New Year, New York

I really have to apologize to my Facebook friends for the recent barrage of photos and posts. My daughter, Alex, and I went to New York City for a mother/daughter trip and I guess I went a little overboard. There’s always something fun and new to do in NYC, and I like to share. But here’s the big takeaway from this trip: Getting tickets for NYC TV shows is about 50% persistence and 50% luck. I’d also say going in early January helped our prospects. The crowds were light and we hardly ever stood in a line or waited for a table the entire time we were there.

With the Fallon show you watch the website until you see the show date that you want, then call (and keep calling) until a ticket agent picks up. It’s pretty much a done deal at that point. With Letterman, you also visit the website and watch for your preferred date(s) to open up, then put in your request via the website. You’re then at the mercy of waiting for someone from the show to call you. Not to wear out the overused phrase but I really do love New York and we had a great time there. We saw some Broadway shows, of course. Since we both have theatre degrees, that was a given.  But as my life’s work steered itself in the direction of television production, I also wanted to include a few TV shows in our itinerary.  Alex thought it would be fun to see the Jimmy Fallon show, so we added that to the list. I chose the David Letterman show for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that I really wanted to go to the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Wow…what a landmark that is!

I had given up on getting the call but the day before we left for NYC the phone rang and on the other end of the line was Karen, the scheduler. We were in!

Even with guaranteed seats, there is still a good bit of standing around and waiting in one line or another. Check in starts @ 3:30 PM to prove you are who you are (don’t forget your gov’t issue ID) and get your ticket w/armband or hand stamp, then you’ll cue up about an hour later on for the taping. It will be at least another hour of waiting in line, going through security, being entertained by interns and pages, and finally, getting into the studio! Both shows are shot live to tape (more or less) and each is one hour long. Fallon will let out at @ 6:30 (Fallon) and Letterman ends @ 7:00 PM.

There several things you can do during the wait period between the check-in line and the cue-up line. The entire lower level of the GE building at Rockefeller Center houses a food court, shops and public restrooms. Some of the food court tables have a view of the skating rink. Our friend Terry took the train in from Connecticut to join us for Fallon and The Lion King that evening, so this was the perfect place to meet and hang out, especially since it was raining that afternoon.

Surrounding the Ed Sullivan Theatre are coffee shops, bars and restaurants. Three Monkeys around the corner (Broadway & 54th) has reasonable prices and welcomes Letterman guests to use the bathroom. Around the other corner (on 53rd)  is Hello Deli, the official merchandiser for the show. It’s proprietor, Rupert, is a fixture on the Letterman show. The entire store is tiny. Just a deli counter and a small area behind the cash register with a few Letterman merchandise items (t-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains). When we walked in, there was Rupert himself, manning the register. I said something about how surprised I was to see him there, and he said, ‘I have to pay the bills.” (Alex and I helped him pay some of them).

Whether it’s the wonder of a Broadway show, gathering with old friends, snaring tickets for a late night TV show or a fun little surprise like bumping into Rupert, trips to NYC are always filled with incredible, memorable moments. What a great way to start off the New Year.