Ed Sullivan Theater — Attraction in New York

The Late Show review

Although I love Stephen Colbert’s brand of comedy, other than seeing the people on the show live this wasn’t the best experience due to some behind the curtain realities of taping a live show and the way they ran this operation.

The lines to get in; they have you wait over 30mins outside when they could just open the doors at a designated earlier time and have everyone come in. And wait in the seats. Maybe this is to bring attention to the show with the long lines out front, but makes for an unpleasant start. The staff are dictators about cellphone usage. Even well before the show starts they threatened to kick you out if you took any pictures or selfies in the studio. Even when nothing was going on. Make sure you use the bathroom before hand. As soon as you get seated you are expected to stay boy stay. An old lady next to me wanted to use the bathroom and the girl in charge of monitoring the crowd for phone usage etc. was annoyed and stated to the crowd only if its an emergency. No empty seats allowed. A lady next to me used the restroom in the middle of the the show, only to have a stage hand dive into her seat when she stepped away, they couldn’t allow a seat to be empty, i’m guessing in case a camera came by and showed the empty seat. Cult like participation; the staff and warm up act repeatedly push that you yell, scream, clap and shout like your life depended on it to show excitement about the show on designated cues. After which when you watch the show you are somewhat muted in the background when it’s aired on tv. This also leads to not being able to hear Stephen or the guests talk due to people around you shouting like they are on fire. Blocked by the cameras; Depending on where you sit you might be watching the show on one of the many tv screens in the theater versus in real life because you are behind the cameras that are recording Stephen and the guest. So you came to the live show to watch it on a monitor.

To sum this experience up, It’s free and you get to see Stephen and some celebrities up close. The rest of the experience makes you feel like a cog in the Lateshow wheel. Under valued, used and forgotten. I will continue to enjoy this show on TV, the way it was meant to be watched. The live experience is somewhat...

This was my second time coming to a taping of the late show with Stephen colbert and it did not disappoint. The staff were very friendly and clear- we had 2 bathroom breaks before the taping started and the staff executed each with amazing efficiency (it's almost like they do this several times a week all year!). I did notice that there was only one water fountain and it is quite an old building so it was a hassle for people to drink from. You cannot bring in food or drinks (though I have a tendency for low blood sugar so I stashed an emergency snack in my bag, which didn't cause an issue in security). If I come back I may bring an empty water bottle and just use the sinks in the bathroom to get water if I need it but I was fine without a drink.

If you want to get seated on the bottom row, you should come right when they start letting people in between 3 and 4pm. However, it seems no matter what time you arrive you are guaranteed to wait In a line for quite awhile, which is never fun and is quite exhausting. I wouldn't take anyone here (without a wheelchair) who isn't comfortable standing on their feet for 2 hours.

The lobby is super cold (I went at the end of October 2023) but the actual theater was not. Still, I was thankful for my sweater just for the chilly lobby.

Stephen IRL was exactly as you'd think he'd be based on watching him for years and his energy was so catching. The q and a session with him and the audience is always my favorite because you get real time with him and get to interact with him.

Covid note, I am immunocompromised so I still wear my N-95 in 99.9% of all public indoor locations and I was worried this may be an issue but it was not. I'd say only a handful of people in the entire audience were wearing face masks. I was worried they may want me to remove it during the actual taping but that was not the case, which is great news for other immunocompromised people!

I highly recommend going to a taping here but just come prepared! I don't plan on returning anytime soon (lines and waiting for over an hour are something I avoid) but I do plan on hopefully coming again and I have nothing but good things to say about the staff and crew and show....

Saw Colbert. Its about as much as you can hope for from a free show in NYC. The space is nice, Colbert is great to see live. But you just have to be aware that there is a price to the experience. You have to wait for a very long time outside (hours, depending on when you get there), which might be pretty awful depending on the weather. Then, once you get in, the first half hour to an hour is being forced to laugh at a "comic" that coaches you to laugh louder and louder, over and over, which just feels very forced and fake. I'd rather they focussed more on the standup routine actually being funny, and treated it more as a warmup than a coaching session, but I suppose that approach has probably been tried unsuccessfully in the past, which is presumably why they do it this way. But, I do think Colbert has more talent than any other late night host in history other than perhaps Jon Stewart, so I think if anyone is funny enough to pull it off with authentic laughter, it would be him, though having seen the Daily Show back in the day, even Jon relied on this obnoxious warmup routine. Maybe its just the accepted way after bores like Leno who had to force laughs for so long. I dont know.

I will say, it's very cool how Colbert comes out to talk to the audience before shooting, and how the band plays through where commercials would be and just keeps the momentum going once the cameras start rolling. This is all clearly for the benefit of the audience, so in the end you do feel welcome. But aware that no bathroom breaks are allowed once the cameras start and if you do anything out of the range of accepted behavior by the ushers, you'll be tossed out. Again, this is just the price you pay for getting in. Tickers are free, but the unspoken contract is you agree to be treated as a prop to the show, rather than as a paying customer. I'm fine with that personally, but you should just be aware of what you're signing up for. Overall, I do recommend the...