Hubster Kaitlyn has sent us this wonderful “Taping ReporT” of her trip to the May 23, 2016 taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”.
Hello everyone! My name is Kaitlyn and this is my third Taping Report. I saw the Late Show on May 23, when Emilia Clarke, Shiri Appleby, and Cynthia Erivo from The Color Purple were the guests.
My friend and I arrived at the studio around 1:30 pm. Honestly, I would suggest getting there earlier because the line was already down the street and around the corner. We stood right in front of the Hello Deli (which is where they sell Late Show merchandise!). There was a truck right in front of the deli, too, that was from an animal shelter, so we wondered if that meant that there would be puppies on the show. Then we heard one of the Late Show producers talking to a worker from the animal shelter. Apparently the puppies they used in the opening with Emilie Clarke were all adopted by staff members!
Anyways, so we waited in line for about an hour. At 2:30 pm they started handing out tickets. We were numbers 197 and 198, and they told us to come back at 3:45 pm. We went to Uniqlo on 5th Ave, which I would highly recommend. Not only do they have great clothes, but they have a good bathroom to use before the taping and there’s a Starbucks inside!
At 3:45 pm we were back in front of the theatre, back in number order. We went through security fairly quickly and they took us into a holding room where they had TVs playing the same clips from the summer before the show started, just like at the last taping I went to in November. They took us into the studio at around 4:45 pm.
We had much better seats than last time. We were kind of far in the back on the bottom floor, but almost right in the middle of the room, with a good view of both the band and Colbert’s desk. Even though we were far back, I didn’t feel far away from the stage and I could see everything well.
The warm-up guy, Paul Mercurio, came out about 20 minutes later. He did a pretty good job. When my friend and I saw him before The Colbert Report taping, we did not enjoy him at all. Then he did really well before the last Late Show taping we went to, but this time he just did alright. We laughed, but nothing about his “routine” really sticks out this time. Everyone he picked from the audience to talk to onstage was too normal!
After a bit, he introduced Jon Batiste and Stay Human, who came out jamming. They played quite a while, though after only a few minutes they stopped and Jon turned to the backstage door and said, “Hi, Stephen! How are you?”, then sat there awkwardly until they started playing a new song. I couldn’t tell if that was a genuine mistake on Jon’s part, or if he did it on purpose to try to trick us… They played a bit more until about 5:45 pm, when Stephen himself came out!! This was my fifth time seeing him in person and it was still surreal. He only took three audience questions:
- Who’s the better wizard: Gandalf or Dumbledore?
He pointed out that they’re both wizards, and they both accomplished their goals, and while he said he loves both book series, he went with Gandalf because he was up against much larger odds and fought for 3,000 years.
- If you were on one of the “Housewives” shows, what would your catchphrase be?
“You bitch.”
- Are you Team Captain or Team Stark?
While he said he loves his original Captain America shield (the one hanging up on the balcony), he said he’s Team Stark. He said Tony Stark was always his favorite as a kid and at that time no one liked Tony, so he was disappointed when the first movie came out and he was suddenly popular. He said it was like everyone discovering your favorite band. Like, “No! Don’t jump on the bandwagon! I’ve been a fan for years!”
After the questions, he stayed onstage while they played the cold open to the show so he could watch with us. He mouthed along to all the words. We hadn’t known what the puppies were for while we were in line so that mystery was solved.
After the cold open, they played the opening credits while the band played, and Colbert ran off- stage just so he could turn around and run back out for the monologue. We were so pumped that Mark had to actually signal us to shut up because we wouldn’t stop cheering, and Colbert himself had to do the same at one point in the show. I’m sure everyone has seen the episode by now so I won’t talk too much about it. The Tetris “sex” was absolutely hilarious, though, and Colbert was having a hard time keeping a straight face. When it came time for the commencement speech, he had a tough time getting the hat on, which was funny. They of course edited that out for the show, though.
Then his first guest, Emilia Clarke, came out. I don’t watch Game of Thrones but I sort of know who her character is. She was so adorable though! And so funny! I got the vibe that Colbert was also smitten with her.
Nothing special happened in the next segment about the Starbucks cups, and then the second guest, Shiri Appleby, came out. I also had no idea who she was and I’d never heard of the show she’s on. She wasn’t nearly as funny as Emilia Clarke, but she was pretty good. What she said about Jon Stewart was hilarious, though! I was really hoping that when Colbert responded to what she said, he would tie in his answer during the Q&A and say, “You bitch!” But he didn’t …
I was pretty excited about the third guest, but only because I’ve wanted to see the behind-the- scenes of how they set up for musical guests. I’ve never seen The Color Purple, though. It took them quite a while to get set up, especially since they had all those other musicians behind her. While they got set up, the band was playing and Colbert sat on the stairs next to the band. He started drumming along on the handrail with his hands until the saxophone player Eddie gave him a drumstick. Then he drummed along with that for a bit, but eventually he just sat back and bobbed his head along, really getting into it, like it was his own private concert. He seemed to particularly enjoy Eddie’s solo, and the bongo solo. I don’t know the name of the band member who played the bongos …
When it was finally time, he introduced Cynthia and she brought down the roof. She was so good! When she was done, we gave her a well-deserved standing ovation and applauded for forever.
