The official photograph of Stephen Colbert & Lisa Robinson. The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ. Friday
December 2nd 2011
Lisa & Liz. Two Fangirls together at The Montclair International Film Festival,The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
December 2nd 2011
Outside the theatre... A certain person's name in big letters!
Ooooohh, I wonder who is on at the theatre tonight?
A handsome gentleman entered the room...
Ohhh, isn't he swoonsome!
Darling, that's exactly what I said to Sir Laurence Olivier about his portrayal of Hamlet, lovey!
Ohh, vol-au-vents? Don't mind if I do!
Me & my darling boy!
Stephen & Loz talking about LOTR- notice his Fanboy face!!!!
Awww, just love him!
Look at all the orbs in the room! Even the spirits wanted to be near Stephen <3
What a beautiful smile he has! (That's Steve Adubato in the background!)
The goodie bags we were given!!!
I got to Walnut Street station in Montclair, New Jersey EARLY; a whole hour and 40 minutes early in fact! The cocktail reception for the Montclair International Film Festival (MIFF) was not due to start until 6:00 P.M, but I got there at about 4:20 P.M, eager to ‘case the joint’, try & calm my nerves & temper my excitement before I came face to face again with ‘HIM’- the delectable Mr. Stephen Tyrone Colbert... *GULP!*
I’d Googled directions to The Wellmont Theatre & also had a map of Essex county on me, but getting off the train & crossing over the tracks, the map didn’t seem to make much sense & I suddenly realised I had no clue which direction I should actually be going in. I asked a lady on the platform how to get there & she proceeded to give me directions & then asked who I was going to see.
“Stephen Colbert,” I replied with a smile. “I’ve come all the way from England especially!”
She stopped dead, turned to look at me & said “REALLY? Right, get in the car, I’ll drop you there myself!”
WOW!!!! The people of Montclair sure are friendly!!! As we chatted on the way, she told me a friend of hers actually works on the show & that she’d met Stephen at her friend’s party & said he was a very nice man. Naturally, I agreed! She also couldn’t get over the fact I’d travelled thousands of miles just to see him; this would turn out to be a similar theme for the rest of the evening!
Dropping me outside the theatre, she wished me luck & I thanked her profusely for her kindness. Well, I was finally here; Montclair, New Jersey - ‘Stephen’s Town’ as I like to call it- standing in front of The Wellmont Theatre, his name in big letters on the hoarding outside. It was real. I was going to see him again in the flesh, being himself & hopefully I’d get another chance to talk to him away from the TV studio where he is always dashing to get into his waiting car. ‘Oh God! Nerves, please don’t fail me now!’
While I waited until the time they’d actually let me inside, I ‘cased the joint’, as promised, wandered up & down the cold, wintery streets, looking into windows of shops & restaurants wondering if Stephen ever frequented them & revelled in the fact I was finally on his hallowed ‘home turf’. ‘Hmmm, I could live here!’
Eventually, I wandered back up to the theatre & watched as fresh flower arrangements were delivered, followed by the catering team with tray upon tray of ‘party nibbles’ for the cocktail reception (that, due to nerves/excitement, I would never get to sample!) & a general buzz of theatre staff putting the finishing touches to the evening’s event. I was also rather hoping I might get to see Stephen arrive in his car (he usually drives to these kind of things himself), but alas, he was still nowhere to be seen. Outside the theatre door, they’d now put up those stretchy crowd barrier tape thingies (these MUST have a proper name, right???) and I was proud to go & be the first person standing in the queue! YAY!
Inevitably, me being me, I soon got chatting to the theatre staff who, once again, couldn’t believe I had actually travelled all the way from England JUST to see Stephen (Hell, I’d travel to the ends of the Earth just to see him!). One of them commented on the ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’ bag I had with me (from Barnes & Noble, fact fans!), saying it was his favourite film & book & I said “It’s one of Stephen’s too, that’s why I’ve brought it & it has a present in it for him, too!” (This seemed to go down quite well with him, for some reason!) I couldn’t wait to give the bag, containing his present, to Stephen & I hoped he would appreciate the reference.
Usually, whenever I go to see Stephen I am alone and while I don’t mind this at all, I sometimes feel it would be nice to meet up with other Fangirls so we can swoon at his majestic beauty together... Cue some Fangirls! Hoorah! I was overjoyed to finally meet the lovely Alana/’Arrow’- who I have Fangirled with for a long time at ‘Colbert Nation’- and also meet some new ladies whom I knew I would be in safe hands with! Fangirls RULE!!! ‘Arrow’ wasn’t coming to the reception and so we arranged to meet up after the show with some of the other ladies & go for ice-cream & a post- Stephen ‘OMG! Fest!’ That left the lovely Liz, who I had just met in the queue & had asked if she could tag along with me, to be my Fangirl companion for the evening! Did she really know what she was letting herself in for???
Finally, we were allowed into the theatre (late) & out of the cold & we excitedly ran up to the desk to receive our tickets to the reception. My heart had started to thud heavily against my chest in anticipation at seeing my handsome boy once more & I could feel my stomach doing nervous somersaults. ‘Oh God! Here we go, then!’
Almost instantly, I became aware of the music that was being played in the foyer & auditorium & Liz & I looked at each other in amazement, shrieked and then began singing along to Stephen’s version of ‘Cheap Reward’ with Elvis Costello. This soon began to calm my nerves & I felt a sense of pride as other guests looked a little confused at us singing away, probably unaware that it was Mr. Colbert’s vocal talents we were being treated to. It soon became apparent that all of the songs being played were ones he’d sung with other people; ‘The Sounds Of Silence’, ‘Lean on Me’, ‘I Write The Songs’ to name just a few & I thought this was a really nice touch as it’s always such a delight to hear him sing & again to watch the faces of people who, you just know for a fact, don’t realise who it is!
We were shown into the main auditorium where a section near the back by the bar had been set up with tall, round bar tables, flowers & LED candles that gave the hall a nice cosy, intimate glow. We found a great little corner to stow our bags & coats which was also quiet enough so we could give each other rallying ‘Fangirl’ pep talks & afford us an amazing vantage point on proceedings! There were complimentary drinks on the bar for the guests, but at this point I was still far too nervous to actually go & get one, so I left that to the rest of the people who all seemed to know each other & were chatting away & greeting each other animatedly. Liz & I felt a little like gate crashers at a private party, but then I thought, “NO! I’ve worked my butt off to be here, I’m a HUGE fan, I’ve travelled thousands of miles just to see him, so I jolly well belong here!”
It was then that Liz said quietly, “He’s HERE!” I spun round & saw our handsome hero casually walking into the room with a big grin on his face, closely followed by Evie, Madeleine & Peter. I thought it was SO sweet he’d brought most of his family with him (I guess it was probably too late for little John to be staying up!) and it gave me a nice warm feeling to know they really are a tight little unit.
I know I’m thoroughly biased when it comes to Stephen, but he really DOES light up a room when he walks in. If you didn’t know who he was beforehand, you’d certainly notice him as he just has this amazing aura & presence that draws you to him. And, I’ve said it time & time again, but he is even more beautiful in the flesh than you could possibly imagine; that fact never fails to amaze me & I really do have to stop myself from just staring open mouthed at how damn gorgeous he is! Ladies, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but he is MIGHTY FINE up close!!!!
