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What it's like to go to a live taping of Stephen Colbert's new 'Late Show'
What it's like to go to a live taping of Stephen Colbert's new 'Late Show'
Megan WillettSep 13, 2015, 23:03 IST
Megan Willett/Tech InsiderStephen Colbert officially made the jump to network television this week with his new "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."It's been an impressive start with guests ranging from Elon Musk to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Many critics have marked it as a promising entry into the late night world thanks to Colbert's "engaging, eager to please," and "winning personality."As New York Times critic James Poniewozik wrote, "This show may not completely know what it is yet, but it knows exactly who its host is: a smart, curious, playful entertainer who's delighted to be there." My friend was lucky enough to score tickets to the first Friday taping where Amy Schumer, author Stephen King, and Paul Simon (disguised jokingly as the lead singer of a Paul Simon tribute band called Troubled Waters) all made appearances.Here's what it's like to go to a live taping of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."Megan Willett/Tech InsiderFirst, you need to get tickets. I was lucky enough to know somebody who knows somebody, but even if you don't have a connection, tickets are still free. Simply go to the Late Show ticket website to see what's available.Because the Ed Sullivan Theater where the show is taped seats 400 people, your chances of getting tickets to "The Late Show" versus the old "Colbert Report" are actually higher - Colbert's old theater only sat 150 fans.Still, you should get tickets ASAP since there's no telling how fast they'll sell out.Megan Willett/Tech InsiderDid you get your tickets? Excellent! Now tell your boss straight away since you'll need to take a half day off work to make your way to the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway between 53rd and 54th streets in the early afternoon and start lining up. Your ticket will say to get in line "no later than 3 p.m." but what that really means is "get there between noon and 2 if you want great seats."We got there around 2:30 p.m. and it was still fine - but try not to get there too late since each show is overbooked to ensure capacity and some people will be turned away. When we arrived, there were roughly 200 people ahead of us and 200 people behind us, give or take. Here's the line we were greeted with when we arrived:Megan Willett/Tech InsiderGet used to standing in this line, by the way. Tickets are handed out numerically on a first come, first serve basis - the sooner you get in line, the lower the number on your ticket and thus the closer you'll be to the stage. But don't fret too much if you get a higher number - no matter where you're seated in the theater, there's really not a bad seat in the house.Once you wind your way up to the front, you'll check in with the lovely workers wearing white shirts, black pants, and carrying iPads. They'll look at your tickets, check your ID, give you your numerical ticket, and stamp your hand with a bright red CBS logo.Megan Willett/Tech InsiderSuccess! Now go kill some time - you'll be told to come back between 3:30 and 4:30 depending on your ticket number. When you come back, you'll stand in yet another line where you'll be sorted numerically and told for what will not be the last time to turn off your phone since there is absolutely no photography or video taking allowed in the studio.When you finally enter the theatre, you'll shuffle past men in suits who will rifle through your bags and watch you walk through a metal detector before winding your way to the back of the theater where you'll be directed to a seat.CBSThe studio is impressive and it's readily apparent just how much thought and effort went into it. Die-hard "Colbert Report" fans will notice a few touches from his previous show, like his Captain America shield as well as a picture of his dad.Fans of Letterman's old stage will note Colbert completely flipped the layout so that his desk is on the left hand side and the band is on the right. Colbert told our audience in a Q&A before the show that this was something Letterman confided he had always wanted to try.But before you get to meet Stephen himself, you have to get warmed up. Comic Paul Mercurio came on at 5 p.m. and reminded the audience to project and not internalize laughter like you do when you're at home. He reminded us we were also being recorded - both audio and visually - throughout the show.Mercurio's other job is to get people loosened up and already laughing. In a set full of crowdwork, he pinpointed random people and teased them about their life, who they're dating, and their jobs. He's good at it - he used to do the same bit at "The Colbert Report," too.He then introduced Jon Batiste and Stay Human, the house New Orleans-style band that amps up the audience before Colbert himself walks out to take some questions from the crowd. I was expecting this session to start out with fluffy questions, but almost immediately, a man jumped up and asked Colbert to wear a #BlackLivesMatter bracelet and mention the movement on his show. Colbert thought for a moment, took the bracelet, and promised that if he didn't wear it that night, he'd do his best to find a way to work it into another show.It was a suspenseful moment, but Colbert ended up wearing the bracelet for the rest of the show.CBSThen, it was around 5:30 p.m. and finally time for the show to officially start. Colbert hopped on stage and began with his monologue. The whole taping ran smoothly, with Colbert only having a minor flub during the first few sentences and restarting from the top. Other than that, what we saw at the Ed Sullivan theater is almost exactly what we saw on TV. The entire taping ran about an hour to an hour and a half with pauses for commercial breaks during which the band played to keep the crowd energized.There were some things that didn't make it to the actual show. Some of the awkward pauses during the guest interviews were cut short or small bits that didn't land with the audience were snipped out of the episode.We got a look into the behind-the-scenes world of making a talk show: Colbert at his desk meeting with top producers, writers, and his stage manager during commercial breaks and going over notes. Colbert giving a sound bite that he didn't quite land the first time. Colbert watching himself and laughing during a fake commercial for "Yesterday's Coffee" (below).After that commercial came perhaps the coolest moment in the taping when Colbert, without the cameras rolling, told the audience the story behind the "Yesterday's Coffee" skit that he co-wrote with "Stranger's with Candy" star Paul Dinello.Colbert shared that the idea actually started when he and his wife, who happened to be in the audience with their children for the taping, had the exact word-for-word conversation that's in the first part of the commercial."That joke had been 15 years in the making," Colbert told us. He said it took him 15 years to realize why her thinking yesterday's coffee tastes like today's was so funny to him.After the show wrapped, Colbert stayed for a few minutes to answer a few more audience questions. One astute fan asked why his desk only says "The Late Show With," sans his name. Colbert revealed that he and the producers had previously joked that the show's logo could say, "The Late Show Despite Stephen Colbert," "The Late Show Adjacent to Stephen Colbert," "The Late Show + Stephen Colbert" ("As though we were 6th grade crushes!").Eventually someone created the design for "The Late Show With" and Stephen said it sounded so stupid without his name attached that he just had to keep it there. "I'm right here!" he joked. "You know it's with Stephen Colbert!"CBSAnd then, it was over. We shuffled out of the studio around 7 p.m. as the band played us out into the New York City night.Some of the reviews of Colbert haven't been so positive, but after seeing the live show, I'm confident the seasoned comic will find his groove. The energy was high, the audience had fun, and the taping went smoothly. Colbert is obviously a professional and seeing him on stage is a once in a lifetime opportunity.If you get the chance to go, take it.
