly a historic night for Stephen. And, well, he did a fine, fine job. Singing and dancing, an Indiana Jones hat, space archaeologists, Jeb Bush as a turtle and, of course, a kitty. What’s not to like?
What I can tell you about is what happened after the cameras were off. Everyone on stage hugged, everyone was incredibly relieved that things had gone so smoothly, everyone looked very proud, especially Stephen. In some ways it had felt just like a regular taping. A taping with a twist, if you will. Something special. Stephen waved us goodbye and I put on my coat and grabbed a golden balloon on my way out. Naturally.
When I left the theater, a cab pulled up right as I raised my hand, and me and my balloon got in the backseat just as the driver started blasting (yes, blast) Beethoven’s 5th, and that was that. A damn good night all around. Till next time.
January 8, 2016: The Taping ReporT!
As promised, here is my taping report for the show’s very first live episode.
I left my internship right on time, headed north as quickly as I could and arrived at the studio around 5.30pm. Since the scheduling of this particular episode was a bit different from regular tapings I really didn’t know when to get there, but I figured the earlier the better. A few people were already there and so I joined them and mentally prepared myself to wait in the cold for 2.5 hours. As someone who is used to I-Can’t-Feel-My-Face winters, Friday evening seemed oddly warm for a mid-January night- however, the wind rushing down Broadway is no joke and so all the heat I had stored up in my body had already vanished about 30 minutes later. I was now officially cold and I still had two hours ahead of me.
I soon realized that my timing had been pretty impeccable because a few minutes later a group of college students arrived and by the time they handed out our numbers at 8pm, that group had transformed into a small mob of about fifteen people. I was #34 and the staff told me to come back around 9.45 which gave me almost two hours to regain a healthy body temperature and maybe grab some coffee along the way.
Feeling warm and excited I returned to the studio and at around 10pm they finally let us in. After another twenty minutes of waiting and the familiar rules & guidelines announcement, we were led into the theater and I scored a seat in the second row of the middle section. Who cares about frozen feet when this is what you get as a result? Certainly not me. I couldn’t have been happier with my spot.
Since this was my first visit to the Ed Sullivan Theater I spent the next minutes marveling at the sights around me. The ceiling, the stage, the set-up, the sheer size- all very different from The Colbert Report, a studio I was much more familiar with. What they did with the place really is quite something, and so is the air-conditioning. One would assume I must have been used to the cold at that point and one would be wrong. I wouldn’t have minded a warm blanket at that point. Or another cup of coffee.
The theater filled up quickly and the anticipation was definitely palpable. The couple next to me kept telling each other that they were finally gonna be on live tv and that they would have to yell super loud so that their parents could hear them in the crowd; meanwhile I was busy staring at the projections as if I was looking at the artwork in the Sistine Chapel.
Sometimes when I’m equally nervous and excited my left leg starts so tremble ever so slightly. At this point it was basically shaking. We were almost there. They showed us bits of the Who Am Me? segment, then Paul came out and taught us how to laugh and scream (some things never change), and finally Jon and the band entered the studio and got us shaking and dancing in our seats.
And then, after all these hours of freezing and waiting and more freezing and more waiting, there he was. At 11.24pm Stephen came running in, all broad smile and joy and happiness, and suddenly being cold really didn’t matter all that much anymore. The crowd went wild, the music got louder, people were clapping and cheering. After basking in the applause he told us to sit down and I got myself in the right position to raise my arm as quickly as possible to ask a question. Unfortunately, I did not get picked (there’s always next time!) but there were a few others who got lucky. A young lady in my section asked what Stephen particularly loved about New York. “Besides it being the greatest city in the world?” he replied before explaining that he simply loves walking through the streets and finding spots that remind him of his parents. One audience member was curious about his favorite interview and Stephen told him that there were in fact two, Joe Biden and Robert De Niro. A gentleman up on the mezzanine wanted to know how to find a good dentist because his wife had lost one of her fillings. “Krazy glue,” Stephen responded. Ever so helpful.
Two minutes later we were live. And that was a pretty big deal. Not only because I have nothing new to say about the actual show because you saw it all at the same time I did, but also because it was truly a historic night for Stephen. And, well, he did a fine, fine job. Singing and dancing, an Indiana Jones hat, space archaeologists, Jeb Bush as a turtle and, of course, a kitty. What’s not to like?
What I can tell you about is what happened after the cameras were off. Everyone on stage hugged, everyone was incredibly relieved that things had gone so smoothly, everyone looked very proud, especially Stephen. In some ways it had felt just like a regular taping. A taping with a twist, if you will. Something special. Stephen waved us goodbye and I put on my coat and grabbed a golden balloon on my way out. Naturally.
When I left the theater, a cab pulled up right as I raised my hand, and me and my balloon got in the backseat just as the driver started blasting (yes, blast) Beethoven’s 5th, and that was that. A damn good night all around. Till next time.