Wearing a lovely navy blazer with four gold/brass buttons on the cuffs, stone coloured chinos, brown suede lace ups & a nice pale blue & white checked shirt, his gorgeous raven hair all natural & wavy, he confidently strode into the room & began greeting people, smiling & laughing, chatting, posing for photos, hugging friends, kissing them on the cheek (Jealous? Moi?!) and I watched & waited patiently for my turn to talk with him. Evie also went round the room talking to people, Maddie went & stood with her friends at the table next to ours & cute little Peter just stood near his Dad looking, well, cute! Awwww!
Stephen glanced over in my direction a couple of times & my legs threatened to buckle under me each time, but somehow I managed to keep my ‘Fangirl’ freak out under control. “DO NOT THROW YOURSELF ON THE FLOOR AT HIS FEET & PROFESS UNDYING LOVE!!!! It just wouldn’t be cool!” I had to silently to tell myself on more than one occasion! Ha, ha! Eventually, I spotted an opportunity to go & talk to him, so I took a deep breath & walked over, extended my hand and introduced myself.
He took my hand (he has LOVELY soft hands, btw!), shook it, beamed at me & looked straight into my eyes. (He has the biggest, most beautiful, darkest brown eyes imaginable & the fact I didn’t melt to the floor is in itself a miracle!!!) “It’s lovely to see you again, Stephen,” I said. I knew he wasn’t sure if we’d met before, so I gave him an opportunity to jog his memory. “Yes, we met in Red Bank at ‘The Two River Thea...” I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence because he finished it for me.
“...Theatre Company’, yes when my friend Aaron Posner interviewed me! Yes, I remember!” (I didn’t bother to mention the other times we’d met at his TV studio. I didn’t want to confuse the poor boy, after all!)
HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! He actually remembered me! At this point, I was running up & down the room screaming in excitement... well, in my head I was!
I then said to him, “I know you have to speak to lots of people & don’t have much time, but I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a couple of questions.”
“That’s what I’m here for!” he laughed.
I laughed too & could feel myself blush, “I know, but I’d want to hog you to myself all night otherwise! Anyway, on PAIN OF DEATH I have to ask you this...”
He burst out laughing again & said “On pain of death? Who is going to kill you if you don’t ask it?”
“The Fangirls!” I replied, with a grin, pleased I was making him laugh and amazed I felt so relaxed & comfortable around him. I then asked him if he’d received the ‘Birthday Book’ I’d made with contributions from Colbert Nation Fangirls which had been sent for his 47th birthday. He put his head on one side for a moment & really thought about it & I could tell he was actually going through things he’d received. “No,” he said eventually, very apologetically. So I went into more detail & described it for him, what it looked like, what was in it etc “It’s a scrapbook, you know...” I said miming a 12x12 book with my hands.
“I know!” he said so softly, looking interested in what I was saying.
“There’s one book that’s about your life & the other one has lots of tributes from the Fangirls...”
I wish I could find the words that could do justice to describing the expression on his face & the look in his eyes when I was telling him about the book. He looked so touched & genuinely appreciative that we would go to so much effort for him and he just kept going, “Aww,” and “Ohh” & creasing up his face. Honestly, it was so sweet & adorable I could’ve hugged him. He then said, “So does it have YOUR name on it?” I nodded. “What was your last name?” he asked. So I told him and he repeated my full name back, as if committing it to memory. To hear the man you have adored for many years say your full name kind of makes goose bumps appear & I longed to be able to say, “Please just say my name one more time, Stephen...” He then said, “I get sent a lot of things,” I nodded again, knowing he gets sent truck loads of gifts. “But I will ask my assistant next week to look for it so I can see it!” He seemed to be so sincere & genuine in what he was saying, so I truly hope he does get to see what we made for him, because that birthday book was full of love for him & I want him to know how much we care about him! (Oh, and don’t worry, ladies, I WILL be contacting Amy Cole to make sure he does get to see it!!!! LOL!)
I then started to ask my next question, “Next year...” and he interjected, “Yes, is 2012 & it’s your Olympics!” He’d obviously remembered that I’d asked him 2 years ago when he was going to come to England & he’d replied “I’ll come for the Olympics!” (I had 1,500 witnesses to that promise, LOL!). That wasn’t what I was about to ask him, but I laughed & went with it. “Yes, and you PROMISED me you’d come over for them!” I said. Then he looked at me with these huge puppy dog eyes & in the softest, sweetest voice said, “I can’t come. I’m sorry. I’ve got my book coming out then, so I can’t come.” Honestly, he really DID look so sorry & if you think of how soft & lovely his voice is when he sings the line “Oh the signposts on this road, they all point one way” on ‘Cheap Reward’, that will go some way in describing how he sounded. ADORABLE!
In hindsight, I wish I’d asked him more about his book, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell me much about though, but it would have made for a fascinating insight & I could’ve perhaps given you a scoop!! Instead, I laughed, jokingly put my hand up to him and said in mock disgust “Gah! You’re dead to me!” which made him laugh too, thankfully. (There is actually an official picture of the moment I told him he was dead to me, but it is SO hideous, as it caught me at a really bad angle, I wish it would disappear!!!)
I think it was at this moment the official photographer then asked to take our picture together, and so I eagerly snuggled into Stephen & wrapped my arm warmly around his waist, enjoying the close proximity of the most handsome man in the world. Having Stephen put his arm around you is a feeling unlike anything else in the world. The Fangirl inside your brain is screaming “OMG! Stephen is touching me!!!” while the cool, calm lady on the outside is smiling sweetly for the camera & hoping she doesn’t mess up the picture.
I then finally got to ask the original question I was going to ask before Stephen had gone off on a tangent. (I love his tangents!) I explained that I would be once again working with disadvantaged children next summer in Massachusetts and wondered if he’d be able to come down at all. He then gave me those puppy dog eyes again and said, “Aww, I can’t come, because I promised my family that if I went anywhere it would be with them. I’m just so busy that I don’t get to see them so much as it is. So, I can’t come, BUT I could do a fundraiser, or perhaps donate something, as I’d love to help!”
I was almost speechless at this point because I felt a tad guilty for even asking him to come & sad that he IS so busy he doesn’t get to see much of his family, and then I was just SO incredibly touched that he would be willing to help out. He could have easily said, “No, I can’t.” End of story, or made some half hearted agreement, but he asked me exactly where it was & the name of the place & repeated it back to me, again as if he was committing it to memory, and then asked me if I had contact details!!! So, long story short I’m going to be contacting his ‘people’ to see what he can do to help out! He’s just such a lovely, caring, genuine man who really DOES want to give back to society & try to make the world a better place and I am incredibly grateful that he is willing to do something for the children, despite having, possibly, the busiest schedule in showbiz! What an awesome, AWESOME man he truly is & if I needed to give an explanation as to why I would travel so far to see him, this would probably be it.
He happily posed for another picture Liz took of us with my camera and I found myself saying “Ahh, come here, YOU!” as I snuck in beside him once more and this time he put his arm around my waist!!!!!!! ‘OH.MY.GOD! Take me now, for life could not get any sweeter!’ He was then about to go and talk to his other guests, as he had been with me for quite a while, (bless him!), when I thankfully remembered his present. “Oh, Stephen, I’ve got you a present! Do you want it now or should I give it to you later?” I asked, remembering what happened when I gave him a present the last time.
