Last Monday I was on the Late Show with David Letterman. Well, I was in the audience for the late Monday taping - the show that was aired on Friday. At one point the camera panned the audience, and when I got home and watched the show, I saw myself - a very clear image - although it was only for a microsecond.
It was fun to watch the clockwork nature of how the program works. First of all we had to get tickets. I was with a group of 13 people visiting NYC. I went online several weeks before the trip to apply for tickets. I didn’t hear a word from them till the week before our trip. I tried to get tickets for all 13, but they were only able to provide tickets for 8 of us. I had to email all the names, and I had to promise that all eight people would be there. It was a like a contract. If someone couldn’t be there, I had to promise to substitute someone else for that person. Several hours before the show, I received a phone call confirming that all eight of us would indeed be there. Filling all the seats was very important to them.
Once we were in line, there were young folks (interns?) who got the audience pumped up and ready to cheer even the most lame jokes and oneliners. “If you’re on the fence about whether or not a joke is funny . . . it’s FUNNY! Think about it or dissect its merits on the way home. While you’re in the audience - everything’s funny!” We were instructed about how to laugh, how not to laugh, what sounds were permissible and what sounds were not allowed. We were even told what not to wear (no t-shirts with logos, and no groups wearing matching shirts - they distracted Dave). We were told that bathrooms were closed - no one could take a bathroom break during the show.
Except a woman a few seats in front of me DID leave for the bathroom during one of the commercial breaks in the show. Immediately several interns rushed down to point out the empty space and one of them hurried over to sit in the empty seat. The intern remained in the seat for the rest of the show. There could NOT be an empty seat during the show. The woman did not return to her seat. I guess she was banished to a corner somewhere to pay penance for having to attend to nature during the Late Show.
We were all disappointed when we learned that Sean Combs (P Diddy) was the guest - along with a comedian we’d never heard of. I can think of few entertainers that are lower on my list of who I’d like to see in person than Sean Combs. Every time I tell someone about being in the audience at the Late Show, they ask who the guest was, and when I tell them, their response is the same - “Oh.” Disappointment. Pity. However, “it was what it was” and we enjoyed the show despite the lack of good jokes or fascinating guests.
After we had checked in, we had about an hour to kill before the show was taped. We went to the Italian restaurant next door, Angelo’s Pizza, for a quick dinner. Considering it was 6:00 in the evening, and several of us hadn’t eaten since 4:00 that morning, we enjoyed the meal. The food was mediocre. I had a barely warm chicken parmigiana. I guess if your restaurant is next door to the Ed Sullivan theater, the quality of your food isn’t important. People will eat there simply because of the location. We did.
Despite mediocre food and comedy, the evening was a blast! We cheered and laughed and clapped enthusiastically - just as we had been instructed. It was fun to see Paul Shaffer. The band is great although Shaffer tries to ham it up too much. Bethany, the Late Show person I talked with several times in the week prior to our trip to arrange our tickets, was wonderful - friendly and helpful. That was one of our NYC experiences. Stay tuned for much more.
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