I went to my first live studio talk show yesterday – Late Night with Stephen Colbert. Well, I have been to a live show studio once before when I was about 13. More on that another time.
This was more of a performance and a lengthy one at that. But, oh my, the time waiting is ridiculous.
Let me give you a typical wait time for a Talk Show.
- 15:00 – Priority Check-in opens for those with a “ticket.”
- 16:00 – Priority Check-in closes / Group A Check-in opens.
- 17:00 – Load into Studio
- 17:30 – Warm-up, but at least we are finally sitting
We were led into the Sullivan Theater, which seemed much more extensive than when I watched the Ed Sullivan Show as a child. The good news is even though once again I was at the backside. I had a pretty good view of everything.
So then we just sat there. This was the only time people were allowed to go to the washroom, and I think 1/3 of the audience got up and left to make the pit stop.
Then it was back to our seats, and we were told again that we could not leave until 19:30. Shortly thereafter, the house band came on to rev us.
We got instructions from the warm-up comedian was quite good. He explained our active role in this performance as yelling, screaming, clapping, and getting up.
You see, the audience provides the energy for the show, and we could be on the television camera at any time.
Colbert finally came on around 6:00 PM and warmed up with us, answering a few questions. After being reminded again to stand up, scream and yell, “Stephen: the real show began with his monologue.
Interestingly, after the monologue, there was a slight flub on one of the lines, and they had to retake it quickly.
Although there are no commercial breaks, there are breaks in between guests. Stephen talks to one of his associates to get the latest update.
The 1st guest was John Oliver, who I wanted to attend one of his shows, so I was glad he was there. The two are clearly very good friends, and watching them play off one another was a joy.
The second guest was Ron Klain, who had just stepped down a week ago as White House chief of staff to Biden. Colbert tried to get him going on balloons and UFOs, which seems to be his current concern.
When the official taping was over – around 18:45, we were told to sit in our places because there would be a taping of a band performance, and they needed a live audience. They set up, and then RAYE featuring 070 Shake, did their number. Afterward, he thanked them, and we were allowed to leave at about 19:15. Apparently, it was RAYE’s first television performance, aired yesterday on Colbert.
I have requested more tickets to live showings, but I am unsure if I am prepared to stand in line for so long.