“I’ll take it now,” he replied, smiling, crinkling up his eyes again. “I’ll give it to my wife.”
A lady who was standing nearby then piped up, “I’ll take it for you, Stephen.” I’ve no idea who she was, but Stephen nodded & said ok. I just hope she did give it to him at the end of the night or she’ll be in trouble!
I handed him the ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’ bag and said “It’s something I made for you!” Stephen gave me that adorable appreciative expression again and said “Aww, thank you!” giving me that million kilowatts smile of his once more.
Mission accomplished! I had managed to talk to him again for more than a few seconds, asked him the burning question about the ‘Birthday Book’, had my photograph taken with him again, given him the gift I made for him and asked if he’d be able to help out on a project. In return I was given Stephen’s full attention; his eyes never wander when you’re talking to him or he to you, he’s completely listening to what you’re saying & for that, I am extremely thankful. I was also treated to his smile, his laughter, the crinkling of his eyes, the sweet expressions that showed he was genuinely touched, he gave me his time, his sincerity & his kindness and I could not have wished for more. I always think it is impossible for me to love this man any more than I already do or be more impressed at how amazing he is, but every time I see him, he just manages to outdo himself just that little bit more & my opinion of him just gets higher. Heck, let’s just be done with it & give this man Sainthood!!!!!
I could now sit back, relax, take a deep breath & try to take the rest of the evening in and enjoy it without nerves getting the better of me. I think it’s only the adrenalin coursing through me that helped me to keep standing upright & not melt into a puddle of Fangirl goo in front of him. I was polite (well, I hope he thought I was!) & courteous and had you ladies with me every step of the way, so hopefully I have flown the flag for all ‘Stephen T Colbert Official Fangirls’ everywhere with dignity & pride.
Liz then talked to him; mostly about LOTR so I believe (he will have LOVED this!!) & she gave him an awesome little figurine of Gandalf! She told me later he’d asked in German “Was is das?” when she handed it to him. We laughed long & hard at that, er, HOW cute?! I took a picture of the two of them talking & he does indeed have his LOTR Fanboy face on, which is just so adorkable! She then asked if I’d take a picture of the two of them with them standing together elbow to elbow, which apparently was in reference to a friend of hers saying she was always ‘rubbing elbows with the stars’. It is a great picture and he seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself. I think Liz quite enjoyed it too, ha, ha! We then let him go & mingle as we felt we’d been incredibly lucky to have had him to ourselves for as long as we did, plus we needed to SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE with each other for a while & give a full repor(T) of what he had said to the two of us. We were at last able to Fangirl to the max, even though we kept the volume down on it!
We then casually walked around the room to take in all the details & finally get one of those gosh darn lovely looking glasses of wine. Admittedly, we were also following Stephen, but we kept a respectful distance at all times and I don’t think anyone would have guessed that’s what we were doing. It was just so nice to be able to watch him being himself, laughing with other people & displaying that boundless energy he has, he was literally all over the place, making sure he spoke to everyone & posing for photo after photo. How he does it all & still manage to keep smiling I will never know; whatever he’s on I want some!!!
A very nice couple then came & started talking to us & it turns out the lady will be working for the MIFF next May and will be responsible for recruiting volunteers to help out at it. Liz and I both expressed an interest in volunteering and she took our details and said she will definitely be in touch with us, as they need all the help they can. She laughed and added “And I will make sure you’re working at all the events Stephen will be at!” OMG!!!! So, watch this space!!!
It was almost time for us to be shown to our seats, as the theatre staff needed us to go and sit down so they could transform that section back into a seated area, but before we left, we were all handed a goodie bag which I will treasure forever more. We got a gorgeous dark blue canvas tote bag with ‘The Colbert Report’ logo emblazoned on it (I remember once seeing a member of the TCR staff with one going into the TV studio & feeling extremely jealous!). Inside there was a copy of ‘A Colbert Christmas’ DVD (I already have one, but I usually have two of everything anyway just in case, so that’s good!), Jonathan Alter’s book about FDR ‘The Defining Moment’, some yummy looking sweeties, a MIFF baseball cap, and a dark blue knitted hat with the embroidered ‘C’ for Colbert on the front & TCR logo on the back and a matching blue scarf!!! Well, I know what I’ll be wearing this winter!!! FABULOUS!
We were finally shown to our seats; mine was Row C seat 101, four rows from the front, middle section, on the left by the aisle, which was AWESOME!!! Guess who I was sat next to? The couple we’d been talking to earlier about volunteering at the MIFF! We got into an interesting conversation about following your hero around the world (they too couldn’t believe where I’d travelled from!) and how if you’re female you’re automatically dubbed a ‘stalker’ but a male fervently following their football/soccer team around the world would just be called a fan! She then turned to a gentleman sat behind me & said “Steve, you need to meet this lady, she’s come all the way from England to see Stephen!”
The man she was introducing me to was none other than Steve Adubato, the gentleman who would be going on stage to introduce Jonathan & Stephen (I’m afraid to say I’d never heard of him before that night!). He did a double take and said, “What? You’ve seriously come all that way JUST for THIS? Just to see Stephen?!”
“Yep!” I replied. He was amazed & quickly pulled out some paper & started scribbling down notes. He then asked me all sorts of questions about how far I’d come, why I liked Stephen and was interested in my analogy of the fervent football fan going to the World Cup & no one would bat an eyelid, but a woman travelling thousands of miles to see her hero is a stalker. He nodded & agreed, “So this is your World Cup, then?” he asked & again furiously scribbled down notes. He then announced, “You ARE the greatest Stephen Colbert fan, EVER!”
I blushed and didn’t know how to respond to his statement, but finally said, “Well, that’s not for me to say, really...” But he reiterated it, “Well, I’M saying it! You ARE! I’m going to tell Stephen & then have you come up on stage!” he grinned.
“Noooooooo!” I said, feeling mortified & looking like a deer caught in headlights. I think I would have died if he’d done that. He laughed & said, “No, I won’t really get you up, but I’m going to tell Stephen!” And off he went backstage to get ready to make his introduction, leaving me reeling & wondering what on earth he was going to say & do. Seriously, you just couldn’t make this stuff up!
Steve finally came on stage to introduce the evening’s event & occasionally he would look right at me & grin and I wanted the ground to swallow me up as I didn’t know if he was going to mention me or not. Thankfully, he didn’t & I was able to breathe again. However, when our darling boy came onto the stage & sat down, Jonathan Alter made a reference that Stephen wanted to thank people who’d come a long way to be here. Stephen said, “Yes, I want to thank people who have travelled across many time zones to get here!” (Or words to that effect! I was so terrified that my name was going to be mentioned I couldn’t concentrate properly. I do have the recording of it, so I will listen back to it for the exact wording!). WOW!!!! The people of Montclair sure are friendly!!!
I will leave the conversation between Jonathan & Stephen that followed for another day, as I have taken up enough of your time already...
But one last thing I WILL say about the evening, apart from it being absolutely wonderful & that Stephen was just exquisite, was that after the show, the very lovely Evie came up to ME to say hello! I shook her hand and told her my name and SHE said, “Ahh, yes, you’re from England! I’ve heard all about you!!!!!!!!” I nearly fell over!
