Often times, rare opportunities come into your life that are too good to be true. Recently, I was rewarded with tickets to see The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon live in New York City. I traveled to New York late Wednesday night to arrive in the city early Thursday morning. There was not much time to spare, we rushed to Rockefeller Center to arrive at 3 p.m.
We lined up for the show precisely on time, we were warned that if we arrived too early we would be asked to leave. While we were entering the studio, the workers in the area announced that there was no photography past this point or you could be kicked out.
We were led up to the peacock lounge where pictures of past Jimmy Fallon guests were displayed. Workers came around to audience members and asked if they could take their picture, to commemorate the moment.
We were assigned letters on our tickets to declare where we would sit in the studio. A worker told us that the CEO of NBC studios prefers to sit in the 5th or 6th row when he attends tapings. We were seated right in the 6th row, with a perfect view of the stage.
TVs above us displayed old highlights of The Tonight Show. After about 15 minutes, all of the audience members had eagerly taken their seats. A writer for the show came out to warm up the crowd before the show, making the audience even more impatient to see Jimmy Fallon. He told us all about the show and how much fun we will all have.
The Roots stepped onto the stage with special guest Stokley of Mint Condition and began to perform their upbeat music. The audience began to fill with excitement, knowing Jimmy Fallon was soon to take stage. Announcer of the show, Steve Higgins, soon stepped out to his podium welcoming us to the show.
The intro video for The Tonight Show began to roll on the TVs above us as Jimmy Fallon appeared from behind the blue curtain. Pure happiness was felt throughout the whole audience as they applauded Fallon’s entrance.
Fallon wasted no time, running right into his monologue for the night. As an audience member, it was intriguing to hear the unedited versions of the monologue. Jimmy Fallon was a naturally throughout the whole monologue. He continued to his desk and began his Hashtag Thursday segment.
This week, the hashtag was #DogHalloweenCostumes. Higgins and Fallon held in laughter while commenting on multiple adorable photos of dogs in Halloween costumes.
The first guest of the night was Kelly Ripa. The two discussed various things from Fallon’s new appreciation of pickling, Ripa embarrassing her daughter on Instagram, to the enjoyment Ripa got from Ryan Seacrest, co-host on her show, dressing up in a dress for Halloween. Their conversation felt effortless, as if they were two friends casually discussing their lives.
Australian comedian, Jeff Jefferies was the second guest of the night. Jefferies brought a great sense of humor to the show causing the audience to continually laugh.
During every commercial break, stylists would come out and touch up Fallon’s hair and makeup and ensure that he and the guest had fresh water.
Before the musical act, Fallon came out to the audience in search of questions and answers. The first thing he asked was if anyone had purchased an Instant Pot lately. He discussed how disappointed he was in the product because it does not prepare your food as instantly as you would believe.
Audience members began to ask questions such as when he was featured in the movie “Almost Famous.” Fallon spoke about how he had accidentally tripped during the filming of the movie; this trip was not edited out of the final cut of the movie.
Another audience member asked what his kids were dressing up for Halloween this year. Fallon stated how sad he was that his children were growing up and he could no longer pick out their costumes. His oldest daughter, Winnie, wishes to be a pink witch this Halloween, which he described is basically a princess. His younger daughter, Franny, wants to be a butterfly, but wishes to only wear the butterfly costume Winnie wore last year.
The last question was, what was the best gift you have ever given someone. Fallon explained how one year for his wife’s birthday he had a local choir sing “Close to You” during dinner at a restaurant. He explained how at first, his wife was very confused at first but was overjoyed when she realized it was all for her.
As Fallon answered these questions and interacted with the audience, you could feel the positivity he held. He was genuine and kind throughout the whole conversation and showed great excitement for what the audience had to say.
To end the night, Cole Swindell, a platinum selling country singer and songwriter, played a single off his latest album. The performance soon ended as Fallon thanked the guests of the night as well as The Roots. He then proceeded to the audience, clapping hands with multiple members thanking them for being there.
Jimmy then waved off stage as the audience applauded in gratification.
By the end of the show, my hands began to grow numb from all the clapping, but it was well worth it. I strongly encourage everyone to sign up in hopes of winning tickets to the taping of The Tonight Show. Being part of the audience is a great adventure that everyone should have the opportunity to experience in their lifetime.
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