You can start to feel competitive with strangers while standing in the lineup for the David Letterman show, hoping you’ll be one of the people picked for a standby ticket for that day’s taping.
Behind us is a group of youngish women, chatty and chipper. In front of us, a grumpy looking man in a baseball cap who makes no effort to talk with the page who is in charge of the first hurdle into getting a coveted seat.
We decided to try for Letterman tickets on a whim. The website said the line for standby tickets was from 9:30 to 12:30 the day of the show, so on an overcast Monday morning, we were there about 9 a.m. The lineups outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway already snaked around to the Hello Deli, a hole-in-the-wall deli made famous by Letterman’s numerous appearances there. We grabbed coffees, waited and chatted to other wannabes, many of whom were tourists but also some locals. There was even a guy in a Rob Ford T-shirt.
Within a half hour, we were at the front of the line, sussing out our competition for real. We filled out our ticket request forms, showed our ID (we’re long past 18 but all IDs are checked) and figured out our strategy.
Behind a partition is the “ticket co-ordinator.” This mysterious person chats to you and assesses your guest suitability.
We’ve figured out what they want, we think. Perky, enthusiastic but not distractingly so, engaged, fans.
I’m with my husband – naturally quiet and reserved; my bestie, an actor and comedian who can charm anyone; his wife who can go toe to toe with him in the charm department, and me, naturally curious. We think we’ve got a shot.
We chat with Max, the head page, a 23-year-old Midwesterner who is using the volunteer page job as a way to make contacts. (He’s in an “off-off-off Broadway play.) Ahead of us, the grumpy guy is with the ticket co-ordinator for ages, or at least five minutes. He comes out. Still grumpy.
We go in, smiling but trying not to look too crazed. We’re giddy already just at the fun of even trying, so happy isn’t hard.
All the American-style friendly co-ordinator asks us is where we’re from, how we’re doing and how many tickets we’re looking for. That’s it. Thirty seconds max. She thanks us for our time and tells us we’ll get a call by noon if we’ve been selected.
Much parsing of what that means in the grand Letterman-ticket scheme. I sidle up to one of the several security guards (there are even sniffer dogs) and ask him if it’s better to be interviewed for a short time or a long time. He slowly says out the side of his mouth, “Short.”
At 11:30, we get the call that we’re on the “gold” list. Lively, presentable and friendly seems to have done the trick.
Your clapping and laughter skills will never feel as important
When we return at 3:20 p.m. for the show, turns out we didn’t realize the most important skill of all: being a good clapper.
Successful standbys – there are about 80 that day – are herded in to different holding areas of the landmark Ed Sullivan Theatre, where the pages make cheerleaders look like sleeping zombies. It’s ENERGY, all caps, all the time.
“You make the difference between a pretty good show and the best show,” shouts a page, and various riffs on this theme for the next 10 minutes.
“Have energy deep in your belly for the big guy!” another shouts, pumping up the crowd.
Then come the rules. No bathroom access in the theatre, no water, and a shivering temperature of 58 F (no star wants to sweat on stage under the lights.) If you have to use the loo, go to the Three Monkeys bar around the corner.
But now the really important stuff. Clapping, and lots of it. Even if you don’t understand the joke. But no wooting or whistles, foot stamping or calling out names or favourite football teams.
“All those whootaholics, now is the time to get it out of your system,” shouts a page. “NO whooting in the show. If you do, we’ll make you go watch the Maury Povich show instead.”
We’re shepherded into the 400-seat Ed Sullivan Theatre.
Just looking at the stage is fun. It’s where Elvis Presley performed on Sept. 9, 1956, and America witnessed the birth of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll; where The Beatles made their North American debut on Feb. 9, 1964; where the Rolling Stones played six times, and Michael Jackson performed in 1970 at age 12, when he was just a healthy, talented boy.
The call for enthusiasm continues once seated. Pages jog up and down the aisles, while an orientation video with Alec Baldwin encouraging laughter plays. “Show him the love. You give Dave his energy. And remember, all jokes are funny eventually. But laugh now.”
Announcer Alan Kalter chats up the crowd and Paul Shaffer (not quite as little and creepy as he always seems to me on TV) and his band whip up the music.
The pumping up does work. The applause when Letterman comes out to chat to the crowd before the show starts is loud and spontaneous. It is actually hard not to woot, even if you’re not a wooter.
Letterman is in dress pants, tie and shirt and takes a few questions from the crowd. He is tall, thin, casual and engaged. He’s wearing whitish socks with the dark blue suit, said to be his bit of rebellion against the CBS edict that he had to wear a suit or coat and tie on air. His previous bosses at NBC were fine with more casual dress.