It was just the best night of the year and certainly worth travelling all that way for. Stephen was entertaining, engaging, funny, touching, moving, inspiring & above all else a gentleman. (Oh, and utterly GORGEOUS!) I’m also very excited as this meeting with Stephen has possibly opened up doors for further adventures with him and I for one cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store! Bring it on!!!!!!
- Mood:
chipper
TCR Taping report Monday November 2nd 2009
Well, after being incredibly bold (and cheeky!) and asking for tickets to the show, Betsy took my details so she could contact me the next day, but annoyingly my phone was completely dead and I couldn't even charge it up, so all I could do was give her the name of my hotel and the street it was on (couldn't even remember the number, cos my mind just went blank with excitement!) so she said for me to call her in the morning. I was so excited, I only got 4 hours sleep that night!!
Anyway, SHE somehow managed to get the hotel phone number, cos she rang ME in the morning, bless her!
She said that 'Colbert's people' all knew I was coming and it was all sorted and that I was a VIP guest!!!!!!:She said they'd send an email to my hotel with all the details and then said she was SO happy for me, awww she was such a sweet lady!
At about 1ish, the hotel gave me the print out of the email, which was from Stephen's assistant Amy Cole with my VIP letter/ticket thingy. I read it bursting with excitement, but then my heart stopped when it said 'Guest of: STEPHEN COLBERT'!!!! OMFG! I am framing that!
A little later, Mark came out too and said hello, then realising I was English said "Oh you were there last night weren't you?! You're Lisa, aren't you?! See I'm good! We're all excited at having you here!!!"
I was just beside myself with joy at the knowledge that my name had been 'discussed' in the hallowed 'Colbert Halls'!!! Wow! Just Wow!
More and more people came and queued up in the normal ticket bit and one lady came up and shook my hand laughing, telling me she was my long last cousin and could she come in the VIP bit with me, LOL! Then some more people joined the VIP queue, then EVENTUALLY we were let in around 5.25pm.
We were told we'd have to go thru' airport style security and have our bags searched and when the guy looking thru' my bag noticed my purse (wallet) he laughed and said "Is that for Stephen?!" Y'see it has a picture of him in the see-thru' photo section and I just blushed and said "No, that's just for me!!" Not embarrassing at all, MUCH!
We were given a red ticket, mine was number 21, then taken into the 'loading area' which is more like a store room but with chairs and a TV showing the 'Best of Colbert' video. It was so funny watching it, knowing that very soon we'd be watching the real thing!
A young female staff member came into the room (you know you're getting older when production staff look young enough to be your daughter!!!:) and said she needed to see if we were a good audience or not and that she needed to test out whooping noise levels. So we all had to whoop, cheer and holler, then she asked us to do it one more time for good luck. I knew that I would have no trouble making lots of noise!!!
Mark came back in and gave us the speech about the audience being very important and that Stephen totally fed off our energy, so we had to make LOADS of noise. He also said we'd get the opportunity to ask Stephen questions. It was exciting to know that he was just in the next room rehearsing and SO surreal, I just couldn't take it in that I was actually at TCR studio, about to be part of the audience! Don't wake me up!
Then, at half sixish, the VIPs ( I still felt unworthy!) got ushered into the studio first and the first thing I noticed was how flippin' FREEZING it was! It was all dark, with only a few studio lights on and about 3/4 monitors hanging down from the ceiling showing the TCR logo. The set is TINY! It looks so much bigger on the TV and I was amazed that Stephen actually has the space to run around it like he does!
I was sat on the left of Stephen's desk just by the 'broken wrist' body outline on the third row (would've LOVED to have been on the front row, but just so pleased to be there!!) but I had a great vantage point. There was a great atmosphere in the studio as everyone was happy and really up for it!
Mark said the warm-up guy Pete Dominic- would come out and entertain us, then Stephen himself would be out. He also told us when we had to cheer and what signal we'd be given. Oh, I was nearly wetting myself with excitement! "I can't believe this is really happening to me", I thought.
It was great looking round the set and I was trying to take all the different bits in, I love the photo of our own Hugh Laurie, yay, a Brit done good!! LOL! it's a beautiful set, really colourful and interesting to look at. The 'portrait' above the fireplace looked awesome and it was hilarious to see that the 'flames' hadn't been turned on yet!! I also noticed on the autocue, Jon Stewart's 'Toss' script section and a little video of that evening's show playing.
Pete Dominic bounded onto the set to much applause and was pretty amazing. I was expecting him to come with a totally prepared script, but it was all impromptu and he just fed off the audience. He's a funny guy and what a great job to have!
He took the piss out of loads of people in the audience and we all took it really well!
Then he asked if there were any people in from different countries, so I shot my hand up!
"Where you from?"
"England!" I replied.
"So you here for a holiday or work or...?"
"Neither, I'm just here to see Stephen, I saw him last night!"
Lots of people turned to look at me (BLUSH!) "He was doing a theatre benefit in Red Bank!" I said.
Pete obviously didn't have a clue what I was on about, "A what?" then he turned to the audience and asked them "Did you know about this?" Amazingly none of them seemed to (what, do they not log on to the Nation/NFZ???) Then he totally took the piss out of my accent saying he couldn't understand what British people were actually saying!!! LOL. I love that, I'm not that posh!!!
Then, then THEN... Pete said Stephen's ready and all of a sudden 'that' theme tune came on ( y' know the Cheap Trick one!) and on he bounded in between the first and second block of seats!!
He ran on stage, cheering and running up and down the studio and we all went bloody MAD!!!! getting to our feet, shouting, screaming, clapping and whooping. I was nearly in tears and my heart was pounding like a good 'un!
Stephen looked absolutely stunning in his black suit, white shirt and red striped tie and his hair... Oh, his lovely, lovely hair! What a fine, dashing gentleman he is!
He looked around the audience and gave me a lovely smile when he saw me- I just melted!! (He gave me a couple of little looks during the Q&A bit too, I was beaming!)
He bowed lots and high fived people in the audience and said "thank you, thank you! Humanise me, humanise me!"
He then called on people to ask him questions; one person asked him if he played golf and I was quite surprised that he did, especially as he'd said at the benefit that he did NOT watch sport. But he said he wouldn't reveal his handicap!
Someone else asked him who he'd be voting for, but I can't remember what he said, cos I didn't really understand what the election thing was for (was it Mayor of NY???)
Someone thanked him for his coverage in Iraq (we all clapped madly for that) and said that he learned more about the Iraq war from TCR and TDS than from the news itself!
Then of course I asked my 'aftershave' question and he looked so coy and gorgeous when he replied. I realised later, that even if he did wear aftershave, he probably couldn't say which one as he probs couldn't be seen to be endorsing/advertising a particular one.
Then, it was almost time for the taping of the show to start. He sat down at the desk, fired 'Wrist Strong' bracelets into the crowd, then slipped one on himself. All the different parts of the studio were lit up, the desk, the fire, LOL! Watching the script arrive on the desk was great! The camera men were getting into position, the floor manager was getting ready, the make up lady came to 'touch him up' (the best job in the world, I would have thought!!) he looks SO sweet when he takes his glasses off and he did that thing where he stroked her hair! Lucky lady!
It was fabulous to watch him working and going over his lines and other bits with his staff, he was in 'professional' mode and it was another lovely facet of his personality to witness.