Once she left the stage, they cleared the area just well enough to place a camera in front of Colbert’s desk. I had assumed they were going to film the closing stuff, but Mark came to talk to Colbert. They had him redo the last Starbucks joke because apparently he had said “We’ll be back with Cynthia Erivo” when really he should have said Shiri Appleby’s name. It was quite the ordeal, though. Colbert wanted a second camera to get a close-up of the cup but they kept saying that wasn’t possible for some reason. He pointed at the nearest camera and was like, “What’s that? A carriage? Can’t we use that?” But I think they had already turned off the other cameras so they said they couldn’t use it.
He eventually gave up and said the line, but he flubbed it right out of the gate and the cup hadn’t been turned to face the camera. He was trying to say “Tangerine Poop Bucket” followed by “We’ll be back with Shiri Appleby”. The second time he messed up the line even worse so that he couldn’t even finish it. The next time he tried to say it, which was the fourth time we had heard the joke, he said “Tangerine Shit Bucket” instead to get a good reaction out of us, and it worked! With the magic of editing, they were able to edit the best parts of those four takes together so that watching the episode you’d never know how much he struggled with it.
While they were setting up for the final send off, he turned to us and asked if anyone used a FitBit. Some people put their hands up, and he said that a report had just come out saying that the heart rate readings were completely inaccurate and therefore meaningless. He said “Your heart rate isn’t important to your health anyway” in a joking manner, and then they shot the final closing bit. While still on camera, he walked offstage down the aisle and into the lobby area. As everyone saw in the episode, the two Tetris pieces were back there, and he watched them have “sex”. We couldn’t see so we had to watch it on the monitors. The cameras cut back to us in the studio for a bit, but then they went back to the lobby and this time Colbert had joined in on the fun and was having a threesome with the Tetris pieces. It was hilarious! After the band finished playing, Colbert walked back onstage to thank us for a good taping, and then walked out.
It was about 6:45 pm when we left, so we were in the actual studio for about 2 hours total. Overall it was a great experience, but I hadn’t expected otherwise. Thanks for reading, and until next time!
May 23, 2016: The Taping ReporT!
Hello everyone! My name is Kaitlyn and this is my third Taping Report. I saw the Late Show on May 23, when Emilia Clarke, Shiri Appleby, and Cynthia Erivo from The Color Purple were the guests.
My friend and I arrived at the studio around 1:30 pm. Honestly, I would suggest getting there earlier because the line was already down the street and around the corner. We stood right in front of the Hello Deli (which is where they sell Late Show merchandise!). There was a truck right in front of the deli, too, that was from an animal shelter, so we wondered if that meant that there would be puppies on the show. Then we heard one of the Late Show producers talking to a worker from the animal shelter. Apparently the puppies they used in the opening with Emilie Clarke were all adopted by staff members!
Anyways, so we waited in line for about an hour. At 2:30 pm they started handing out tickets. We were numbers 197 and 198, and they told us to come back at 3:45 pm. We went to Uniqlo on 5th Ave, which I would highly recommend. Not only do they have great clothes, but they have a good bathroom to use before the taping and there’s a Starbucks inside!
At 3:45 pm we were back in front of the theatre, back in number order. We went through security fairly quickly and they took us into a holding room where they had TVs playing the same clips from the summer before the show started, just like at the last taping I went to in November. They took us into the studio at around 4:45 pm.
We had much better seats than last time. We were kind of far in the back on the bottom floor, but almost right in the middle of the room, with a good view of both the band and Colbert’s desk. Even though we were far back, I didn’t feel far away from the stage and I could see everything well.
The warm-up guy, Paul Mercurio, came out about 20 minutes later. He did a pretty good job. When my friend and I saw him before The Colbert Report taping, we did not enjoy him at all. Then he did really well before the last Late Show taping we went to, but this time he just did alright. We laughed, but nothing about his “routine” really sticks out this time. Everyone he picked from the audience to talk to onstage was too normal!
After a bit, he introduced Jon Batiste and Stay Human, who came out jamming. They played quite a while, though after only a few minutes they stopped and Jon turned to the backstage door and said, “Hi, Stephen! How are you?”, then sat there awkwardly until they started playing a new song. I couldn’t tell if that was a genuine mistake on Jon’s part, or if he did it on purpose to try to trick us… They played a bit more until about 5:45 pm, when Stephen himself came out!! This was my fifth time seeing him in person and it was still surreal. He only took three audience questions:
He pointed out that they’re both wizards, and they both accomplished their goals, and while he said he loves both book series, he went with Gandalf because he was up against much larger odds and fought for 3,000 years.