When it’s time to roll, Letterman bounds out again, does a pratfall and launches into his monologue (his 67th birthday is near, that he’s happy to have Lindsay Lohan as a guest. “I like her. I’m concerned about her. I think she’s a great talent. And I’m very excited because this means she will have an alibi.”) The theatre is quite intimate, even with its 400 seats on two levels, and the set’s New York backdrop is vivid and detailed. The large cameras do get in the way sometimes, but hey, it is a television show. There actually is a man with hand-printed cue cards.
The guests, including Oprah
Tonight’s guests are Lindsay Lohan, James Edwards, a 13-year-old from Lancashire who is the youngest scientist in the world to build a nuclear reactor through nuclear fusion, and the band Real Estate.
Lindsay Lohan
Lohan eats up half the show, tottering out in a sequined black dress, knee socks and boots. She’s very thin, and clearly comfortable with Letterman who says several times how much he wants her to succeed. They call Oprah, whose company is filming Lohan for a reality TV series, so the queen of daytime TV is a guest via telephone. Lohan has had a few bumps along the way and gets weepy when Oprah and Letterman express hope for her future. She tries to crack a few jokes. My comedian friend says she shouldn’t try comedy.
During the commercial break, Lohan checks her red phone for messages, and Letterman talks with the many crew that are hovering nearby. He and head writer Bill Scheft have numerous tete-a-tetes throughout the show. Often, Letterman wanders off by himself, hands in his pockets, appearing to be thinking. He’s always right back on when the cameras roll.
He’s particularly engaged with the 13-year-old nuclear physicist, who is self-effacing and charming. Letterman has an 11-year-old son. When asked why he wanted to build nuclear fusion reactors instead of Lego, Edwards shrugged. “Just seemed cool, I guess.”
A running joke through the show has been scrambled eggs. Does Lohan like them? Does Edwards? By the end of the show, there’s a clip showing Lohan backstage eating scrambled eggs, obviously prepared by the show. That kind of quick response to what is happening on stage makes it even more fun if you’re in the audience. You feel like you’re more “in” on the joke. Letterman flubbed a line in the Top 10 Least Successful Film Sequels, and does a retake. Another time, he and the writers had to clarify whether to use “this Monday” or “next Monday.” When the show is televised, he gives a sly grin at the camera during these two references, which you’d only get if you were in the audience. It’s kind of neat to have an “inside joke” with Letterman.
Letterman doesn’t hang around after the taping is done, but the band plays and the music is lively and fun. You’re so pumped after the show that you’d probably be a perfect candidate as a guest for any show, without any encouragement.
The camera does one wide swing through the audience. If you don’t blink and stare really hard, you can see Robin and I, sitting in between our bald husbands. (Robin snuck in a woot.)
The time commitment was about five hours in all, a worthy time investment even in a city with so much to offer. It was a New York experience.
How to get tickets to some of the top NYC-based television shows
Tickets are free, paid for only by your patience and luck. Here’s a link to a site that gives a good general overview. http://www.nycgo.com/articles/tv-show-tapings
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is doing well in its first season and tickets are hard to come by. But since advance online tickets are only available to people living in the New York City area, it’s not much of an issue. Fortunately, standbys who put in their time outside the CBS studio at 528 West 57th St., between 10th and 11th Ave., have a good chance of getting in.
John Oliver
The studio has 150 seats for the show, and gives out 200 tickets in advance. On average, about 50 per cent of those with advance tickets don’t show up when the ticket is free, according to the company that organizes tickets for the show. So most people who show up at least two hours in advance of the Sunday taping at 5:45 p.m. get in. Any later, and your chances are dicey.
Oliver’s quirky British take on the week’s news, politics and current events are satirical and fun and bound to become more popular, so he’s one to say you saw when. Here’s Oliver’s funny and poignant take on the U.S.’s oversubscribed prison system with Sesame Street characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vEDYvdI20o
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon is THE hot ticket in New York City. Advance tickets are available online and are gone almost immediately (www.showclix.com/event/thetonightshowstarringjimmyfallon). But it’s one of the best shows for access via standby tickets, says New York Tickets, a group that researches the best way to get access to live shows.
At 9 a.m. on the day of the show, 90 standby tickets are given away at the NBC studio at 30 Rockefeller Centre. The line begins about 6 a.m at the West 49th Street entrance between 5th and 6th avenues, underneath the NBC awning. Each person is allowed only one ticket and must be present.
Standby tickets are easier to get for Fallon’s monologue rehearsal.
The Colbert Report. Daily Show alum Stephen Colbert will replace Letterman when he retires sometime in 2015. That makes tickets to Colbert’s current show that parodies politics, pop culture, entertainment and news even harder to come by, especially as the studio only has 100 studio audience seats. Advance tickets are done online. (http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/tickets). Check back often as the system is in real time and cancellations happen.