I was totally expecting him to start off with '"Tonight..." so I was thrown slightly when he was sat there drinking a beer, I wasn't sure for a moment if the show had actually started or not!! But then when he said "This'll be The Colbert Report' and the theme tune kicked in, I realised that it WAS the start of the show. Doh!
When the theme tune ended, we all hollered and shouted for all we were worth, (I went totally mental!) and if you watch the prog, you can see we wouldn't let him speak for ages and even he looked surprised! it was awesome. It's really quite a mind trip watching the taping, because you're so used to seeing what it looks like on the TV and you can't quite take it in that you're actually there. I couldn't look at the monitors as I couldn't take my eyes off him, so I had to watch the prog again just to see what we'd actually been watching, ha, ha!
I could see in the autocue monitor it said 'make chewbacca noise' and it was hilarious to hear Stephen doing his impression, he was grinning so much when the visuals came up on the screen!
He was laughing loads during the NY marathon winner 'Brian Larson' section too, it's so lovely to see him enjoying his work and feeding off the audience.
I was quite surprised that they quickly bring on the guest while he's still speaking and then he just turned and introduced the Olympic speed skating guy Dan Janson (or was it Jenson?!) and started talking to him. It's all so well rehearsed and slick and really what you see on TV is exactly how it's done in the studio. I don't know why, but that really surprised me. Then Bob Crowley was ushered on stage and it was a fab moment to see TCR/Nation become the official sponsors of the team. Even I was chanting "U.S.A!" and I'm not American!
In the break, Stephen sang along to the music, tapping his pen in time (he's got great rhythm!) and went over some more bits of the show with the floor manager, who then gave him the Arnie breakfast pics. Another touch up of the hair and make up, swoon! Then the show came back and he went into the 'Alpha Dog of the Week' section and here he made lots of mistakes. It was BRILLIANT!!!!
He kept cracking up doing his Arnie impression and then reading the Lincoln letter, he had to re-do that bit a few times, and we made it worse for him because we couldn't stop laughing either! Great moment!
Then it was time for the guest and Stephen bounded over to him, waving at the crowd and I honestly don't think I took one word of the interview in ( I had to watch the show again just to hear what was said!) I was just too busy swooning and feeling sad that the show would soon be over. I love watching the way Stephen sits with his leg over his other knee, it's so damn sexy!
In the next little break, they played Movits and Stephen was moving along in time to it, whilst listening to the directions of the floor manager-he was going to have to re-film some bits, the naughty boy!
Then the show came back for the sign off (SO SAD) and then that was it! We all shouted and got to our feet cheering and clapping! Stephen then looked all coy and explained that they would need to re-film the bit where Bob Crowley came on, (without Bob) and he re-did his lines again. In between takes, he chatted to the crowd again, asking one lady in the front row if they'd dated years ago!!!!
Finally the show was 'in the can' and he stood up, bowed, thanked everyone, ran up and down the audience touching hands with people, looked up and gave me a little smile, then said goodnight to everyone and then he was gone! After such a high, my heart immediately hurt as I knew my magical, unbelievable adventure was over...
I got up and sadly left the studio. I contemplated hanging about waiting for him to come out for one last little bit of Stephen, but I thought "No. I don't want him to think I'm stalking/pestering him!" I took an awful lot of convincing tho' I kept wandering up and down the end of his street, saying go on, go and see him then, no just leave it. So in the end, I wandered into Times Square and had a bit of a cry!!! Happier than I could possibly ever describe, but sad it was over too!
In the end, I wrote him a little thank you/goodbye note and dropped it off at his office the next day (funnily enough Mark was just going in so I handed it to him!) and left it at that. It had been the most thrilling, perfect, wonderful experience of my life and I wanted to leave it like that!
So I just want to thank ALL the people who made my trip the most amazing, incredible, unbelievable experience EVER. Everyone was SO kind and really went out of their way for me and to Stephen, thank you for just being YOU! Don't ever change!
The greatest address in the world!!!!
FOOTNOTE:
How bizarre is this? When I got back to Heathrow, Terminal 3, they have this advertising thing all over the walls that goes on about what is on the same latitude all around the world, you know in Hong Kong so many dollars will buy you X on this latitude etc, and you'll never guess what the same latitude was in New York? yep W54th Street!!! I kid you not! Fate!!
It said I had to go to the VIP door for 5.15pm, but I got there at 4pm!!!!! LOL. I wanted to take it all in and people watch and calm my nerves. The door opened briefly, as a member of staff came out to put the chained barrier up and said Hi. He was laughing at me being so early, but I said I didn't care, I was just happy to be there!!OMFG!!!!! I am officially the happiest and luckiest lady on the planet and Stephen is the most kindest, gracious, delightful, wonderful man EVER!!!!! EVER!!!!!
I've just this second got back, so thought I'd better post, so please forgive my ramblings and indulge me, but I just want to get it all down, it may have to be in instalments!!!!
Here goes...
There I was, sat on the 3.08PM NJ Transit, (thought I'd get there early so I could case the joint and leave plenty of time just to calm myself down, didn't want to arrive all flustered!), all glammed up and grinning like a cheshire cat, just waiting for the off, when disaster struck! We hadn't even left the station when an announcement came over the tannoy saying there had been 2 fatalities in Newark and that all trains had been cancelled 'indefinitely'!!!
I could have wept. I couldn't believe that I had come this far only to be told we weren't going any further. I don't mind admitting I prayed and prayed for us to move. God was obviously listening cos about 50 mins later, we started off again, only to stop at Newark, or somewhere, cos the Presidential motorcade was going through!!! Honestly you couldn't make this stuff up! My heart was in my mouth, as it was now nearly 5pm and I had to be there for 6pm. The lovely guy next to me (who'd done the NY marathon-Hi Joe!) told me how long it would take and that I'd be cutting it fine. I felt absolutely gutted
Anyway, eventually we started moving again AND I got to Red Bank in time, so I raced round to the theatre (Which is LOVELY BTW, please go if you get the chance!) and went to get my name checked off the list...
The staff could not have been more lovely or welcoming. They were so happy to see me and said; "Oh you're Lisa from England, we've been looking forward to meeting you!!!!" What the f*#k!
That knocked me sideways! They gave me a special wrist strong bracelet that says " I AM STEPHEN COLBERT VIP" I'm NEVER taking it off! Then I got my tickets for the Count Basie Theatre where the actual interview was taking place!
I went into the reception room and went to the bar where they were serving "The Colbert Bump" cocktail, needless to say I had one and it was lovely! I got talking to the lady behind the bar and when I told her I'd come all the way from England, she got excited and said I'll tell Stephen and make sure he talks to you! Then, she called some other people over who were connected to Two River Theatre and introduced me to them, and they also said they'd make sure I met Stephen!!!
I went and had a little wander round and got chatting to the official photographer guy, who was taking the official pics at both events, (he's said he will email me the pics!!!!!) and he said he'd make sure I got to see Stephen too!!! And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw HIM!!!!
He just wandered in totally casually and unannounced and my heart just stopped!
He was wearing the most beautiful dark blue suit, white shirt with blue stripes, white and green striped tie and black shoes and he just looked absolutely stunning and immaculate! SIGH!
I know I've read people have said he's even more handsome in real life and I didn't think it was possible, but it's true. He was completely and utterly just BEAUTIFUL! Seriously the most stunning man I've ever laid eyes on! Again, it knocked me sideways and I just gasped!