“You bitch.”
While he said he loves his original Captain America shield (the one hanging up on the balcony), he said he’s Team Stark. He said Tony Stark was always his favorite as a kid and at that time no one liked Tony, so he was disappointed when the first movie came out and he was suddenly popular. He said it was like everyone discovering your favorite band. Like, “No! Don’t jump on the bandwagon! I’ve been a fan for years!”
After the questions, he stayed onstage while they played the cold open to the show so he could watch with us. He mouthed along to all the words. We hadn’t known what the puppies were for while we were in line so that mystery was solved.
After the cold open, they played the opening credits while the band played, and Colbert ran off- stage just so he could turn around and run back out for the monologue. We were so pumped that Mark had to actually signal us to shut up because we wouldn’t stop cheering, and Colbert himself had to do the same at one point in the show. I’m sure everyone has seen the episode by now so I won’t talk too much about it. The Tetris “sex” was absolutely hilarious, though, and Colbert was having a hard time keeping a straight face. When it came time for the commencement speech, he had a tough time getting the hat on, which was funny. They of course edited that out for the show, though.
Then his first guest, Emilia Clarke, came out. I don’t watch Game of Thrones but I sort of know who her character is. She was so adorable though! And so funny! I got the vibe that Colbert was also smitten with her.
Nothing special happened in the next segment about the Starbucks cups, and then the second guest, Shiri Appleby, came out. I also had no idea who she was and I’d never heard of the show she’s on. She wasn’t nearly as funny as Emilia Clarke, but she was pretty good. What she said about Jon Stewart was hilarious, though! I was really hoping that when Colbert responded to what she said, he would tie in his answer during the Q&A and say, “You bitch!” But he didn’t …
I was pretty excited about the third guest, but only because I’ve wanted to see the behind-the- scenes of how they set up for musical guests. I’ve never seen The Color Purple, though. It took them quite a while to get set up, especially since they had all those other musicians behind her. While they got set up, the band was playing and Colbert sat on the stairs next to the band. He started drumming along on the handrail with his hands until the saxophone player Eddie gave him a drumstick. Then he drummed along with that for a bit, but eventually he just sat back and bobbed his head along, really getting into it, like it was his own private concert. He seemed to particularly enjoy Eddie’s solo, and the bongo solo. I don’t know the name of the band member who played the bongos …
When it was finally time, he introduced Cynthia and she brought down the roof. She was so good! When she was done, we gave her a well-deserved standing ovation and applauded for forever.
Once she left the stage, they cleared the area just well enough to place a camera in front of Colbert’s desk. I had assumed they were going to film the closing stuff, but Mark came to talk to Colbert. They had him redo the last Starbucks joke because apparently he had said “We’ll be back with Cynthia Erivo” when really he should have said Shiri Appleby’s name. It was quite the ordeal, though. Colbert wanted a second camera to get a close-up of the cup but they kept saying that wasn’t possible for some reason. He pointed at the nearest camera and was like, “What’s that? A carriage? Can’t we use that?” But I think they had already turned off the other cameras so they said they couldn’t use it.
He eventually gave up and said the line, but he flubbed it right out of the gate and the cup hadn’t been turned to face the camera. He was trying to say “Tangerine Poop Bucket” followed by “We’ll be back with Shiri Appleby”. The second time he messed up the line even worse so that he couldn’t even finish it. The next time he tried to say it, which was the fourth time we had heard the joke, he said “Tangerine Shit Bucket” instead to get a good reaction out of us, and it worked! With the magic of editing, they were able to edit the best parts of those four takes together so that watching the episode you’d never know how much he struggled with it.
While they were setting up for the final send off, he turned to us and asked if anyone used a FitBit. Some people put their hands up, and he said that a report had just come out saying that the heart rate readings were completely inaccurate and therefore meaningless. He said “Your heart rate isn’t important to your health anyway” in a joking manner, and then they shot the final closing bit. While still on camera, he walked offstage down the aisle and into the lobby area. As everyone saw in the episode, the two Tetris pieces were back there, and he watched them have “sex”. We couldn’t see so we had to watch it on the monitors. The cameras cut back to us in the studio for a bit, but then they went back to the lobby and this time Colbert had joined in on the fun and was having a threesome with the Tetris pieces. It was hilarious! After the band finished playing, Colbert walked back onstage to thank us for a good taping, and then walked out.
It was about 6:45 pm when we left, so we were in the actual studio for about 2 hours total. Overall it was a great experience, but I hadn’t expected otherwise. Thanks for reading, and until next time!