Sign up for limited standby tickets on the day of taping, in front of the Comedy Central studio at 513 W. 54th St. (between 10th and 11th avenues) beginning at 4 p.m. It tapes Monday through Thursday.
Also at Comedy Central and equally hard to get tickets for is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Tickets are booked online at http://thedailyshow.cc.com/tickets, with shows Monday through Thursday evening. The site is in real time, so worth checking frequently as tickets are cancelled and become available.
The Daily Show isn’t known for having many standby seats.
For additional information, you can call 212-586-2477 or send an email to [email protected].
To watch Dr. Mehmet Oz hawk magic diet pills on his Dr. Oz show, book online at http://www.doctoroz.com/get-show-tickets
Standby tickets are given out on a first-come, first-served basis most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:40 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. at 320 West 66th St. It helps to dress nicely – there are lots of audience shots – so bright colors are encouraged, while white, busy patterns, short shorts or skirts and tank tops are not.
Dr. Oz also offers the chance to be a guest on the show if you fit into specified upcoming topics. Recently, those included: Knowing someone who needs to lose over 200 pounds; Did the Dr. Oz show save your life?; Are you an outraged mom?; And the chance to ask Dr. Oz your most embarrassing questions. More than one-third of the topics are about weight loss.
Saturday Night Live. Your chances are literally like winning the lottery. That’s how the tickets for the two shows (one is the dress rehearsal, the other for the live show) are done. Each show has 250 guests, and thousands of requests. Ticket organizers recommend submitting your email ticket request (only online, no actual mail anymore) as early in August as possible. (The only month requests are accepted.) Don’t send multiple emails, or emails requesting specific dates, or your email will be disregarded. Two tickets max, and requests should go to: [email protected]
Those who get into a fall or early winter show are usually told by September, but the notification time can vary. Some report it to be as little as 10 days, so best to be flexible on your travel dates.
Standby tickets go to those with stamina. They are given out at 7 a.m. on the day of the show. Most people who get in on standby bunk in on the street the night before. Blankets and chairs are fine, but tents or camping equipment are not. Line up on the 49th Street side of Rockefeller Center Plaza (between 5th and 6th avenues.) There is free Wifi and a nearby 24-hour McDonald’s at 1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th.
Super fan Louis Klein, a retired accountant from Queens, lined up and got into almost every show since the first show in 1975, when George Carlin and Andy Kaufman performed. That’s more than 600 nights sleeping on the sidewalk. Producer Lorne Michaels gave Klein the first-ever gold ticket in 1990, granting him access to every show without standing in line.
The Today Show doesn’t have a studio audience, so you don’t have to plan ahead. But be prepared to get up early. It’s also one of the few shows that welcomes children in the audience. (Most other shows require guests to be at least 16, and usually 18.) It tapes Monday through Friday at 7 a.m., outside the Rockefeller Centre in midtown Manhattan. Hosts often interact with the audience.
The View often has top-end celebrity guests, giveaway prizes and the chance of a blow-up between the hosts, especially if Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who left the show to co-host Fox & Friends, is replaced with someone equally right wing There’s a one-to- two-year wait for tickets, which are only available online at http://1iota.com/Show/385/The-View#Tickets
Standby tickets are available on the day of taping. Your chances are best if it’s raining and the guest is less than great. The tickets are passed out at the ABC Studios at 320 West 66th Street around 8 a.m., first-come, first-served.
Inside the Actors Studiois done before a live audience at Pace University. It has a somewhat erratic taping schedule and it pays to know a student, staff member or alumni of the Financial District university, as they have priority for the standby tickets. Remaining tickets are given on a first-come, first-served basis and provide a great view into the lives of A-list actors, interviewed in James Lipton’s thorough yet fawning style. (Or you could just watch Lipton lampooned on The Simpsons, or by Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live.) The televised show is one hour but the tapings are three to four hours. Because the show has a sporadic taping schedule, the best way to find out about these opportunities is to subscribe to the Michael Schimmel Center's mailing list CLICK HERE. You can also visit the Center's homepage for announcements about ticket availability, or follow its Twitter feed.
Top 10 Tips
- Travel light – it’s a rare studio that has a coat or bag check.
- Bring government issued identification. Most studios will ask for it. A library card won’t do.
- Be patient. The waits can be long. Better yet, bring a book.
- Joining the show's Facebook page or Twitter feed are good ways of finding out when blocks of tickets open up.
- Everyone is in the same boat waiting. It’s a chance to talk to fellow travellers, and resident New Yorkers, who too attend the shows. We picked up some dinner tips from a couple at the Letterman show.
- Have one person in your group suss out where the nearest public washroom and/or coffee shop are located.
- Photos are not usually allowed in the studios.
- Dress to not necessarily impress, but look presentable.
- Bring a jacket (or shiver for two hours).
- Bring your clapping skills and laughter.