Close up he has the most amazing skin, I was really taken by how lovely it is. WOW! His hair is so sexy (esp the back of his neck, oh I wanted to nuzzle it!)
OMG and his EYES... again, I was completely shocked! They are the biggest and brownest eyes I've ever seen, they're almost black! They totally mesmerise you! I drowned in them from the moment I saw them!
He was surrounded by people as soon as he came in, but he was so lovely, gracious& polite and you could see he was genuinely touched.
I had to seize the moment, and as he had his back to me at that point I went up to him and gently tugged on the arm of his gorgeously soft suit jacket and said politely, "Stephen..." Just saying his name sent shivers down my spine!
He turned round and gave me the most beautiful smile and said " Oh hello, how are you?" and shook my hand. His hands are SO soft! Mmmmmmm!
I told him I was from England and he said " Oh what's your name?"
So I told him and he replied, "It's lovely to meet you Lisa, thank you for coming!" He spoke so quietly and in a real gentlemanly way and I had to stop myself from just melting at his feet!
I plucked up the courage to speak a little more and said "Stephen, I've bought you a little gift!"
"Oh wow! You have? Thank you! What is it?!"
I handed him the little gift bag and said "There's a letter that explains the gift" and he coyly peeped in the bag and smiled, " Please will you read the letter!" I asked.
He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Yes, I will definitely read it, thank you so much!" and he took the bag off me and carried it on his arm. And I just know he WILL actually read it and open the present! What a gent! (It was only when a member of the theatre staff took the bag from him that he let it go and then she followed him around all night with it and said to me I'll make sure he opens it!!!)
While we were talking, the official photographer was taking pictures of us, as well as his lovely assistant (who sadly I didn't catch his name, but he was an absolute star!) so I will post the none official ones when I get back to the UK! He was very happy to pose for pictures with me and put his arm around my shoulder,(Never washing it!!) and cuddled in. I had mine around the small of his back and I couldn't help but rub it! It was a very sweet & tender moment!
Then he shook my hand again and we had some lovely eye contact (SWOON!) and he said it was nice to meet me again and then of course I had to let him go as he had to speak to everyone else.
I was amazed by how calm I was and how I was able to speak to him so comfortably, he just made me feel at ease!
So many of the staff kept coming up to me all night and asking if I'd met him yet and spoken to him and if not they'd make sure I did and they then just kept introducing me to other people saying "She's come all the way from England!"
- "Oh, so you're her!" and one lady gave me her business card and said she'd do me a deal on the poster of Stephen in the lobby!!!! What wonderful people!
I basically followed Stephen round all night just taking pictures of him, I have some absolutely AMAZING ones, he looks so beautiful and relaxed esp the one where he's laughing, which he did a LOT! Mmmmm!
He made time for everyone, posed for lots of pics, shook hands and chatted with everyone. What an absolute true gentleman he really is. One of the theatre directors told me what a wonderful man Stephen is and that he didn't want any money AND he drove himself to the event! They all sang his praises and it really warmed my heart to hear people say such lovely things about him! I even got to speak to Stephen's friend Aaron Posner who was going to be interviewing him and he said he was a gent too and that it was great I'd travelled from England to see him. I just said "I love him! I had to come!"
Evie was there and she looked SO lovely, I took some pics of her and I was about to go and say hello, but she got 'nabbed' by some theatre people as they were about to leave to go to the Count Basie Theatre.
Stephen saw me on the way out and nodded and gave me a lovely warm smile again in recognition and the last I saw of them at Two River Theatre, Evie was holding onto my gift bag!!!!!!!!!!! Then he was gone!
So we trailed outside and waited for our 'VIP' shuttle to the next theatre. Blimey, when we got there we felt like royalty or something crazy like that as we were allowed in ahead of queuing guests, it was mad!!!
My photographer friend and assistant were already there to take pics on the 'red carpet' and they motioned for me to come over "Lisa, come and get your picture taken on the carpet!!" So I went and posed and I could tell people who were watching were thinking "Who the f*#k is she?!"LOL!!!
PART TWO... Ok, so I got shown to my seat at the lovely Count Basie Theatre, (Row H seat 101) 7 rows from the front and a perfect vantage point. On the stage were two chairs, a coffee table, bottles of Fiji water (which Stephen commented on the Carbon Footprint of!! and got a massive round of applause for!) and a big screen, oh and two camera men ( I SO hope they release the footage somehow!) I happened to flick through the programme and nearly died when I saw my name in it! Those who bought the 'Premium tickets' all got a mention by name and I completely choked up at that point, I was not expecting that at all. It was such a touching gesture (WOW, I've had my name in print with Stephen's!!!!! OMG! I got chatting to two wonderful people sat next to me ( hello Brett & Sheila, you two totally ROCK!) and we just laughed SO much together and Brett showed me the photo he had taken of him and Stephen doing the Colbert 'chest bump'- great stuff! They asked what I was doing tomorrow (Monday) and I just said I was gonna hang out at the TCR studio to see if I could get a standby ticket for the show. Brett said he knew someone, who knew someone who might be able to get me a ticket and tried to call them but sadly couldn't get through, but he promised to keep trying for me, as they really wanted me to get in seeing how far I'd come! Bless them, they were SO kind! Then Aaron Posner came on stage and talked a little about how he knew Stephen and then he introduced HIM... and the beautiful Sir Dr. Stephen Tyrone Colbert DFA bounded onto the stage, grinning and bowing and leaping and twirling and I got up and gave him a standing ovation before he'd even said anything( he even bowed slightly to me!) and then lots more people got up too and we all hollered and cheered for him for absolutely ages!!!! It was fantastic, there was so much love in the room for him! OK, I'm gonna have to post the next bit tomorrow, as I've run out of dollars, but it'll be worth it!!! Ok PART THREE... I've had 4 hours sleep, but I just couldn't sleep anymore cos I'm too excited... This bit with him being on stage is going to be a bit blurry, cos I just couldn't take it in, I kept being totally in the "OMG, that's Stephen on stage and I'm sat here really, actually, watching him in the flesh and oh isn't he so dreamy, and isn't his voice so damn sexy and what am I going to ask him if I get the chance phase" so I had to keep nudging myself back into reality and try and concentrate! I just loved the way he sat with that one leg /foot stretched over his other knee (SO sexy!) and he got up quite a bit and moved around and just owned the stage! Boy, that man's energy and presence is electric! I'll write Qs and As as I remember them, but apologies for them being random and for not being able to recall more of them... He was talking about being genuinely interested in 'everything' as he has a thirst for knowledge & his school/college teacher Ann somebody said in a report that this 'wasn't necessarily a good thing'!!! Much laughter ensued! He talked about his Fourth Wise Man story being his first acting debut and it was so sweet seeing him doing an impression of his mother!! Aaron said "I don't think I've ever told you this but when I heard you were moving to New York, the first thing I thought was 'Oh no'!" Stephen's face was a picture! Then Aaron hastily said "Oh I didn't mean I didn't think you weren't good enough, I just didn't want you to get lost amongst all the other people trying to make it. I always thought you were good enough. So how did you make it?" (Or words to that effect) Stephen just said dead pan "They hired me!" Aaron asked him 10 questions to be answered by Stephen and then again by 'Stephen Colbert' (Sorry I can't remember them all, damn my inferior memory and hormones blocking everything out!!) The 3 people he'd most like to meet: Jesus, Copernicus and to go sailing with JFK- when he said John F Kennedy, my heart leapt because he's one of my all time heroes too and it just made me feel so much closer to Stephen, knowing that we both have the same hero!!
Fave ice-cream flavour: Chocolate Biggest fear: Spiders Fave books: The Bible, LOTR and, quote "Something by Salinger" aka 'Catcher in the rye'- he then went onto talk about the library they have at home, but he said all the books are Evie's, his are the 'MAD' magazines!!! What he'd have written on a t-shirt; "Well, I found it funny!" (We've SO got to get one of those made ladies!) What does he think of being famous; -It's good when he goes to the gardening store, as they carry the mulch to his car!! but on a serious note he doesn't like being bothered when he's with his kids! Favourite character; Aragorn Arrrgghhhh, I can't remember the rest, I'll post them if I do! THEN... he turned into 'Stephen Colbert' and the transformation was AMAZING! He literally morphed into him right before our eyes, it was hilarious and we gave him another standing ovation. He bowed and twirled and he was loving it, absolute CLASSIC!!! He then sat back down and put his feet up on the table as if he owned the place and he WAS Stephen Colbert! Even Aaron said it was weird talking to him like that! 3 people he's like to meet; I think he said Genghis Khan (but not totally sure!) BILL Shakespeare!!! LOL! and someone else that I didn't know Fave Ice-cream (I said Americone Dream!!) then somebody else shouted it out and he said "I'll go with that!" Biggest fear: 3 guesses! yep "Bears! Aaron they are godless killing machines!" I just wet myself! he then went onto to say that when he was a child he actually WAS scared of bears after seeing a film where a character got mauled to death by one and so he told his father about it. Instead of his father saying that there weren't any for hundreds of miles, he instead said "Modern medicine was wonderful and they'd sew him straight back up!" Aww Bless! Ohhh, what else???! I can't remember what else 'Stephen Colbert' said as I was just too awe struck, damn! Aaron did ask about the influence his wife has in his work and he was just loving with his praise of her, he called her "Beautiful, just beautiful and she has a ROCK hard body and is easily embarrassed!!" It was SO sweet (naturally I'm as jealous as hell cos, well you know where I'm coming from ladies, we ALL want him! But it's so touching to see that he's such a gent and really loves his wife! Not many of them left! SIGH!!!) There were lots more Qs and As, but my mind is fuzzy! Then the questions were opened up to the floor and Aaron said if anyone wanted to ask a Q to stand up, Brett & Sheila pointed over to me and Stephen just grinned, needless to say I was the first one up!!!!! Then Aaron said there were microphones in the aisles and we could go and line up there so I raced over!. Brett and Sheila said to ask him about tickets!!! I can't remember all the Qs he was asked as I was just too excited about getting to ask him something, it's all so blurry, I really hope they bring a DVD out of it so I can actually take in what he was being asked. There were loads of people all queuing up and the event was already running half an hour over schedule and I really feared I wouldn't get my chance. (OH, I just remembered someone asking him to speak in his native Southern accent and I can't repeat any of it cos it was almost incomprehensible-it was his fave commercial about car tyres and it was hilarious!) The lady who was in charge of my microphone was the same one who had given me her business card and I was hopping up and down going " OHH, Please let me get my turn!!!" She then motioned to Aaron on stage to let me have the next question, so here was my big moment, I stepped up to the mic, heart in my mouth and said; "Hello Stephen!" "Hello!" he said, so nicely. I've come all the way from England just to see you and I just want to say what an honour it is to be here! I have a two part question!" He then proceeded to take the piss (nicely) out my English accent by doing his own; "Pip, Pip!!"- then he did a Shakespearean voice and I just burst out laughing, it was a lovely moment between us! I was about to say I was a Fangirl, but my mic went out and he said something like "Your mic went out, what were you going to ask?" "Is there any chance you'd bring the show over to the UK, because we'd LOVE to have you over there!" " I would LOVE to come! What's going on over there at the moment?" I said "Well you could come over for the elections!" And he laughed and said "You guys never know when they're going to be! But I could come for the 2012 Olympics!" We just laughed and he grinned loads at me! SWOON! Then he said, "What was your other question?" I went coy and said, "Well, it's a really cheeky question, but it's my last night in New York tomorrow, is there any chance I could get tickets for the show?" He didn't reply for a moment, then said "You're from England... YES!" A gasp went up around the theatre and I just filled up with tears and blew him real heartfelt kisses and said tearfully "Thank you, thank you!" (I felt a bit bad actually cos I kinda put him on the spot and he could hardly say no could he, so I'll apologise for putting him in that position!) But it was a wonderful memory that will stay with me forever! Aaron nodded to the lady at the mic and she took my details, she said "I'm SO happy for you!" so I'm going to speak to her today about getting tickets for tonight's show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stephen then laughed and said to the audience, "She isn't really from England, she's from Long Island!!" I went back to my seat, only to receive LOADS of 'Well done!' and smiles, and thumbs up from people, Brett just gave me a massive 'High Five!" and everyone just grinned at the mad, smiley English woman! (One man came up to me on the way out and said laughing, "So which part of Long Island are you from?!") Then Aaron said that time was almost up (OH, Stephen said he knew of DB from NFZ!!!) and we all went crazy, cheering, hollering and clapping madly, giving him a standing ovation again, I called out "I love you!" and he just grinned and bowed and blew kisses to us all and he then went off stage jumping up and clicking both of his heels together and at 9.30pm, he was gone! SIGH! He was simply the most delightful, charming, entertaining, interesting person I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with. He answered everyone's questions with grace and candour and just seemed very happy to be there! Stephen Tyrone Colbert, you are a bloody LEGEND!!! It was the best night of my life and I haven't laughed so much in ages!!!! On the way out the gay assistant gave me a massive hug and a kiss and said "Well done! it was lovely meeting you! Good luck!" The photographer said he took pics of me asking the question to Stephen, so I can't wait to see them! And lots of people just grinned at me! I was (And still am) the happiest woman in the world! Brett & Sheila took me for a drink afterwards (they are SO lovely, it was great to meet you guys, a bed awaits you in the UK ANYTIME!) and we just talked Colbert, Colbert, Colbert!!!! They even took me to the train station and waited til it arrived. The train ride back to New York was just spent in a daze, grinning like a mad woman, holding onto our signed copy of "IAAASCY", stroking my "VIP' bracelet and flicking thru my photos. I can't believe it actually happened, but please don't wake me up, cos I am having the BEST dream! He’s just SO gorgeous, I can't wait to share the pics with you! So, it's now Monday and I'm going to speak to that lady about the tickets and HOPEFULLY go and see him again tonight for the show! God thank you SO MUCH! Stephen, thank YOU SO MUCH! You are truly the most wonderful man on the planet, you are a complete and utter star and consummate gentleman! I love you SO much! I wonder if he has read my letter and opened my present yet (it's Pope Snow globe!! Don't ask, it's a long story!!) I'm So excited AGAIN. This is just so surreal. So hopefully I will have more stories to share with you! Thanks SO much for all your kind, gracious, encouraging words, it really means a lot to know you're right behind me and you were all with me anyhow. If I get a chance tonight I'll ask something on behalf of the Fangirls!!! Ok, gotta make this call, then go and make myself look, ahem, beautiful! Anyone know how to cover eye bags and dark circles??!!! |
Fave ice-cream flavour: Chocolate
Biggest fear: Spiders
Fave books: The Bible, LOTR and, quote "Something by Salinger" aka 'Catcher in the rye'- he then went onto talk about the library they have at home, but he said all the books are Evie's, his are the 'MAD' magazines!!!
What he'd have written on a t-shirt; "Well, I found it funny!" (We've SO got to get one of those made ladies!)
What does he think of being famous; -It's good when he goes to the gardening store, as they carry the mulch to his car!! but on a serious note he doesn't like being bothered when he's with his kids!
Favourite character; Aragorn
Arrrgghhhh, I can't remember the rest, I'll post them if I do!
THEN... he turned into 'Stephen Colbert' and the transformation was AMAZING! He literally morphed into him right before our eyes, it was hilarious and we gave him another standing ovation. He bowed and twirled and he was loving it, absolute CLASSIC!!! He then sat back down and put his feet up on the table as if he owned the place and he WAS Stephen Colbert! Even Aaron said it was weird talking to him like that!
3 people he's like to meet; I think he said Genghis Khan (but not totally sure!) BILL Shakespeare!!! LOL! and someone else that I didn't know
Fave Ice-cream (I said Americone Dream!!) then somebody else shouted it out and he said "I'll go with that!"
Biggest fear: 3 guesses! yep "Bears! Aaron they are godless killing machines!" I just wet myself! he then went onto to say that when he was a child he actually WAS scared of bears after seeing a film where a character got mauled to death by one and so he told his father about it. Instead of his father saying that there weren't any for hundreds of miles, he instead said "Modern medicine was wonderful and they'd sew him straight back up!" Aww Bless!
Ohhh, what else???! I can't remember what else 'Stephen Colbert' said as I was just too awe struck, damn!
Aaron did ask about the influence his wife has in his work and he was just loving with his praise of her, he called her "Beautiful, just beautiful and she has a ROCK hard body and is easily embarrassed!!" It was SO sweet (naturally I'm as jealous as hell cos, well you know where I'm coming from ladies, we ALL want him! But it's so touching to see that he's such a gent and really loves his wife! Not many of them left! SIGH!!!)
There were lots more Qs and As, but my mind is fuzzy!
Then the questions were opened up to the floor and Aaron said if anyone wanted to ask a Q to stand up, Brett & Sheila pointed over to me and Stephen just grinned, needless to say I was the first one up!!!!! Then Aaron said there were microphones in the aisles and we could go and line up there so I raced over!. Brett and Sheila said to ask him about tickets!!!
I can't remember all the Qs he was asked as I was just too excited about getting to ask him something, it's all so blurry, I really hope they bring a DVD out of it so I can actually take in what he was being asked. There were loads of people all queuing up and the event was already running half an hour over schedule and I really feared I wouldn't get my chance.
(OH, I just remembered someone asking him to speak in his native Southern accent and I can't repeat any of it cos it was almost incomprehensible-it was his fave commercial about car tyres and it was hilarious!)
The lady who was in charge of my microphone was the same one who had given me her business card and I was hopping up and down going " OHH, Please let me get my turn!!!"
She then motioned to Aaron on stage to let me have the next question, so here was my big moment, I stepped up to the mic, heart in my mouth and said;
"Hello Stephen!"
"Hello!" he said, so nicely.
I've come all the way from England just to see you and I just want to say what an honour it is to be here! I have a two part question!"
He then proceeded to take the piss (nicely) out my English accent by doing his own; "Pip, Pip!!"- then he did a Shakespearean voice and I just burst out laughing, it was a lovely moment between us!
I was about to say I was a Fangirl, but my mic went out and he said something like "Your mic went out, what were you going to ask?"
"Is there any chance you'd bring the show over to the UK, because we'd LOVE to have you over there!"
" I would LOVE to come! What's going on over there at the moment?"
I said "Well you could come over for the elections!"
And he laughed and said "You guys never know when they're going to be! But I could come for the 2012 Olympics!" We just laughed and he grinned loads at me! SWOON!
Then he said, "What was your other question?"
I went coy and said, "Well, it's a really cheeky question, but it's my last night in New York tomorrow, is there any chance I could get tickets for the show?"
He didn't reply for a moment, then said "You're from England... YES!"
A gasp went up around the theatre and I just filled up with tears and blew him real heartfelt kisses and said tearfully "Thank you, thank you!" (I felt a bit bad actually cos I kinda put him on the spot and he could hardly say no could he, so I'll apologise for putting him in that position!) But it was a wonderful memory that will stay with me forever!
Aaron nodded to the lady at the mic and she took my details, she said "I'm SO happy for you!" so I'm going to speak to her today about getting tickets for tonight's show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephen then laughed and said to the audience, "She isn't really from England, she's from Long Island!!"
I went back to my seat, only to receive LOADS of 'Well done!' and smiles, and thumbs up from people, Brett just gave me a massive 'High Five!" and everyone just grinned at the mad, smiley English woman! (One man came up to me on the way out and said laughing, "So which part of Long Island are you from?!")
Then Aaron said that time was almost up (OH, Stephen said he knew of DB from NFZ!!!) and we all went crazy, cheering, hollering and clapping madly, giving him a standing ovation again, I called out "I love you!" and he just grinned and bowed and blew kisses to us all and he then went off stage jumping up and clicking both of his heels together and at 9.30pm, he was gone! SIGH!
He was simply the most delightful, charming, entertaining, interesting person I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with. He answered everyone's questions with grace and candour and just seemed very happy to be there! Stephen Tyrone Colbert, you are a bloody LEGEND!!!
It was the best night of my life and I haven't laughed so much in ages!!!!
On the way out the gay assistant gave me a massive hug and a kiss and said "Well done! it was lovely meeting you! Good luck!" The photographer said he took pics of me asking the question to Stephen, so I can't wait to see them! And lots of people just grinned at me! I was (And still am) the happiest woman in the world!
Brett & Sheila took me for a drink afterwards (they are SO lovely, it was great to meet you guys, a bed awaits you in the UK ANYTIME!) and we just talked Colbert, Colbert, Colbert!!!! They even took me to the train station and waited til it arrived. The train ride back to New York was just spent in a daze, grinning like a mad woman, holding onto our signed copy of "IAAASCY", stroking my "VIP' bracelet and flicking thru my photos. I can't believe it actually happened, but please don't wake me up, cos I am having the BEST dream! He's just SO gorgeous, I can't wait to share the pics with you!
So, it's now Monday and I'm going to speak to that lady about the tickets and HOPEFULLY go and see him again tonight for the show! God thank you SO MUCH! Stephen, thank YOU SO MUCH! You are truly the most wonderful man on the planet, you are a complete and utter star and consummate gentleman! I love you SO much!
I wonder if he has read my letter and opened my present yet (it's Pope Snow globe!! Don't ask, it's a long story!!)
I'm So excited AGAIN. This is just so surreal. So hopefully I will have more stories to share with you!
Thanks SO much for all your kind, gracious, encouraging words, it really means a lot to know you're right behind me and you were all with me anyhow. If I get a chance tonight I'll ask something on behalf of the Fangirls!!!
Ok, gotta make this call, then go and make myself look, ahem, beautiful! Anyone know how to cover eye bags and dark circles??!!!
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